Max Verstappen dominated the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, securing the victory in a race full of action and drama. Meanwhile, McLaren had a chaotic weekend that prevented them from capitalizing on the opportunity to secure crucial points in the constructors’ championship.
After a disastrous qualifying session for McLaren on Saturday, Verstappen started from pole position. His title rivals, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, started in seventh and ninth position, respectively.
Piastri’s race was compromised from the start. The driver moved before the lights went out, which activated his car’s anti-stall system and relegated him to the back of the pack on the first lap.
While trying to regain positions, Piastri went off at Turn 5, locked the front brakes, and crashed into the barriers.
This incident marked the end of a weekend full of errors for Piastri, who also suffered an accident in qualifying, presenting a great opportunity for his teammate, Norris, to close the gap in the championship.
However, Norris failed to capitalize on Piastri’s mistake in the race, finishing in seventh place.
This result means that Norris has reduced the gap in the standings to 25 points, the same amount as a victory, with seven races remaining.
Norris could have secured fifth place and four additional points if it weren’t for a slow pit stop, which frustrated his chances of overtaking Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson.
Piastri received a five-second penalty for his jump start, but according to FIA guidelines, it will not turn into a grid penalty in the next race.
Verstappen’s victory, his fourth of the season and the second in a row after winning in Monza, now puts him 69 points ahead of Piastri in the drivers’ championship.
The Red Bull driver was in a class of his own, maintaining the lead from the start ahead of Carlos Sainz, who started second on the grid.
Sainz held on to third place, Williams’ first podium since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, behind George Russell, who used an alternative strategy to move from fifth to second place.
Kimi Antonelli secured fourth place, which allowed Mercedes to move up to second place in the constructors’ championship, four points ahead of Ferrari.
Lawson’s fifth place was the best of his career, while Tsunoda, who replaced Lawson at Red Bull after two rounds earlier this season, secured his best result of the season with the Red Bull team.
Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth place, at the end of the battle for fifth place between Lawson, Tsunoda and Norris. The seven-time champion received the position from his teammate Charles Leclerc, who was out of the running for a place in the top six after pitting significantly earlier than his rivals.
Hamilton tried to give the position back to Leclerc at the end, but still crossed the finish line ahead of his teammate. Isack Hadjar secured the last point available for Racing Bulls.
