Setback for McLaren

LIVE: Piastri overbrakes, Hadjar moves into third place

George Russell (center) won ahead of Max Verstappen (left) and Isack Hadjar.(Bild: AP/Darko Bandic)

George Russell has reignited his ambitions in the Formula 1 World Championship with a start-to-finish victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver triumphed in Baku on Saturday, narrowly edging out Max Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, starting from 16th on the grid after a botched qualifying session, still managed to finish fifth, thereby limiting the damage. The Italian now leads the overall standings by 66 points over Russell.

George Russell(Bild: AFP/IGOR IVANKO)

For Russell, it was his third win of the season and his first since Spielberg three months ago. Verstappen capped off a comeback from eighth on the grid; the four-time champion crossed the finish line just under two-tenths of a second behind the Englishman. Meanwhile, Hadjar made an impressive return in his comeback from a wrist injury.

(Bild: EPA/ALI HAIDER)

The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished the Grand Prix—which was held a day earlier than usual due to a national holiday in Azerbaijan—in fourth and sixth place. McLaren had a dismal day, failing to score any points. Defending champion Lando Norris retired through no fault of his own, while Oscar Piastri overbraked and fell far behind.

Russell Dominant in the Race as Well
Russell had secured pole position in qualifying with a lead of more than eight-tenths of a second and defended his lead at the start without any problems. While Russell steadily extended his lead, Antonelli struggled in traffic. Unlike at Monza, where he had raced from 19th on the grid to victory, the 20-year-old made his way through the field at a much slower pace. On the 17th of 51 laps, Antonelli found himself in tenth place, his first time in the points.

(Bild: EPA/ALI HAIDER)

  Behind Russell, the Red Bull duo was chasing Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. For a long time, the only source of entertainment was the (pit-to-car) duel between Verstappen and Hadjar, who was slightly faster at that point. Antonelli benefited from Norris overbraking, which gifted him a position. Then things got more exciting: On lap 31, Alexander Albon crashed his Williams into the track barriers, triggering the first safety car period.

(Bild: GEPA)

Colapinto overtakes Gasly and Norris
Strategic maneuvers were hardly possible, however, because all drivers pitted for their only tire change. At the restart, Verstappen passed Piastri; behind them, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto, after overbraking in the first corner, took himself, his teammate Pierre Gasly, and Norris out of the race. Shortly afterward, Piastri also missed his braking point after the start-finish straight and slipped out of the points. At the front, Verstappen was able to follow Russell’s “Silver Arrow,” but could no longer mount an attack for the win.

The result:

On the final lap, Valtteri Bottas also crashed; his Cadillac came to a stop in a dangerous position in the final sector of the track. Race control decided against deploying any kind of safety car, which allowed Verstappen to close in on Russell once more. However, the Mercedes driver held on to his lead across the finish line, thereby preserving his World Championship hopes. This coming weekend, the Bahrain Grand Prix—which had initially been canceled due to the war in Iran—will be rescheduled and will now take place in Sepang, Malaysia.