George Russell claimed his first lights-to-flag victory with a composed drive for Mercedes in Saturday’s thrilling Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The 28-year-old Briton came home just 0.196 seconds ahead of four-time champion Max Verstappen. Russell's victory was his first on the fast, challenging streets of Baku and his first since the Austrian Grand Prix in June. It was also the eighth of his career.
The race was punctuated by two safety cars, with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar finishing third on his return after a broken wrist. Hadjar drove in pain but managed to secure his first proper podium finish on pure pace. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fourth, while his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion, was sixth. Russell's team-mate Kimi Antonelli finished fifth, slicing through the field from 16th on the grid.
Russell made a near-perfect start from his 12th pole position to draw clear, while Oscar Piastri took advantage of a slow-starting Leclerc to take second. Verstappen enjoyed the opening lap, passing both Alpines before powering past Hamilton, Norris, Leclerc, and finally team-mate Hadjar to rise to third. The Dutchman was grumbling about his tyres, but Russell on the same medium compound was already five seconds ahead of Piastri on softs.
By mid-distance, Russell led by 10 seconds but grazed the wall at Turn 15. Team-mate Antonelli was up to ninth as the Red Bulls scrapped for third, making life easy for Piastri in second. The processional action ended on lap 30 when Williams' Alex Albon crashed at Turn Five, triggering a Safety Car deployment during which the leaders all pitted.
After five laps, the race resumed with Verstappen passing Piastri at Turn One. Behind him, Franco Colapinto lunged up the inside but ran out of space entering the next corner. He locked up and went sideways, pushing Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly into Lando Norris in a McLaren. The three went off the track in a synchronised slide.
Both drivers for the struggling French team were in position for top-10 finishes before the incident. Gasly expressed his frustration on team radio, saying "Oh my God! Oh my God! I don’t believe it... So many points gone." A second safety car came out following the incident, setting up a thrilling finale to the race.
Russell held off Verstappen's late charge to take the win, with Hadjar finishing third. Russell said it was amazing to be back on the top step and thanked his team for helping him through a tough moment. Verstappen was philosophical, saying the team had a good race but came up just short.
Key points
- Russell's victory trimmed Antonelli's lead in the drivers’ championship to 66 points.
- The race featured two safety car deployments.
- Hadjar secured his first proper podium finish on pure pace despite driving in pain.
