Russell Wins in Baku as Red Bull Takes Double Podium and Antonelli Charges From 16th to Fifth

George Russell converted pole position into victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, controlling a disrupted race in Baku as Max Verstappen recovered from eighth to finish second. Isack Hadjar completed a double podium for Red Bull, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli climbed from 16th to fifth.

By Open Chronicle Formula One Magazine

George Russell completed an impressive Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend with victory on the streets of Baku, converting his commanding pole position into a controlled win over 51 laps.

The Mercedes driver resisted the strategic uncertainty created by a late Safety Car and remained in command through the final phase of the race, securing another important victory in his pursuit of teammate Kimi Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship.

Max Verstappen produced one of the strongest recovery drives of the afternoon. Starting eighth after yellow flags disrupted his final qualifying attempt, the Red Bull driver moved rapidly through the leading group and eventually finished second.

His teammate Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third, giving Red Bull two cars inside the top three.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, while Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to take fifth, limiting the championship damage on a weekend that had appeared increasingly difficult after his qualifying accident.

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in the second Ferrari.

Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto crossed the line outside the points and was later given a ten second penalty for overtaking Sergio Pérez during the Safety Car period. The penalty dropped the Audi driver to 15th in the final classification.

Russell controls the start

Russell entered the race as the clear reference after producing a 1:42.526 in qualifying, 0.837 seconds faster than Leclerc.

The strategic picture was divided before the start.

Russell, Norris, Gasly, Verstappen, Colapinto, Sainz, Lindblad, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Hülkenberg, Bottas and Pérez selected the medium compound.

Leclerc, Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton, Bearman, Lawson, Albon, Ocon, Alonso and Stroll started on soft tyres.

When the lights went out, Russell made the clean start he needed and retained the lead.

Leclerc was less successful. Piastri immediately moved past the Ferrari to take second, putting McLaren directly behind the Mercedes.

Norris initially passed Hadjar, but the Red Bull driver quickly recovered.

Russell used the fighting behind him to establish an early advantage, opening a gap of approximately 1.5 seconds over Piastri by lap two.

Verstappen begins his recovery

Verstappen wasted little time after starting eighth.

He first passed Hamilton to take sixth and then moved ahead of Norris on the following lap.

Hadjar was making progress of his own.

After losing a position at the start, he repassed Norris on lap three before making an impressive move around the outside of Leclerc on lap four.

Verstappen then passed Leclerc on lap five.

Two laps later, the Dutchman overtook Hadjar and climbed into third, placing both Red Bulls immediately behind Piastri.

The shape of the race had changed rapidly.

Russell remained in control, but Verstappen had transformed an eighth place start into a podium position within the opening seven laps.

Red Bull closes on Piastri

Piastri soon reported that his rear tyres were beginning to deteriorate.

That brought Verstappen and Hadjar closer to the McLaren, particularly along Baku’s long straight, where the Red Bulls could use the slipstream to reduce the gap.

Passing remained difficult, however, and the situation created an intriguing internal dynamic at Red Bull.

Verstappen began reporting difficulties with his medium tyres while Hadjar, running the soft compound, closed on his teammate.

Hadjar eventually asked whether the positions could be reversed so that he could attack Piastri.

No immediate switch followed.

Instead, the two Red Bulls continued running together behind the McLaren while Russell maintained control at the front.

Antonelli begins climbing through the field

Antonelli faced a very different race.

His qualifying accident at Turn 1 had left him 16th on the provisional grid, forcing the championship leader into a recovery drive.

He passed Carlos Sainz on lap five, Esteban Ocon on lap ten and Alexander Albon on lap 12.

One lap later, Antonelli overtook Liam Lawson to move into 11th.

By lap 17, he had passed Oliver Bearman and entered the points.

The Mercedes driver continued advancing, overtaking Franco Colapinto on lap 23 to reach ninth.

What had started as a damage limitation exercise was gradually developing into a substantial recovery.

Hamilton moves forward as Norris struggles

Hamilton was also progressing.

The Ferrari driver spent several laps applying pressure to Norris before taking advantage of an error from the McLaren driver on lap 17.

The move promoted Hamilton to sixth.

Norris, meanwhile, was unable to turn his fifth place starting position into the race McLaren had hoped for. His afternoon would ultimately end in retirement.

For McLaren, a race that had started with Piastri second and Norris fifth was beginning to unravel.

Bortoleto fights through the midfield

Bortoleto started 17th after being eliminated in Q1 and immediately faced a difficult opening phase.

Antonelli passed him on the first lap, while teammate Hülkenberg made a stronger start and climbed three positions to 15th.

Bortoleto then spent several laps behind Sainz.

He eventually completed the pass on lap 18, moving into 17th, before overtaking Hülkenberg on lap 27 to take 16th.

The Brazilian had recovered some of the ground lost at the start, but the approaching Safety Car would alter Audi’s strategic picture.

