George Russell secured his third victory of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off Max Verstappen by 0.196 seconds. This marks Russell’s eighth career win.
Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third place for Red Bull. Charles Leclerc finished fourth, with Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli recovering to fifth position.
Antonelli started the race from 16th on the grid after hitting the wall at Turn 1 during the opening segment of qualifying. His recovery drive limited the damage to his championship lead.
Russell’s dominant performance began with pole position, secured by a margin of 0.837 seconds over Leclerc. He controlled the initial stages of the race and navigated two safety car periods.
The first safety car was deployed on lap 29 after Alex Albon crashed his Williams car. Albon, who is contracted to Williams until at least the end of the 2027 season, was driving a car that featured significant upgrades in Baku, including a chassis lightened by approximately 7kg.
A second safety car period followed when Alpine driver Franco Colapinto locked up at Turn 1, making contact with his teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris, forcing all three to retire. Colapinto is in his second year with Alpine for the 2026 season.
Max Verstappen, starting from eighth on the grid, advanced to second place and pressured Russell in the concluding laps. Red Bull had introduced five updates to their RB22 for Baku, including a new floor and revised sidepods, which team principal Laurent Mekies indicated would likely be their last significant upgrade of the 2026 season as development resources shift to the 2027 car.
A late yellow flag, caused by a crash involving Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas, allowed Verstappen to close the gap further. Bottas is part of the new Cadillac team, which debuted in Formula 1 for the 2026 season, utilizing Ferrari power units.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth for Ferrari, while Arvid Lindblad took seventh for Racing Bulls. Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman secured eighth and ninth respectively, with Carlos Sainz completing the top ten for Williams. Oscar Piastri dropped to 14th after a late lock-up, and both Aston Martins retired due to technical issues. Gabriel Bortoleto received a 10-second post-race penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, dropping his Audi from 13th to 15th.
Russell commented on his victory, stating, ‘It is amazing to be back on the top step of the podium. I want to thank my team for continuing to believe in me through the tough moments.’ He also noted the late challenge from Verstappen, explaining, ‘Then there was a yellow flag, I lifted off the power and when I got back on the throttle I had no turbo, Max nearly got me at the line.’
Antonelli’s championship lead over Russell now stands at 66 points, reduced from 81 points before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Antonelli holds 302 points to Russell’s 236. This race, held at the Baku City Circuit, was Round 15 of the 23-race 2026 season, with 208 points still available across the remaining eight rounds. The next event on the calendar is the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, scheduled for October 2-4.
