Azerbaijan GP: Piastri cracks as Verstappen claims the win ahead of Russell, Sainz

Max Verstappen controlled the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from start to finish to claim the victory ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz, who secured a debut podium as a Williams driver.

Championship leader Oscar Piastri had a nightmare as he jumped the start, hit anti-stall, and fell to the very back of the field, and then binned his McLaren at Turn 5 to end his race. His title rival and teammate Lando Norris scored six points with a P7 finish to close the gap to 25 points.

Max Verstappen wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

There was pre-race drama for Isack Hadjar, who lined up eighth on the grid with Racing Bulls working to resolve a hydraulic issue. “Feels like the engine is not really liking it,” he radioed in on his lap to the grid. His mechanics fixed the problem and Hadjar went off with his rivals for the formation lap.

Max Verstappen lined up on pole position ahead of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson, the Red Bull driver getting a great launch off the line and cut across Sainz to ensure he stayed P1.

Disaster for Oscar Piastri as the championship leader, who lined up P9 after his qualifying crash, jumped the start, hit the anti-stall, went but fell to the very back of the field. It went from bad to worse for the McLaren driver as he crashed at Turn 5, locking up and going straight into the barrier at speed. Red flag!

Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon pitted, the latter swapping to mediums before heading back in and putting on a set of hards, covering his mandated two compounds for the race. He had a hefty whack with Nico Hulkenberg on the opening lap. Race Control noted the incident.

The race resumed on Lap 5, Verstappen almost immediately putting a second between himself and Sainz while Lawson held down third ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda, who overtook George Russell.

Fernando Alonso, running 11th, was hit with a five-second time penalty for jumping the start along with Piastri. “I reacted to Piastri, sorry,” he said. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris picked off Isack Hadar to run seventh and eighth with Lewis Hamilton P10 before he too overtook the Racing Bulls driver.

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After laps stuck to Tsunoda’s rear wing, Russell finally overtook him for fifth using DRS down to Turn 3. Russell pulled clear, leaving Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton in the Tsunoda-led DRS change.

At the front, Verstappen was four seconds clear of Sainz on Lap 15, the Williams driver having put three seconds between himself and Lawson. The Racing Bulls driver had the two Mercedes, led by Antonelli, on his rear wing.

All but outright asking to swap positions with Antonelli, Russell told Mercedes: “I think I have a tyre advantage to get past Lawson…”

The pit stops began on Lap 17, Alex Albon in and then Franco Colapinto. Racing for position, Albon tried to pass up the inside of Colapinto at Turn 5, the two collided with the latter spinning. Albon was given a 10s penalty for causing a collision.

Mercedes resolved the driver swap issue by pitting Antonelli on Lap 19, the Italian coming out in 12th place. Russell was immediately all over Lawson’s rear wing, as Leclerc was the next driver in the top ten to pit, followed by Lawson, releasing Russell.

Lawson came out metres ahead of Antonelli, the Italian harassing him before making a clear pass with DRS on Lap 22. Antonelli’s next move was on Gabriel Bortoleto as he worked his way up to eighth place, the highest-placed driver who had already pitted.

Nine seconds up on Sainz at the halfway point, Verstappen was told “brilliant pace” from Red Bull as, barring disaster, he looked to be cruising to his fourth win of the season.

Sainz, meanwhile, pointed out to Williams that he didn’t want Russell to get the “undercut” on him. Sainz came in lap 28, rejoining the action in sixth place with the five ahead of him all still needing to stop. Russell, meanwhile, made the call to extend his opening stint.

Heading into the final 15 laps in the 51-lap race, the top five – Verstappen, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton – had yet to pit. They were running ahead of Sainz, Antonelli, Lawson, Leclerc and Hadjar. Hamilton pitted, coming out six seconds behind Leclerc, while Norris was told to “get closer” to Tsunoda to make an undercut work.

Norris came in a lap later, but a slow stop – an issue with the front right – cost him vital tenths. 4.1s! He came out behind Lawson and Leclerc. Tsunoda came in the lap after, a 2.2s stop, and he came out metres ahead of Lawson and Leclerc. Lawson pounced immediately to take the position, and pulled a second clear of the Red Bull, who had Leclerc and Norris on his rear wing.

Russell pitted next and came out ahead of Sainz in the battle to finish P2 behind Verstappen. The Red Bull driver, leading by 32s, had yet to stop. And with that, Verstappen headed into the pits, the very last driver to do his mandatory stop. In from the lead, and out in the lead by 12s.

Norris overtook Leclerc with 10 to go, joining a DRS train behind Lawson after Tsunoda caught up to the Racing Bull, dragging Norris and Hamilton with him, the Briton having overtaken Leclerc. Lawson held his line and his nerve to run fifth but the pressure was on. But Lawson was up to the task.

Verstappen clinched the victory ahead of Russell with Sainz holding onto third place for a maiden Williams podium ahead of Antonelli.

Antonelli was fourth, equalling his best-ever result, crossing the line ahead of Lawson, Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton. Leclerc and Hadjar completed the points.

Azerbaijan GP result

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull
2 George Russell Mercedes +14.609
3 Carlos Sainz Williams +19.199
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +21.760
5 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +33.290
6 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +33.808
7 Lando Norris McLaren +34.227
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +36.310
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +36.774
10 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +38.982
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +67.606
12 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +68.262
13 Alexander Albon Williams +72.870
14 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +77.580
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +78.707
16 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +80.237
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +96.392
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1 lap
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1 lap

Did not finish

Oscar Piastri McLaren – lap 1 – crash

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