RACE REPORT | F1 Azerbaijan 2025

Max Verstappen dominated the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, taking victory ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz, while Oscar Piastri endured a disastrous Sunday, crashing out on the opening lap.

The drama began even before lights out. On the grid, Isack Hadjar reported a hydraulic issue, telling his engineer, “the engine is not really liking it.” Fortunately, the Racing Bulls crew solved the problem in time, allowing him to line up from eighth.

On the top, Verstappen started from pole with Sainz alongside and Liam Lawson in third. When the race got underway, Verstappen launched perfectly to keep his lead over the Spaniard.

For Piastri, things unraveled immediately. After crashing in qualifying and starting ninth, he jumped the start, his car hit anti-stall, and he dropped to the back. Just moments later, he locked up at Turn 5 and slammed into the barriers, ending his race on the spot and triggering a safety car.

Once the green flag returned on lap 5, Verstappen quickly built a gap, pulling more than a second clear of Sainz. Lawson held onto third with Antonelli and Tsunoda right behind. Fernando Alonso received a five-second penalty for a false start, explaining he had reacted to Piastri’s early movement.

Further down the order, Leclerc, Norris, and Hamilton overtook Hadjar, who struggled for pace in the opening stages. Russell then made use of DRS to get past Tsunoda and slot into fifth, while the Japanese driver had to defend against a train of cars stacked up behind him.

By lap 15, Verstappen’s lead had grown to four seconds over Sainz, who in turn had three seconds on Lawson, while Antonelli and Russell kept closing in on the Racing Bulls.

There was more drama when Albon attempted a move on Colapinto at Turn 5 –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the pair collided, sending Colapinto into a spin. Albon was later handed a ten-second penalty. Mercedes split strategies, pitting Antonelli first, while Russell stayed out longer and began to reel in Lawson. After rejoining, Antonelli managed to fight past both Lawson and Bortoleto.

Out front, Verstappen’s advantage ballooned to nine seconds. When Sainz pitted on lap 28, Russell ran longer and rejoined ahead, effectively stealing second place through strategy.

In the closing laps, Norris lost time in a slow stop and dropped behind Leclerc. Tsunoda, Lawson, Norris, and Hamilton then found themselves in a fierce DRS battle for fifth, with Lawson defending well to hang onto position.

Verstappen made his stop last but had such a comfortable margin that he rejoined still in the lead. From there, he controlled the race to claim his fourth victory of the season. Russell finished second thanks to clever tyre strategy, while Sainz gave Williams a huge result with third –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ their first podium of 2025. Antonelli equalled his second career-best in fourth, followed by Lawson, Tsunoda, Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc and Hadjar completing the top ten.

Race results

1st – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2nd – George Russell (Mercedes) +14.609
3rd – Carlos Sainz (Williams) +19.199
4th – Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +21.760
5th – Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +33.290
6th – Yuki Tsunoda (Ferrari) +33.808
7th – Lando Norris (McLaren) +34.227
8th – Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +36.310
9th – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +36.774
10th – Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +38.982
11th – Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) +67.606
12th – Oliver Bearman (Haas) +68.262
13th – Alexander Albon (Williams) +72.870
14th – Esteban Ocon (Haas) +77.580
15th – Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +78.707
16th – Nico Hülkenberg (Kick Sauber) +80.237
17th – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +96.392
18th – Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1 lap
19th – Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1 lap

DNF – Oscar Piastri (McLaren)