Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Verstappen - Russell - Sainz
Cloudy. Dry. Air +21…+20°C, track +26…+25°C
There were enough incidents during qualifying in Baku to fill several rounds. Such sessions are often likened to a lottery, but not this time — it was an incredible two-hour battle with gusty wind, episodic rain and crashes that produced an unusual order on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix starting grid.
Qualifying lasted longer than any race held this year and was red-flagged a record six times. There were many minor and major incidents: championship leader Oscar Piastri and four-time Baku pole-sitter Charles Leclerc crashed, Esteban Ocon was disqualified for his team breaching the technical regulations but was allowed to start, and Max Verstappen took pole for the sixth time this season.
The front row was unexpectedly split by Carlos Sainz, who secured Williams’ best result since Belgium 2021. The second row was Lawson and Antonelli, the third row Russell and Tsunoda. The drivers who dominated practice — McLaren and Ferrari — started further back and hoped to recover.
Heavy rain fell overnight in Baku, washing away the rubber layer; there was a light shower before the Formula 2 race in the morning, but by daytime the asphalt was dry.
Pirelli brought the softest compounds C4, C5 and C6 as Hard, Medium and Soft. Teams tried to avoid the temperamental C6 and ran most of qualifying on the more familiar C5. In the race Verstappen, Russell, Tsunoda, Hamilton, Bortoleto, Berman, Hülkenberg, Gasly and Ocon started on Hard; the rest chose Medium.
On the out-lap from the pits Hajar complained of a loss of power from the power unit; a hydraulic problem arose which the mechanics quickly fixed on the grid.
At the start Verstappen kept the lead. Hajar overtook Norris. Piastri, and then Alonso, made false starts. Oscar pressed the brakes; the anti-stall system prevented him from accelerating again and he rolled backwards. Hülkenberg and Ocon touched but continued.
At Turn 6 Piastri locked a tyre and crashed into the barrier. The safety car was deployed.
Top ten on lap 2: Verstappen - Sainz - Lawson - Antonelli - Russell - Tsunoda - Hajar - Norris - Leclerc - Hamilton.
Ocon and Albon changed tyres — Esteban pitted twice.
The car was recovered. The barrier was repaired. On lap 5 the race was restarted. Verstappen kept the lead. Russell, fighting Antonelli, allowed Tsunoda through. Leclerc passed Norris and Hajar.
Piastri and Alonso were given five-second penalties for false starts.
On lap 8 Hamilton passed Hajar for ninth.
On lap 9 Bortoleto passed Alonso for 11th.
On lap 10 Russell passed Tsunoda for fifth.
Top ten on lap 10: Verstappen - Sainz - Lawson - Antonelli - Russell - Tsunoda - Leclerc - Norris - Hamilton - Hajar.
On lap 13 Berman passed Gasly for 16th.
On lap 15 Albon passed Gasly for 18th.
On lap 16 Albon changed tyres.
Russell asked the team to swap positions with Antonelli to try to overtake Lawson.
On lap 17 Colapinto made a pit stop; after rejoining the track he was hit by Albon, for which Albon received a 10-second penalty.
On lap 19 Antonelli changed tyres, on lap 20 Leclerc, on lap 21 Lawson. Liam rejoined the track just ahead of Antonelli and on lap 22 went ahead.
On lap 22 Alonso served his penalty and changed tyres.
On lap 26 Antonelli passed Bortoleto for eighth.
On lap 27 Bortoleto pitted, on lap 28 Sainz, on lap 29 Berman, on lap 30 Hajar.
On lap 34 Bortoleto passed Ocon for 13th. Hamilton clipped the wall at Turn 15 with no consequences.
On lap 35 Albon passed Ocon for 14th.
On lap 36 Gasly changed tyres, on lap 37 Hamilton and Hülkenberg, on lap 38 Norris — there was a small delay with the front-right tyre — and Stroll.
On lap 39 Tsunoda pitted, rejoining ahead of Lawson, but Liam passed him.
On lap 40 Russell changed tyres, on lap 41 Verstappen.
On lap 41 Norris passed Leclerc for seventh.
