Verstappen Wins in Baku; Russell and Sainz on the Podium, Piastri Out

Verstappen Triumphs in Azerbaijan; McLaren Suffers in a Chaotic Race

Max Verstappen conquered the victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while McLaren’s weekend on the streets of Baku was marred by bad luck. Oscar Piastri suffered an accident on the first lap, and Lando Norris achieved seventh place. After a disastrous qualifying session for McLaren on Saturday, Verstappen started from pole position, while his rivals Norris and Piastri began from seventh and ninth positions, respectively. Piastri’s race was compromised from the start by moving before the lights went out, which caused his car to enter anti-stall mode and drop to the back of the pack at the first corner. Trying to regain positions on the first lap, Piastri went wide at Turn 5, locked the front brakes, and crashed into the barriers.

I think, ultimately, I misjudged the grip level. Probably a lot of that is from the dirty air [of the cars in front], but I know better than that: to expect the lack of grip.

Oscar Piastri

The incident marked the end of Piastri’s eventful weekend, who also crashed in qualifying. This represented a golden opportunity for his teammate Norris, but he failed to capitalize on Piastri’s mistake, finishing seventh.

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The result means Norris has reduced the gap in the standings to 25 points, the same 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 Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. Piastri received a five-second penalty for his jump start, but it will not convert into a grid penalty at the next race, according to FIA guidelines.

Just a miscalculation on the lights, I guess trying to anticipate it too much. Yeah, a simple mistake and then it went into anti-stall and it was downhill from there, so, just a mistake.

Oscar Piastri

McLaren’s lowest points total this year also meant that the team missed the opportunity to secure the defense of the constructors’ championship, which will likely be decided at the next race in Singapore. Verstappen’s victory, the fourth of the season and the second consecutive after winning two weeks ago in Monza, puts him 69 points ahead of Piastri in the drivers’ championship.

This weekend has been incredible for us. Monza was already great, but for us to win here is fantastic. The car worked very well with both compounds. We had clean air all the time, so we could take care of our tires, and it was quite straightforward… it’s never easy around here, with a lot of wind today, so the car was moving a lot. I am incredibly happy with this performance.

Max Verstappen

The Red Bull driver was in a class of his own at the front of the pack after maintaining the lead at the start, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who started second on the grid. Sainz held onto third place, Williams’ first podium since second place at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, behind George Russell, who used an alternative strategy to move from fifth to second place for Mercedes.

I can’t describe how happy I am and how good it feels. It tastes even better than my first podium.

Carlos Sainz

Russell, who wasn’t feeling well over the weekend, commented:

First of all, congratulations to Carlos and Williams. An incredible result for them. For us, very happy to be back on the podium. It’s been a bit of a tough weekend for me personally, but the car was great. Kimi [Antonelli] also in P4, so happy with that. I was very happy when I saw the checkered flag, to be honest. Fortunately, I felt much better today than on Friday and Saturday. Looking forward to some rest now, but happy with the result.

George Russell

The Russell-Antonelli combination with a 2-4 ensured that Mercedes climbed 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, secured his best result of the season with the Red Bull team in sixth place. Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth place, behind the battle for fifth place between Lawson, Tsunoda and Norris. The seven-time champion received eighth place from his teammate Charles Leclerc, who was out of the running for a position in the top six after pitting much earlier than his rivals. Hamilton tried to give the position back to Leclerc at the end when he failed to make progress passing the cars ahead, but still crossed the line ahead of his teammate. Isack Hadjar secured the last point on offer for Racing Bulls.