Albon crash changes the race

The decisive neutralisation arrived on lap 31.

Albon went straight on and hit the barrier head on, bringing out the Safety Car. The Williams driver emerged from the accident, but the car had to be recovered and the circuit cleared.

The timing created an immediate strategic opportunity.

Drivers further down the order were able to enter the pits shortly after the Safety Car was deployed.

Russell, Piastri, Verstappen, Hadjar, Leclerc and Hamilton had already passed the pit entry and therefore had to wait until the following lap.

Despite the difference in timing, the sequence of stops did not immediately transform the leading positions.

Verstappen switched to soft tyres for the final part of the race, reversing the compound sequence with which he had started.

Hülkenberg initially stayed out before stopping on lap 33. He returned to the circuit ahead of Bortoleto, reversing the order between the Audi drivers.

The race prepared to restart on lap 35.

Russell remains in control

The Safety Car compressed the field and removed the advantage Russell had accumulated, but it did not remove his control of the race.

When racing resumed, the Mercedes driver managed the restart and kept Verstappen behind.

The Dutchman had already produced an impressive recovery from eighth, but Russell gave him no opportunity to challenge for the lead during the closing phase.

Behind them, Hadjar maintained third to complete an excellent afternoon for Red Bull.

Leclerc secured fourth for Ferrari.

Antonelli’s recovery continued all the way to fifth, meaning the championship leader gained 11 positions from his starting place.

Hamilton completed the top six.

Antonelli limits the championship damage

For Mercedes, Baku produced two very different races and an important championship outcome.

Russell had started from pole and delivered the victory.

Antonelli had started 16th after his qualifying accident and recovered to fifth.

The result therefore allowed Russell to reduce Antonelli’s advantage in the Drivers’ Championship, but the Italian’s recovery prevented a far larger points swing.

That may prove significant as the championship moves into its final stages.

Russell had the cleaner weekend and converted it into the maximum possible race result. Antonelli responded to adversity by recovering deep into the points.

The championship battle between the Mercedes drivers remains very much alive.

Red Bull transforms qualifying frustration into a double podium

Red Bull’s race was particularly notable given Verstappen’s starting position.

He had shown enough pace to lead FP3, but his final qualifying attempt was affected by yellow flags, leaving him eighth on the grid.

By lap seven of the race, he was already third.

Second place represented a substantial recovery, while Hadjar’s third place completed a double podium for the team.

Hadjar’s performance was particularly strong. He started fourth, raced aggressively during the opening phase and remained part of the leading battle throughout the afternoon.

Red Bull left Baku without the victory, but with both cars on the podium.

McLaren’s promising afternoon collapses

McLaren experienced the opposite trajectory.

Piastri started third and moved into second at the first corner. Norris started fifth.

For a period, Piastri appeared to be Russell’s closest challenger.

But rear tyre difficulties brought the Red Bulls into contention, and McLaren gradually lost control of its strong starting position.

Norris retired, while Piastri eventually fell to 13th in the final classification.

From having both cars positioned near the front of the grid, McLaren left Baku without points.

Ferrari converts both cars into the top six

Ferrari could not challenge Russell for victory despite Leclerc starting alongside him on the front row.

Leclerc’s poor launch immediately cost him second place to Piastri, and he subsequently lost positions to Hadjar and Verstappen.

Nevertheless, fourth place gave Ferrari a strong points finish.

Hamilton recovered from sixth on the grid to finish sixth after spending part of the race battling Norris.

It was a solid result for Ferrari, although the team could not reproduce the level of threat suggested by its front row starting position.

Bortoleto penalised after the race

Bortoleto initially finished outside the points after a difficult race from 17th.

His afternoon included progress through the midfield and an on track pass of Hülkenberg, but the Safety Car pit sequence returned the German driver to the stronger position.

Hülkenberg eventually finished 11th, narrowly missing the points.

Several hours after the chequered flag, Bortoleto received a ten second penalty for overtaking Pérez during the Safety Car period.

The penalty dropped the Brazilian to 15th in the final classification.

Audi therefore left Azerbaijan without points despite both drivers making progress from their low starting positions.

Russell delivers when it matters

Baku ultimately belonged to Russell.

Mercedes had demonstrated competitive pace throughout the weekend, but the British driver still had to convert that advantage when it mattered.

He produced the decisive qualifying lap on Friday and controlled the Grand Prix on Saturday.

Even the Safety Car, which erased his established advantage and created another strategic phase, could not dislodge him from the lead.

Behind him, Verstappen demonstrated the recovery potential of the Red Bull, Hadjar delivered another impressive result, and Antonelli turned a potentially damaging championship weekend into an important fifth place.

Baku did not simply produce another Russell victory.

It tightened the championship battle.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026: Final Classification

Note: Bortoleto received a ten second post race penalty for overtaking Pérez during the Safety Car period.