Russell beats Verstappen’s late charge to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Russell kept Verstappen at bay until the very end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, withstanding a safety-car scramble and a late incident that brought Verstappen inside 0.2 seconds of claiming the championship.

While Russell led the early stages of the race, Verstappen worked his way up from eighth on the grid. Then two safety cars appeared back to back, putting Verstappen right behind Russell for a 11-lap battle to the finish. Neither driver managed to gain any ground over the other. Russell had trouble with energy deployment and worried that Verstappen might pass him on the final straight, but he kept control of the car and won by just under 0.2 seconds.

The Race Opens

As the race unfolded with few incidents in its opening stages, Russell looked set for a comfortable win. Piastri climbed from third on the grid to second by passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the start, yet the Australian fell short of the pace needed to catch Russell, who pulled away into a lead he kept comfortably throughout.

Piastri found himself holding off Hadjar behind him, who had won an early battle with McLaren’s Lando Norris before passing Leclerc to challenge the McLaren. Verstappen, meanwhile, was making his way up from eighth place after a qualifying session where a cascade of issues kept him from qualifying second to Russell.

Safety Cars Arrive

A crash by Williams’ Alex Albon at Turn Five on lap 30 brought out the first safety car, which was followed by another within minutes. Six laps after the restart, Verstappen overtook Piastri into Turn One to take second position.

Almost immediately after the start, the race went back under caution because of a crash at the first corner. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto hit his own team-mate Pierre Gasly, who then struck Norris. The two Racing Bulls were also caught up in the incident: Arvid Lindblad tipped Liam Lawson into a spin, prompting a sarcastic comment from the New Zealander over the radio.

Verstappen Closes In

Verstappen found himself back on Russell’s tail for a second restart. The British driver reacted with composure, opening his pace early and catching the Dutchman by surprise. Russell kept Verstappen within reach, but the gap stayed steady at around half a second — not enough for Verstappen to seriously consider a move into Turn One, the track’s single obvious place for an overtake.

On the final tour around the track, Verstappen had one last shot at victory. A collision at Turn 15 triggered yellow flags, and Russell’s turbo failed, which then deprived him of electrical assistance. As they crossed the line, Verstappen closed to within a few hundredths of a second of Russell, producing the closest green-flag finish seen in recent racing.

The Championship Chase

Team-mate Kimi Antonelli came back from a grid position of 16th to finish fifth, which reduced his championship lead over Russell to 66 points after Russell’s win. When asked what had changed for him since the summer break, Russell said: “I think it’s just having more experience with this new driving style I’ve adopted and every race since the break I feel like I’ve gone from strength to strength. I feel more like myself again.”

McLaren’s Woes

The first part of the race looked promising for McLaren, with Piastri appearing to be on track for a potential podium finish. But the team were left nursing disappointment after a series of setbacks unfolded. Norris was the first to suffer, locking up into Turn One and dropping from seventh place behind Gasly and Antonelli.

At the very first restart, Norris attempted to move past Gasly along the outside of Turn One, but Colapinto locked up on the inside and slid into Gasly, who then collided with Norris. The Frenchman and the world champion both retired immediately, while Colapinto managed to limp around the remaining lap before stopping in the pits, where his own race ended.

Norris told BBC Radio 5 Live the Argentine should be hit with a race ban for his driving.

Piastri’s Slide

Piastri was still in podium contention when his race started to fall apart. He fell behind Verstappen at the first restart and then at the end of the first racing lap after the second, he repeated the error Norris had made earlier: a lock-up at Turn One that sent him into the escape road.

The field remained so compact that a mistake sent him down to 14th place, which is where he ended up.

The Final Result

What Russell Said

“It’s amazing to be back on the top step of the podium,” Russell said. “I do want to say a big thanks to my team because they’ve continued to believe in me through a tough moment, helped me come through it.”

“I’m really proud to have had this weekend.”

The Malaysian Return

Next weekend, Formula 1 returns to Malaysia for the first time since 2017, with the race held from 2-4 October.

The drama of Azerbaijan will sit with Russell for some time.

Source material: “Russell wins despite late Verstappen challenge,” the BBC.

Azerbaijan GP · Formula 1 · Grand Prix · Russell · Verstappen