George Russell survived a dramatic late charge from Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by just 0.196 seconds, with the Red Bull driver taking second and teammate Isack Hadjar completing the podium in third after a chaotic afternoon on the streets of Baku.
Reflecting on a weekend in which he took pole position before converting it into victory, Russell described it as one of the strongest performances of his Formula One career.
“It’s been an incredible weekend and probably one of the strongest of my career so far. I really enjoyed that race and that final stint was some of the most fun I’ve had in a Formula One race,” Russell said.
The Mercedes driver controlled much of the 51-lap race and had built a comfortable advantage before the intervention of the Safety Car wiped out his lead and brought Verstappen back into contention.
Russell admitted seeing his advantage disappear was frustrating, particularly after Mercedes had shown strong pace throughout the opening stages.
“We had strong pace throughout and were able to build a good gap, so when the Safety Car came out it was a little frustrating, but around a circuit like Baku that’s always a possibility.”
Behind the leading pair, Hadjar secured another impressive result for Red Bull with third, while Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to take fifth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in sixth. Arvid Lindblad, Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz completed the top ten.
Russell takes control
Russell made a clean getaway from pole while Oscar Piastri moved his McLaren into second ahead of Leclerc.
Behind them, the order quickly began to change.
Lando Norris initially jumped Hadjar for fourth, while Verstappen made progress from eighth on the grid and passed Hamilton during the opening exchanges.
Hadjar soon reclaimed fourth from Norris before attacking Leclerc, eventually finding his way past the Ferrari to move into third.
Verstappen was following closely behind.
The Dutchman also dispatched Leclerc before Red Bull switched the order of its cars, allowing Verstappen through to chase Piastri for second.
While the battle developed behind him, Russell began disappearing up the road, building an advantage that approached ten seconds before the race was turned on its head.
Hamilton battles Norris
Hamilton, who started sixth, initially dropped behind Verstappen but later became involved in a battle with Norris.
The McLaren driver locked up at Turn Five, giving Hamilton an opportunity to attack. Norris initially managed to keep the Ferrari behind through the narrow section of the circuit, but Hamilton eventually completed the move to reclaim sixth.
Ferrari, however, struggled to match the pace at the front, particularly on Baku’s long straights.
Hamilton later revealed that the team had struggled to consistently get its tyres into the correct operating window, with Ferrari also set to examine its energy management after the race.
Antonelli begins his recovery
Antonelli faced a very different race after his qualifying problems left him starting only 16th.
The championship leader initially slipped backwards to 17th at the start but gradually began working his way through the field.
He passed Lindblad, Sainz and Ocon before taking advantage of a battle between Liam Lawson and Alex Albon to continue his climb towards the points.
His recovery would become increasingly important as the race descended into chaos.
Albon crash changes the race
The first retirement came on Lap Nine when Lance Stroll was told to stop his Aston Martin because of a water pressure problem.
Fernando Alonso would also later retire with a mechanical issue, completing a miserable afternoon for Aston Martin.
At the front, Russell continued to control proceedings, although he briefly raised concerns after brushing the wall at Turn 15.
The complexion of the race changed when Albon locked up and crashed into the barriers at Turn Six.
The Safety Car was deployed, wiping out Russell’s advantage and allowing the leaders to pit.
Red Bull executed a double stack for Verstappen and Hadjar as the field prepared for the restart.
Verstappen closes in
Russell retained the lead when racing resumed, but Verstappen found his way past Piastri to take second and put himself directly behind the Mercedes.
With Verstappen now his closest challenger, Russell said the restart became the most stressful point of his afternoon.
“The restart was probably the most stressful moment of the afternoon with Max right behind me, but I managed it well and from there it was all about staying focused and not making any mistakes.”
Behind the leaders, the restart quickly descended into chaos.
Franco Colapinto locked up approaching Turn One and made contact with Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Gasly was subsequently sent into Norris, with all three cars eventually forced to retire.
