Baku bossed: Verstappen crushes it as Russell outfoxes Sainz, Williams celebrates
Max Verstappen walked Baku like he owned the place. From pole to flag, through a lap-one red flag and a long first stint that had his rivals peering at the pit delta, he never looked ruffled. At the end of 51 laps around the city’s teeth-rattling walls, the Red Bull driver had win No.4 of the 2025 season in his pocket and 14.6 seconds in hand.
Behind him, George Russell turned a tense Mercedes strategy call into silver with a smart overcut, while Carlos Sainz delivered Williams a debut podium that will mean a little more than most. Williams strategy kept Red Bull’s undercut threat in mind and still ended up losing the head-to-head with Russell, but Sainz defended the final stint with a familiar composure for P3.
The day’s fuse was lit by Oscar Piastri. The championship leader, already starting P9 after a qualifying shunt, jumped the lights, tripped anti-stall, tumbled to the back and then locked up straight into the Turn 5 barrier. Red flag on lap one, title charge parked in the TecPro. It was a brutal zero for the McLaren man. Lando Norris salvaged seven place and six points to trim the deficit in the standings to 25.
Even before the lights, there was a scare for Isack Hadjar. The Racing Bulls rookie reported an unhappy engine on the laps to grid, his crew sprinting through a hydraulic fix to make the start. He’d earn the final point in P10 — small reward, big composure.
When the restart came on lap five, Verstappen snapped the elastic at once, dropping Sainz and rifling away. Liam Lawson settled into third for Racing Bulls, shadowed by both Mercedes. Russell made early weather behind Yuki Tsunoda, finally clearing the Red Bull into Turn 3 once the DRS window stayed open long enough to matter.
The middle phase was classic Baku: DRS trains, tight margins, and just enough jeopardy to keep pit walls second‑guessing themselves. Mercedes managed their duo neatly by bringing Kimi Antonelli in first to release Russell. The rookie didn’t waste the fresh rubber either, slicing through to an excellent fourth that equals his best yet.
Further back, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto tangled at Turn 5 in a spicy pit-exit skirmish, Colapinto spinning and Albon copping a 10-second penalty. Esteban Ocon and Nico HĂĽlkenberg had already thumped wheels on lap one. And Fernando Alonso, who had also jumped the start amid the Piastri chaos, dragged a five-second penalty to a muted Aston Martin afternoon.
Up front, Verstappen extended, and extended some more — nine seconds at halfway turned into a whopping 32 before his mandatory stop. By the time he finally boxed, there was nothing left for the field to cling to; he rejoined still 12 seconds clear and rolled it to the flag.
The secondary fight was all about P2. Sainz wanted to protect against Russell’s undercut and blinked first, but Mercedes went long and made the overcut stick. Russell emerged ahead after his stop and kept it clean from there, covering the Williams without drama.
The feistiest action brewed in the lower half of the top ten. After pit stops cycled, Lawson found himself leading a condensed queue with Tsunoda, Norris and then Lewis Hamilton closing. The Racing Bulls driver never flinched, defending the apexes and keeping the exits neat to bank P5 on merit — a quality drive on a day that punished the slightest mistake. Tsunoda followed him home in sixth.
Norris had a slow stop — a front-right delay that bled time — and had to re-pass Charles Leclerc for seventh as Ferrari’s race pace fizzled. Hamilton, now in red, took eighth behind Norris after spending too long bottled earlier in the day. Leclerc took ninth, ahead of the persevering Hadjar in tenth.
So the ledger reads: Verstappen dominant, Russell resourceful, Sainz grinning in blue. Antonelli’s P4 was again tidy and fast, exactly what Mercedes needs from its new kid. And in the title picture, Piastri’s error hands Norris a sliver of daylight — not a twist, but at least a nudge.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix — top 10
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. George Russell, Mercedes
3. Carlos Sainz, Williams
4. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
5. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
6. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
7. Lando Norris, McLaren
8. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
9. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
10. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
DNF: Oscar Piastri (lap 1, crash)
Notes worth noting:
– Alonso’s jump-start penalty came after he reacted to Piastri’s movement on the lights.
– Albon’s 10s penalty stemmed from contact with Colapinto at Turn 5.
– Mercedes eased any in-car politics by pitting Antonelli early to release Russell into clear air.
– Verstappen was told his pace was “brilliant” mid-race. The stopwatch agreed.
Baku rarely forgives. On a day when the walls took Piastri’s points and Russell stole a march, Verstappen never offered the circuit a thing. That’s usually the difference between winning here and merely surviving. Today, he did both.
