Russell holds off Verstappen by a tenth to win chaotic Baku race
George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on 26 September, holding off Max Verstappen by one-tenth of a second after a crash-filled afternoon.
Russell led into turn one from pole position, first place on the starting grid, and controlled the race from the front. Verstappen chased him hard to the chequered flag after starting eighth, per official timing. The Guardian
The gap was nothing. A tenth. Verstappen had carved through the field early, taking Lewis Hamilton for sixth on lap two and then Lando Norris for fifth on the next lap. Formula 1
Isack Hadjar finished third, ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth. Kimi Antonelli came home fifth after starting 16th, with Hamilton sixth. Antonelli arrived in Baku as championship leader, 81 points clear of Russell. After this result Russell trails his Mercedes team-mate by 66 points with eight rounds remaining.
Russell had to earn it twice. He built an 11-second lead before it was wiped out by a safety car on lap 31, the pace car that slows the field and bunches the pack back together. The stoppage followed Alex Albon crashing nose-first into the wall at turn five. Officials reported Albon was unhurt. Russell then managed two safety-car restarts to keep the lead.
There was more chaos behind. Norris retired after being hit following a clash between the two Alpine cars on a restart. Oscar Piastri ran in the podium places for much of the race but finished out of the points after a late lock-up, when he slid his front tyres into a corner.
The weekend had pointed Russell’s way from the start. He topped both Thursday practice sessions in Baku and then beat Leclerc to pole with a lap of 1:42.526. It was his fifth pole of the season and the 12th of his career. Reuters Verstappen had topped final practice, while Antonelli lost track time to a hydraulic issue and then crashed out in the first part of qualifying. FIA
What makes this stand out is the control under pressure. This was Russell’s first win in Baku and his third victory of the year. He lost a big lead through no fault of his own and still judged both restarts to perfection.
