Russell holds off Verstappen by 0.196 seconds in a drag race to the line in Baku
Verstappen charges from eighth, Hadjar completes a Red Bull double podium and Antonelli recovers from 17th to fifth
George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by 0.196 seconds. A crash for Valtteri Bottas at the final corner on the last lap turned the run to the flag into a drag race, and Max Verstappen, who started eighth, came up just short in the slipstream. Isack Hadjar finished third, so Red Bull had two cars on the podium.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli recovered from 17th to fifth. Two safety cars shaped the result, and six drivers did not reach the flag after crashes and technical problems, although Valtteri Bottas, who crashed on the final lap, is still classified 16th.
Nobody stopped for thirty laps
Russell led from pole on medium tyres, and Oscar Piastri took second from Charles Leclerc at the start. Verstappen, also on mediums, passed Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Leclerc and finally his team-mate Hadjar in the opening laps, and was third by lap 7, as our report on the opening laps described.
Then the race settled. Pirelli had expected the soft-tyre runners to stop between laps 16 and 22, but the soft wore less than expected, and not a single car pitted in the first thirty laps. Piastri kept Verstappen behind him for lap after lap, while Russell pulled away in clean air and set the fastest lap on lap 30, a 1:46.9. By then his lead over Piastri had grown past seven seconds.
Two safety cars wiped out Russell’s lead
On lap 30 Alexander Albon crashed at Turn 6 and the safety car came out. The leaders had just passed the pit entry, so Antonelli and Pierre Gasly got the first cheap stops. Russell, Piastri and both Red Bulls came in a lap later, Red Bull stacking its two cars, and the top of the order stayed the same. Russell and Verstappen went onto softs, Piastri onto mediums.
At the restart Verstappen went past Piastri for second, and behind them Franco Colapinto hit his Alpine team-mate Gasly, who was pushed into Norris. Norris and Gasly were out on the spot, Colapinto later retired with damage, and the safety car came out again on lap 35. Lance Stroll, with a technical problem, and Fernando Alonso, with a water pressure problem, had already retired, so Aston Martin lost both cars.
A drag race decided by two tenths
Russell braked early before the second restart and kept Verstappen just far enough behind to stay out of the slipstream. For the last ten laps the gap into Turn 1 hovered around half a second, never quite close enough for a pass, and Verstappen brushed the wall at Turn 16 while trying. He set the fastest lap of the race on lap 49.
On the final lap Bottas crashed at Turn 15, and the double yellow flags turned the last corner into a question of who got the better exit. Russell said he had no boost out of Turn 15, and Verstappen crossed the line 0.196 seconds behind. Questions were raised about whether Verstappen slowed enough for the yellow flags, but there is no penalty, so the result stands.
Behind them, Hadjar took third after dropping to fifth at the start, and Piastri’s race fell apart late on: defending from Hadjar, he locked up, dropped out of the top ten and finished 14th. Leclerc finished fourth, ahead of Antonelli, Hamilton, Arvid Lindblad, Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz.
Antonelli still leads, but by less
Antonelli arrived in Baku 81 points clear of Russell. He lost a place at the start, worked his way from 17th to ninth on his own pace, and then gained from the timing of the first safety car and the crash at the restart. He passed Hamilton for fifth with eight laps to go. On our arithmetic, the gap to Russell is now 66 points, pending the official standings.
Our verdict: Russell won it twice
We think Russell deserved this win more than the margin suggests. He built a seven-second lead the hard way, lost it through no fault of his own, and then held off the fastest car in the closing laps with a perfect restart and clean exits. Verstappen’s drive from eighth was the best of the day, but on a track where the slipstream decides so much, Russell never gave him the half-second he needed. That is our reading of the race.
Is the title fight back on, or is Antonelli’s 66-point lead still safe? Tell us in the comments.
Full result
The complete classification is on our Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026 results page. Our qualifying report covers how Russell took pole and Antonelli ended up 16th.
