The Azerbaijan Grand Prix delivered exactly what we have come to expect from Baku: overtakes, strategy questions, crashes, Safety Cars and absolute chaos all the way to the chequered flag.
George Russell ultimately took the victory by just 0.1 seconds over Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar completing the podium in third, but the final result tells only a small part of a race that changed dramatically throughout the afternoon.
Russell Controls the Start as the Order Shuffles Behind
Russell made a clean getaway from pole and maintained the lead into Turn 1, while Oscar Piastri jumped into second and Charles Leclerc settled into third.
Behind them, the early laps featured plenty of movement.
Isack Hadjar showed excellent pace for Red Bull, first getting past Lando Norris for fourth before overtaking Leclerc to move into third.
Verstappen was making progress as well. He passed Norris for fifth and then used the long Baku main straight to get by Leclerc for fourth.
That put both Red Bulls directly into the fight near the front.
Russell, meanwhile, was steadily building an advantage. The Mercedes driver repeatedly produced fastest laps and sectors, gradually stretching the gap from a few seconds to nearly 10.
Verstappen and Hadjar Create a Red Bull Strategy Problem
Verstappen eventually moved ahead of Hadjar and began chasing Piastri for second.
It became an interesting battle between the Red Bull and McLaren. Verstappen could close the gap in certain parts of the circuit, but Piastri repeatedly used McLaren’s excellent pace through Sector 2 to rebuild his advantage.
As the stint progressed, however, Verstappen’s tyres began to fade.
Hadjar still had strong pace behind him, leaving Red Bull with a difficult decision over whether to allow its two drivers to race. Hadjar was eventually given permission to attack Verstappen, but by then valuable laps had already been lost.
Considering the pace both cars showed, Red Bull appeared capable of putting both drivers into serious podium contention. They ultimately did get both cars onto the podium, but their handling of the situation made the job more difficult than it needed to be.
Problems Throughout the Field
Further back, Antonelli began recovering from a difficult starting position.
The Mercedes rookie started 17th but gradually climbed through the field, reaching 13th before passing Liam Lawson for 12th.
Alex Albon also made progress with an overtake on Lawson down the main straight.
Lewis Hamilton and Norris became involved in their own fight around sixth place, but Norris’ race began unraveling when he locked up and lost three positions, falling to ninth.
Aston Martin endured an even worse afternoon.
Lance Stroll was forced to stop earlier in the race before Fernando Alonso later retired as well, leaving Aston Martin with a double retirement in Baku.
Strategy Takes Center Stage
With tyre degradation proving manageable for several drivers, teams began extending their stints.
Russell in particular was able to continue producing extremely competitive lap times deep into his stint, raising the possibility of stretching the tyre life and shortening the final run.
There was good reason for teams to remain patient.
This was Baku.
And eventually, the inevitable chaos arrived.
Albon Crash Erases the Lead
Alex Albon suffered a major crash into the wall, bringing out the Safety Car and completely changing the race.
Russell’s advantage of nearly 10 seconds disappeared instantly.
The timing also rewarded teams that had extended their opening stints, allowing several drivers to make a much cheaper stop under caution.
After spending much of the Grand Prix separated by genuine race pace, the field was suddenly bunched together again.
The Safety Car eventually came in.
Then everything exploded.
Alpine Collision Takes Norris Out on the Restart
Almost immediately after the restart, the two Alpine drivers crashed into each other in a huge incident.
Norris was caught up in the accident and was eliminated from the race along with both Alpines.
It was a brutal end to an already difficult afternoon for Norris, who had previously fallen down the order after his earlier lockup.
The crash immediately brought out another yellow and once again interrupted the race.
It also dramatically changed the battle at the front.
Verstappen emerged from the chaos in second place behind Russell, while Hadjar remained firmly in the fight for a podium.
After Russell had controlled much of the Grand Prix with a huge advantage, he now had Verstappen directly behind him with only 12 laps remaining.
Baku had effectively turned the end of the race into a sprint.
Piastri Throws Away P3
When racing resumed, Piastri had an opportunity to salvage a major result for McLaren and was running in third place.
Then came a costly mistake.
Piastri locked up and fell dramatically down the order, dropping completely out of the points.
That mistake opened the door for Hadjar, who moved into the final podium position.
In the space of a few laps, McLaren’s afternoon completely collapsed. Norris had been eliminated after being caught in the Alpine crash, while Piastri threw away P3 with his own mistake.
Hadjar took full advantage and put himself in position to complete an excellent afternoon for Red Bull.
Antonelli Charges From P17 to P5
While McLaren’s afternoon collapsed, Antonelli continued moving in the opposite direction.
Starting all the way down in P17, the Mercedes rookie had methodically worked his way through the field throughout the Grand Prix.
Late in the race, Antonelli found himself chasing Lewis Hamilton for fifth.
He completed the pass and moved into P5, completing an excellent recovery after his difficult qualifying session.
Going from 17th to fifth on the streets of Baku represented one of the standout recovery drives of the race.
Verstappen Takes the Fight to Russell
At the front, Verstappen wasn’t giving Russell any opportunity to relax.
With nine laps remaining, Max set the fastest lap and continued hunting down the Mercedes.
Russell had been nearly 10 seconds clear earlier in the race, but none of that mattered anymore. The Safety Car and subsequent chaos had transformed the Grand Prix into a direct fight between Russell and Verstappen.
Behind them, Hadjar held onto third, putting both Red Bulls in podium position after an eventful race for the team.
The leaders entered the final lap with the victory still up for grabs.
And because this was Baku, there was still time for one more crash.
Chaos Until the Chequered Flag
Valtteri Bottas hit the wall on the final lap, creating one last moment of uncertainty while the leaders raced toward the chequered flag.
Russell held on.
After controlling the early stages, losing his huge advantage to the Safety Car and then surviving Verstappen’s late charge, George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by just 0.1 seconds.
Max Verstappen finished second, while Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third, giving Red Bull two cars in the top three after both showed strong pace throughout the afternoon.
Even further back, the action continued literally until the finish line.
Arvid Lindblad and Esteban Ocon drag-raced toward the chequered flag, with Lindblad completing the pass right at the line.
It was the perfect ending to a completely unpredictable afternoon.
Russell won after seeing a dominant advantage disappear. Verstappen charged through the field and came within a tenth of victory. Hadjar converted his impressive pace into a podium. Antonelli recovered from P17 to P5. Both Aston Martins retired. Albon’s crash transformed the race. The Alpines collided and took Norris out with them. And Piastri threw away P3 with a costly late lockup.
Baku delivered chaos from beginning to end.
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