Race winner Max Verstappen
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Max Verstappen needed no help from fortune in Baku, but fortune delivered anyway. After victory last time in Monza, he once again sailed to victory, unchallenged, reasserting that he won’t let this championship go without a fight.
“Last weekend was already great, but for us to win here again is just fantastic,” said Verstappen. “I think also in the race, the car was working really well on both of the compounds. We had clean air all of the time and then you could look after your tyres, and it was pretty straightforward,
“It’s not easy around here. It was very windy today, so the car was always moving around a lot, but of course, I’m incredibly happy with this performance.”
George Russell joined him on the podium, claiming second place, followed by Carlos Sainz, the first for Williams since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.
“Honestly, I cannot describe how happy I am or how good this feels…It tastes even better than the first-ever podium that I did,” said Sainz.
Piastri Crashes
But if Verstappen’s race was serene, Oscar Piastri’s was anything but. Baku is notorious for chaos. And chaos it did bring. The first lap was riddled with it, the unforgiving walls of Azerbaijan claiming the championship leader after a lockup. But his troubles didn’t start there.
His weekend was messy. A crash in qualifying took him out of contention for pole position. A jump start left him flustered, forced to engage the anti-stall system, which dropped him down the order, dead last. Then came the lock-up when he tried to pass the Haas of Esteban Ocon, bringing his weekend to a premature end.
Norris Misses Out
While a possible 25 points slipped out of his grasp, this was the moment Lando Norris could’ve majorly chipped away at the Australian’s deficit. However, his race too dissolved into frustration. At the restart, the Briton was too slow to get away and Charles Leclerc managed to overtake him with ease. His frustrations later piled on when he had a slow stop and dropped behind Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. Six points were all he could earn.
Mercedes Podium
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell lined up fourth and fifth, behind Sainz. At the restart, Antonelli defended hard, forcing Russell to yield and allowing Tsunoda to slot between the two of them. Russell managed to gain the position back on track and Mercedes decided to split their approaches to maximise points. Antonelli stopped early in search of an undercut, forcing Sainz to pit while Russell went long. The Briton’s pace held and managed the overcut, exiting the pits ahead of Antonelli and Sainz. The Italian managed to put some pressure on Sainz, but the Spaniard held on.
For the rookie who has had a difficult few races, fourth is a solid result. This track is similar to Canada, with its low-downforce, long-straights and low-speed corners. Their performance in cooler conditions indicate promise in Las Vegas.
Williams Redemption
Carlos Sainz, starting from the front row, fought tooth and nail to deliver the team’s first podium since the rain-shortened Belgian Grand Prix of 2021, and his first podium in Williams colours.
It wasn’t easy. Sainz spent much of the afternoon glancing into his mirrors, first with both Mercedes in pursuit and later with Antonelli harrying him in the closing laps. The Spaniard’s defence was measured, calm, and just stubborn enough to keep the rookie at bay.
Yet the day wasn’t flawless for the Grove-based outfit. On the other side of the garage, Alex Albon tangled clumsily with Franco Colapinto at Turn 5, earning a 10-second penalty that wiped out his shot at points and dropped him to 13th.
Midfield Battles
The midfield was alive with their own battles, led by Liam Lawson, whose incredible qualifying lap had him start third and finish a hard-fought fifth. Former teammate Yuki Tsunoda right behind in sixth, fending off Norris who couldn’t find a way past despite being on fresher tyres and with the assistance of DRS.
Ferrari endured their own struggles. Lewis Hamilton managed a few overtakes, pecking the barriers in his opening stint before using a late tyre advantage to claw back to eighth, while Charles Leclerc faded badly, slipping to ninth.
Isack Hadjar completed the points in tenth, a commanding drive from the Frenchman. The Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto trailed at the very back.
Looking Ahead
The Dutchman leaves Baku with momentum at his back, slicing the deficit to 69 points. Piastri remains the leader, but his most ragged weekend of the year ended in his first DNF.
Seven races remain. The gap is still wide, but Verstappen has made it clear: he will not concede this championship without a fight.