George Russell won the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Mercedes, whilst both Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar made it onto the podium. Oscar Piastri threw his third place away due to a missed braking point.
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Early overtakes in the top six
George Russell, who started from pole position, held onto the lead, whilst second-placed Charles Leclerc was immediately overtaken by Oscar Piastri. Despite his good start, Lando Norris was quickly passed by both Red Bulls, and shortly afterwards, the same thing happened to Leclerc.
Isack Hadjar, racing on soft tyres, let Max Verstappen, who drove on medium tyres, past at the end of the home straight, but the Dutchman was also unable to challenge Piastri. Later, Hadjar did not take up the offer for his team-mate to let him back in.
Past the first third of the race, both Aston Martins retired first Stroll, then Alonso, whilst Russell steadily increased his lead at the front. Lando Norris dropped back to 9th place after a lock-up, specifically behind Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli. On lap 31, Alexander Albon crashed into the tyre wall at Turn 5, bringing out the Safety Car.
Chaos in the first corner
Verstappen overtook Piastri right after the restart for second place, whilst Franco Colapinto knocked both Gasly and Norris out of the race, after which the Argentine also retired. Right behind them, Arvid Lindblad bumped into his team-mate, Liam Lawson, although the New Zealander was lucky enough to continue the race.
The SC came onto the track again, but fortunately, there was no havoc following the second restart. On lap 40, Piastri braked too late at Turn 1, causing him to drop from third to fifteenth position.
Russell clinches victory
Although Verstappen stayed very close to Russell in the closing stages, he could not challenge the Mercedes, even if Valtteri Bottas’s crash on the final lap caused a bit of a stir. Russell claimed his third win of the season, whilst Hadjar, returning from injury, finished behind Verstappen. Leclerc, Antonelli and Hamilton rounded off the top six.
The full results of the race according to FIA.com:
