George Russell secured victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix today, leading from start to finish at the Baku City Circuit. Max Verstappen finished second, just one-tenth of a second behind, while his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar completed the podium.
Verstappen, however, was subject to a stewards’ investigation for an incident behind the Safety Car. He was noted for failing to follow race director’s instructions, specifically for overtaking other cars on the cooldown lap while a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) procedure remained in effect.
The stewards ultimately issued a warning to Verstappen, along with Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon, rather than a penalty. They clarified that while passing after the chequered flag is not unusual, it is prohibited under yellow, Safety Car, or VSC conditions.
McLaren experienced a challenging race, with Lando Norris retiring after a multi-car incident. Franco Colapinto locked up into Turn 1, colliding with Pierre Gasly, which subsequently sent Norris into the barrier and ended his race.
Oscar Piastri, the other McLaren driver, also suffered a setback, locking up at the first corner and dropping out of the points positions, falling to 15th. This compounded a difficult weekend for the team, which had faced floorboard issues during practice sessions.
Norris had previously expressed concerns regarding McLaren’s straight-line speed deficit, particularly on his car compared to Piastri’s, following qualifying. He noted the need to push harder to compensate for this disadvantage.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Kimi Antonelli, who started 16th after a qualifying crash, recovered to finish fifth. Despite Russell’s victory, Antonelli maintains his lead in the standings with 302 points, ahead of Russell’s 236 points.
Lewis Hamilton holds third place in the championship with 199 points. Mercedes continues to lead the Constructors’ Championship, having secured 11 wins from the 15 rounds of the 2026 season.
Red Bull’s podium finishes for Verstappen and Hadjar marked a strong result for the team, though their winless streak for the 2026 season continued. The team had entered the Azerbaijan Grand Prix without a victory in 14 races, their longest such period since 2015.
Earlier in the weekend, Carlos Sainz received a five-place grid penalty for failing to sufficiently reduce speed under yellow flags during qualifying. This demoted the Williams driver from ninth to 14th on the grid.
Sainz had already been reprimanded for a similar yellow flag infringement during a practice session. Additionally, Cadillac driver Sergio Perez received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Piastri in qualifying, though he maintained his P20 start due to significant penalties for Aston Martin drivers.
Valtteri Bottas, driving for Cadillac, retired from the race after crashing at Turn 15. Lance Stroll also recorded his 11th DNF of the season, retiring after nine laps.
