George Russell secured a hard-fought victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, holding off Max Verstappen in his first Formula 1 win in three months and narrowing Kimi Antonelli’s lead in the championship standings.
Starting from pole position, Russell established a commanding lead early in the race. However, he faced intense pressure during two safety-car restarts and a late-race charge from Verstappen, who impressively climbed from eighth on the grid to finish second. The final moments were dramatic, with a last-lap crash involving Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas forcing both Russell and Verstappen to reduce speed. Verstappen closed in rapidly on Russell along the final straight but ultimately finished just under two-tenths of a second behind. It marks the first time Verstappen has gone winless this season since his rookie year in 2016.
A visibly relieved Russell said, “I lost the boost, I had no power. Thought he was going to get us.”
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Adding to the excitement, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar returned from injury to claim third place on the podium.
The race proved disappointing for McLaren as defending champion Lando Norris was eliminated in a crash initiated by Franco Colapinto. Norris became entangled in a multi-car incident following Colapinto’s collision with his own Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Later in the race, Oscar Piastri’s day worsened when he locked up his tyres while defending third place from Hadjar, running off track and dropping to 14th, diminishing McLaren’s overall result.
Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli overcame a difficult start in 16th position after a qualifying crash to finish fifth, limiting the damage to his championship lead. Antonelli adeptly avoided the chaos ahead during the three-car crash that took out Norris and later overtook Lewis Hamilton, benefiting from several mistakes by other drivers without being caught up in further incidents.