At the team’s request Ocon let Berman through.
Top ten on lap 42: Verstappen - Russell - Sainz - Antonelli - Lawson - Tsunoda - Norris - Leclerc - Hamilton.
On lap 43 Leclerc let Hamilton through — Lewis had fresher tyres so he could challenge Norris.
Lawson pulled a train of cars in the DRS slipstream — Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton — but nobody attempted an attack.
On lap 48 Albon passed Bortoleto for 11th.
Towards the finish Hamilton eased off to give the position back to Leclerc, but Leclerc was already too far behind.
Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, taking his fourth victory of the season and the 67th of his career. Having won qualifying, led from start to finish, set the fastest lap and won the race, Verstappen achieved the sixth Grand Slam of his career.
George Russell finished second. Carlos Sainz rose to third on the podium — the first podium for Williams since Belgium 2021. The team greeted him with an ovation!
In two weeks the battle resumes in Singapore, where the fate of the Constructors’ Championship will very likely be decided.
Race results
Driver
Team
Time
Speed
Pit
1. M. Verstappen
Red Bull
1:33:26.408
196.520
1
2. G. Russell
Mercedes
+14.609
196.010
1
3. C. Sainz
Williams
+19.199
195.850
1
4. C. Antonelli
Mercedes
+21.760
195.761
1
5. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
+33.290
195.360
1
6. Y. Tsunoda
Red Bull
+33.808
195.342
1
7. L. Norris
McLaren
+34.227
195.328
1
8. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
+36.310
195.256
1
9. C. Leclerc
Ferrari
+36.774
195.240
1
10. A. Hajar
Racing Bulls
+38.982
195.163
1
11. G. Bortoleto
Sauber
+67.606
194.179
1
12. O. Berman
Haas
+68.262
194.156
1
13. A. Albon*
Williams
+72.870
193.999
2
14. E. Ocon
Haas
+77.580
193.838
2
15. F. Alonso
Aston Martin
+78.707
193.800
1
16. N. Hülkenberg
Sauber
+80.237
193.748
1
17. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
+96.392
193.199
1
18. P. Gasly
Alpine
+1 lap
192.533
1
19. F. Colapinto
Alpine
+1 lap
192.449
1
* Alex Albon was penalised with a 10-second time addition for colliding with Franco Colapinto
Fastest lap: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:43.388 (lap 50, 209.026 km/h).
Reasons for retirements
Driver
Team
Laps
Reason
O. Piastri**
McLaren
0
crash
** Oscar Piastri was penalised with a 5-second time addition for a false start
Championship standings: Drivers
Driver
Country
Team
Points
=
1. O. Piastri
McLaren F1 Team
324
=
2. L. Norris
McLaren F1 Team
299
=
3. M. Verstappen
Oracle Red Bull Racing
255
=
4. G. Russell
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
212
=
5. C. Leclerc
Scuderia Ferrari HP
165
=
6. L. Hamilton
Scuderia Ferrari HP
121
7. C. Antonelli
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
78
8. A. Albon
Atlassian Williams Racing
70
=
9. A. Hajar
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team
39
=
10. N. Hülkenberg
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
37
=
11. L. Stroll
Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
32
12. C. Sainz
Atlassian Williams Racing
31
13. L. Lawson
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team
30
14. F. Alonso
Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
30
15. E. Ocon
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
28
16. P. Gasly
BWT Alpine F1 Team
20
17. Y. Tsunoda
Oracle Red Bull Racing
20
18. G. Bortoleto
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
18
19. O. Berman
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
16
Constructors’ Championship
Team
Engine
Points
=
1. McLaren F1 Team
Mercedes
623
2. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
Mercedes
290
3. Scuderia Ferrari HP
Ferrari
286
=
4. Oracle Red Bull Racing
Honda RBPT
272
=
5. Atlassian Williams Racing
Mercedes
101
6. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team
Honda RBPT
72
7. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team
Mercedes
62
=
8. Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
Ferrari
55
=
9. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Ferrari
44
=
10. BWT Alpine F1 Team
Renault
20
Other articles
Photo gallery: 21/09. Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday
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