Baku once again delivered theatre with a weekend of racing as entertaining as it was unpredictable.
Qualifying descended into a mess of red flags and disrupted laps, leaving the grid jumbled and strategy wide open.
By Sunday, survival was as important as outright pace. Max Verstappen rose above the mayhem, claiming victory and reinforcing his legend. Can he do the impossible and win the title this year?
Behind him, George Russell, despite feeling unwell throughout the weekend, fought his way to second in a display of resilience. However, there was a bigger story further back as Carlos Sainz secured a first podium of the season for Williams. It was a reminder of his class and a huge moment for the team in blue.
As for McLaren, they were nowhere to be found despite recent highs as the city circuit once again reminded the paddock that nothing in Baku comes easy.
Can Verstappen challenge for the title?
Verstappen delivered a masterclass in control at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and it started with a decision that went against his own team. In a qualifying session littered with red flags and stoppages, Verstappen pushed to use soft tyres rather than the mediums Red Bull had planned. It proved decisive, handing him pole on a circuit where track position is everything.
On Sunday, he proved untouchable. Verstappen led all 51 laps, set the fastest lap and secured his sixth career Grand Slam, drawing level with Lewis Hamilton and moving only two behind Jim Clark’s all-time record of eight.
He crossed the line with a winning margin of 14.609 seconds over Russell, taking his second victory in Baku, his fourth of the season and the 67th of his F1 career. “This weekend has been incredible for us,” Verstappen said afterwards. “The car was working beautifully.”
Much of his and Red Bull’s resurgence is down to the team’s upgrades. A new floor, introduced in Monza, has restored balance and efficiency, giving Verstappen the desired control he had been missing for much of the year. The change in culture has been equally important. With new team principal Laurent Mekies bringing an engineering background to his leadership, Verstappen feels his input is shaping the car more than ever. The Dutchman described the last two weekends as “amazing” pointing to a car that finally responds to his demands.
Whether it will be enough to change the championship picture remains to be seen. Verstappen is still 69 points adrift of Oscar Piastri with seven races left. “It’s a lot,” he admitted. “I would need to be perfect on my side and have a lot of luck too.”
Baku proved he is always capable of brilliance and perhaps even a miracle come the end of the season.
Sainz delivers podium finish for Williams
“Honestly, I cannot describe how happy I am or how good this feels,” said a beaming Sainz in Baku after claiming his first podium for Williams, a third-place finish that ended his barren run of six races without points and delivered the team’s first podium since Russell at Spa in 2021 and their first under team principal James Vowles.
For a driver who had struggled, managing only 16 points across the entire season, the turnaround was everything he had been hoping for. Sainz produced one of his most accomplished displays in qualifying, piecing together a lap of real precision that briefly placed him on provisional pole before Verstappen’s late effort denied him.
On Sunday, he kept his composure. Opting for mediums in the opening stint, Sainz held his place at the front and made his sole stop on lap 28 to switch to hards. The strategy kept him in the mix, but Russell, running an alternate plan, jumped ahead for second. Sainz then fended off Kimi Antonelli to secure third and with it 15 points, almost doubling his season tally in a single afternoon.
“We’ve been fighting hard all year,” he said after the race. “Finally today we proved that when everything comes together, we can do amazing things."
McLaren suffer a rare poor weekend
McLaren’s Azerbaijan weekend began in chaotic fashion. Saturday’s sessions broke the record for the most red flags ever seen in a Formula 1 qualifying, and both drivers were troubled by the conditions.
“I just carried too much speed into the apex at Turn 3,” said Piastri afterwards. “It was my mistake, and I paid for it.” It was the Australian’s worst qualifying performance of the season.
Lando Norris fared little better. Unable to put together a clean lap, he could not manage anything better than seventh. “It was a messy session,” he reflected. “The interruptions made it impossible to find a rhythm.”
Sunday brought no respite. Piastri, over-eager off the line, locked up and hit the barriers at Turn 5 on the first lap, ending his race and the run of consistent finishes. For a driver praised for equanimity, it was surprising to see. “I was too keen at the start and paid the price,” he conceded, visibly frustrated.
With Piastri out, Norris was tasked with carrying the team’s hopes. He made a solid start to the race, holding position, but his race quickly became one of managing circumstances rather than attacking.
A slow pit stop blunted his strategy, and even when given clear air he lacked the pace to challenge the front-runners. He crossed in seventh. As McLaren’s rivals level up, will we witness more difficult weekends ahead?
Russell continues to provide consistency
Russell produced one of the grittiest drives of his career in Baku, fighting through illness to take second place and deliver Mercedes’ first podium since Hungary. It was also his seventh podium finish of the season.
The British driver had missed Thursday’s media day and was excused from most duties on Friday and Saturday as he struggled with sickness. Even on race morning, it was uncertain whether he would be fit enough to compete. “I was pretty glad when I saw the chequered flag,” Russell admitted. “Fortunately, I felt much better today than I did on Friday and Saturday, so I’m looking forward to a bit of rest now.”
Starting fifth on the grid, Russell dispatched Liam Lawson early before Mercedes extended his first stint. The strategy paid off: he emerged from the pit lane ahead of Sainz and Antonelli, sealing second place behind Verstappen. “It was a really strong race, mainly just staying out of trouble,” he reflected. “I don’t think we did anything spectacular; it’s just a lot of people made mistakes this weekend."
