Russell held off Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan GP, cutting Antonelli’s lead to Antonelli
George Russell held off a late charge from Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, securing his third win of the Formula One season and erasing his lead over Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the top of the championship standings.
Russell turned pole position into a lights-to-flags victory, but what looked like a leisurely afternoon turned into a tense battle after two safety car stages. Verstappen, who started from eighth, finished just 0.196 seconds behind the Mercedes driver after putting pressure on him in the closing laps.
Isack Hadjar completed the podium for Red Bull in third, marking an impressive return after missing the previous three races with a wrist injury.
RUSSELL RESISTS VERSTAPPEN
Russell was in complete control in the opening stages and quickly built up a sizeable advantage over McLaren’s Oscar Piatri, Verstappen and Hadjar.
The complexion of the race changed on lap 31 of 51 when Williams driver Alex Albon crashed, bringing out the safety car and erasing Russell’s 11-second lead.
Verstappen immediately moved into second as the race resumed, passing Piastri at the first corner, but Russell held onto the lead.
Another safety car followed almost immediately after Franco Colapinto locked up and collided with Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Gasly’s car then collected reigning world champion Lando Norris, forcing both drivers to retire.
Norris was enraged by the incident and called for Colapinto to be banned. Colapinto received a 10-second penalty, which will instead become a five-place grid penalty at the next race in Malaysia, for failing to finish.
On the second restart, Verstappen was right behind Russell and stayed within striking distance until the checkered flag.
“We had a good race, a tough first stint on medium tires but we had a good restart,” Verstappen said. “Then in the last lap George lost power and I got closer but it wasn’t enough.
However, Russell held his nerve to secure his eighth career victory and first since June’s Austrian Grand Prix.
“It’s amazing to be back on the top step,” Russell said.
“I’ve gone from strength to strength every race since the (summer) break and I’m feeling more myself again.”
ANTONELLI RECOVERS, HADJAR RETURNS
Russell’s victory also had championship implications. Antonelli, who leads the standings, finished fifth after starting 16th after a rare crash in Friday’s qualifying. Russell closed the gap from 81 points to 66 after 15 races.
Antonelli had previously produced a remarkable recovery drive from 19th to 1st at Monza, but was unable to repeat the feat in Azerbaijan.
Hadjar took advantage of Piastri’s late mistakes to claim third place. Piastri, who started third, locked up and ran into the breakaway, eventually finishing 14th in a tough race for McLaren.
“It’s been a very long six weeks since I got injured,” Hadjar said. “It was the right time to come back, I felt strong, I took it step by step to gain confidence.”
The result marked another podium finish for the 21-year-old, who also finished on the podium in Monaco.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, while Lewis Hamilton took sixth. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad was seventh after contact with teammate Liam Lawson sent the New Zealander into a spin.
Esteban Ocon finished eighth, ahead of Haas team-mate Oliver Bearman, giving the team double the points. The top 10 was completed by Carlos Sainz from Williams.
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