Max Verstappen has dominantly won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position. On the streets of Baku, the four-time world champion from Red Bull encountered no issues from start to finish, thereby making significant progress in the championship. Championship leader Oscar Piastri suffers serious damage. After his crash on Saturday in the chaotic qualifying, things also go wrong in the race. He crashes his McLaren into the wall in the opening round.
For Max Verstappen, this is his second consecutive victory after the Italian Grand Prix in Monza and his fourth of the season. Major incidents are otherwise avoided. Piastri is the only dropout in the race. McLaren could have clinched the constructor’s title in Baku, but that celebration will have to wait a bit longer.
Here is a brief overview of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix:
ROUND 1/51: Max Verstappen has a flawless start from pole and maintains the lead on hard tires, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson respectively. Further back, things go horribly wrong for championship leader Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver has a terrible start from P9. He leaves too early, then his car goes into anti-stall, causing him to lose many positions. He then makes another dramatic mistake by crashing hard into the wall in the opening round. So, it’s the end of the race for Piastri.
Fernando Alonso is on the starting grid behind Piastri and reacts to the Australian’s false start. As a result, Alonso also leaves his spot too early. He receives a five-second time penalty.
ROUND 4/51: Verstappen is sharp at the restart and makes no mistake. On P4, Kimi Antonelli makes himself wide, causing his Mercedes teammate George Russell to almost end up in the wall. It ends well, but it costs the Brit a place. Yuki Tsunoda takes advantage and takes P5. Meanwhile, Lando Norris is at P8.
Verstappen Leads Sovereignly
ROUND 10/51: Verstappen leads sovereignly and can manage his tires well in this way. There is heavy fighting behind him. Top-10 after 10 laps: Verstappen, Sainz, Lawson, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Russell, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, and Hadjar.
ROUND 18/51: In the rear, Alexander Albon nudges Alpine driver Franco Colapinto, who gently hits the wall in turn 5. The Argentine makes a 360-degree spin and can continue his way. Albon receives a ten-second time penalty.
ROUND 21/51: Liam Lawson goes from P3 to the pit for his first pit stop and thus just manages to prevent an undercut from Antonelli. The podium remains in sight for the Racing Bulls driver.
‘This is brilliant, mate!’
LAP 25/51: Halfway through the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Max Verstappen leads confidently. The gap to Carlos Sainz behind him is over eight seconds. Over the radio, he receives compliments from his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase: ‘This is brilliant, mate!’
LAP 35/51: The top-5 have still not pitted for fresh rubber. Verstappen leads, followed by Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton. Norris is the only one on medium tires, the rest are on the hard compound. The race has evolved into a strategic tire battle for the teams, with relatively little spectacle on the track.
LAP 38/51: Lando Norris comes in for his first and only pit stop. However, it goes awry, causing him to return to the track behind Liam Lawson and Charles Leclerc, in P8. Shortly after, Russell pits for the first time. He thereby takes P2, ahead of Sainz, but behind Verstappen.
Safe Margin
LAP 40/51: Max Verstappen comes in for his first pit stop and opts for used mediums. He remains comfortably in the lead. His 67th career GP victory is hardly in doubt. After his pit stop, the margin to the second place, George Russell, is about twelve seconds. Carlos Sainz is in P3. Meanwhile, it has started to drizzle a bit.
LAP 51/51: And there it is, the fourth victory of the season for Max Verstappen. After a flawless performance in Baku, he is flagged as the winner by his friend, DJ Martin Garrix. Russell and Sainz finish a distant second and third. Also impressive is the fifth place of Liam Lawson, behind Antonelli, but the Kiwi from Racing Bulls manages to stay ahead of Tsunoda, Norris, and Lewis Hamilton. Lando Norris finishes disappointingly in seventh place.
Top-10: Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Antonelli, Lawson, Tsunoda, Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, and Hadjar.