The incident triggered another Safety Car and ended Norris’ hopes of scoring points in Baku.
There was also contact between the two Racing Bulls cars, with Lindblad tagging the rear of teammate Lawson’s car during the disorder.
Piastri throws away podium chance
When racing resumed for a second time, Russell again maintained the lead from Verstappen.
Piastri, however, suffered a disastrous moment.
Running third, the McLaren driver locked up heavily at Turn One and was forced to spin the car around before rejoining.
The mistake sent him tumbling down the order and effectively ended his hopes of a podium.
His error promoted Hadjar back into the top three and helped Antonelli continue his recovery through the field.
Antonelli passes Hamilton
Antonelli’s charge eventually brought him onto the back of Hamilton.
With eight laps remaining, the Mercedes driver used Baku’s long main straight to pass the Ferrari and take fifth place.
Hamilton was left to bring the car home in sixth, while Leclerc remained ahead in fourth.
Despite starting second and sixth, Ferrari left Azerbaijan without a podium after struggling to reproduce its qualifying performance over the race distance.
Russell and Verstappen go to the wire
At the front, Verstappen refused to let Russell escape.
With both drivers pushing hard through the closing stages, Russell admitted the intensity of the fight was part of what made the race so enjoyable.
“In the final stint we were both pushing hard, and whilst it was intense in the car, those are the moments you enjoy as a driver,” Russell said.
Verstappen had spent much of the race on the medium tyre before switching to the soft compound, which he said transformed the feeling of his Red Bull.
“We had a very strong race today. Yesterday, we found an issue with the engine and changed it, so luckily everything was fixed,” Verstappen said.
“For most of the race we were on the Medium tyre, which didn’t perform as well as expected, but we still managed to work our way up the field nicely. Once we swapped to the Soft, it felt much better.”
That set up a flat-out fight between the pair over the closing laps.
“During the last few laps with George, we were pushing flat out. We had good pace and were both pulling away from those behind,” Verstappen added.
The gap tightened dramatically on the final lap, with Russell losing boost as he exited Turn 15 before the long run towards the chequered flag.
“On the final lap it got close as we approached the line, because George had turbo lag out of T15 due to the yellow flags,” Verstappen said.
The Red Bull closed rapidly, but Russell had done enough.
The Mercedes crossed the line just 0.196 seconds ahead to take his third victory of the season, with Hadjar following 10.704 seconds behind in third.
For Verstappen, narrowly missing out on victory did little to diminish what had been a remarkable recovery from eighth.
“We really maximised the result today and we will, of course, keep trying for a win. All in all, it was a fantastic result for the team to have two cars on the podium; that’s exactly what you want to see. I had a lot of fun today.”
Hadjar celebrates Red Bull double podium
Hadjar’s third place capped an impressive return to Formula One and secured a double podium for Red Bull.
The Frenchman admitted he was happy to sit behind his more experienced teammate once Verstappen had switched to the faster soft compound and begun his pursuit of Russell.
“He’s been so strong all weekend and I was happy to stay behind him, as I knew the Soft was the superior tyre and he showed that at the end,” Hadjar said.
“A double podium is an awesome result. It’s the first in a while for the team, so I’m very happy for everyone. They deserve it.”
Russell looking ahead
Russell’s victory continued a strong run of form for the Mercedes driver, who said he is currently feeling increasingly comfortable behind the wheel.
“I’ve felt comfortable all weekend, and at the moment things seem to be coming naturally behind the wheel. We’re in a good place, but Formula One changes very quickly so you have to keep pushing.
“The aim is to keep working hard, keep building this momentum and hopefully continue fighting at the front over the races ahead.”
The result reduced Antonelli’s advantage over Russell in the Drivers’ Championship, while Mercedes continued to strengthen its position at the front of the Constructors’ standings.
Formula One now heads to Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Russell will look to carry the momentum from one of his strongest weekends of the season into the next round.
Official result: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/races/1295/azerbaijan/race-result
