Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with George Russell finishing second and, surprisingly, Carlos Sainz taking third for Williams.
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| Photo: Mark Thompson |
The hectic qualifying session full of red flags was dominated by Verstappen, which proved to be the first major step toward his Sunday triumph. After his victory in Monza, Max secured another win just two weeks later – this time in dominant fashion. He achieved what’s known as a grand slam: taking pole position, leading every lap of the race, setting the fastest lap, and ultimately winning the Grand Prix.
It was also a strong weekend for his teammate. Yuki Tsunoda finished sixth, marking his best result so far with Red Bull.
Mercedes, currently second in the Constructors’ Championship, left Baku with a podium thanks to George Russell’s second place. Despite not feeling 100% physically throughout the weekend, Russell once again showed Toto Wolff that he truly deserves a new contract. Kimi Antonelli, after a run of disappointing races, finally displayed solid pace. He qualified fourth ahead of Russell and brought home a respectable fourth place in the race.
For McLaren, however, it was a weekend to forget. Oscar Piastri crashed in qualifying, leaving him to start from ninth. While this gave Norris a chance to close a significant gap in points, it didn’t work out. Norris could only manage seventh in qualifying, and things didn’t improve much in the race. Piastri jumped the start and then crashed on the opening lap, while Norris lacked pace and crossed the line in seventh.
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| Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli |
Ferrari also endured a weekend to forget. Friday practice looked promising, hinting that Ferrari could be in the mix, but the opposite proved true. In qualifying, Hamilton was eliminated in Q2, and Leclerc crashed in Q3. During the race they were stuck in no man’s land, finishing only eighth and ninth.
One standout performance came from Liam Lawson. He qualified inside the top three and went on to finish fifth in the race.
Formula 1 now heads straight into another challenge – the Singapore Grand Prix on the city’s street circuit next weekend, where the title battle will continue.