George Russell secured his third win of the 2026 F1 season after fending off a late charge from Max Verstappen. The Mercedes driver survived two Safety Car re-starts to secure his first win since the Austrian GP in June.
After spending six weeks out of action due to a fractured wrist, Isack Hadjar made a strong comeback at Baku with a P3 finish.
- Russell wins at Baku, 0.196 sec ahead of Verstappen
- Antonelli goes from P16 to P5
- Colapinto handed five-place grid penalty for Malaysia
Russell wins Azerbaijan GP
Starting from pole position, Russell enjoyed a great launch at the start and extended his lead in the early stages. He had a buffer of over 10 seconds when the Safety Car was brought out on Lap 31 after Alex Albon’s crash.
Russell aced the re-start as behind him, Verstappen used the slipstream to pass Oscar Piastri to move up to second place. But the race was neutralised once again as Franco Colapinto locked up into the Turn 1 braking zone, taking out his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris. This set the stage for a thrilling duel as Verstappen piled the pressure on Russell.
The Mercedes driver ended up crossing the chequered flag just 0.196 sec clear of Verstappen. “It's been an incredible weekend and probably one of the strongest of my career so far. I really enjoyed that race and that final stint was some of the most fun I’ve had in a Formula 1 race. We had strong pace throughout and were able to build a good gap, so when the Safety Car came out it was a little frustrating, but around a circuit like Baku that's always a possibility,” said Russell.
“The restart was probably the most stressful moment of the afternoon with Max right behind me, but I managed it well and from there it was all about staying focused and not making any mistakes. In the final stint we were both pushing hard, and whilst it was intense in the car, those are the moments you enjoy as a driver. I've felt comfortable all weekend, and at the moment things seem to be coming naturally behind the wheel. We're in a good place, but Formula 1 changes very quickly so you have to keep pushing. The aim is to keep working hard, keep building this momentum and hopefully continue fighting at the front over the races ahead.”
Red Bull earns double podium
Red Bull celebrated its first double podium this season as Hadjar finished third. It topped off an impressive comeback round for the Frenchman, who missed the last three races as he recovered from a wrist injury sustained while training.
“You can't really ask for a better comeback than that. The car has been competitive throughout the week and all over the track, so we had the pace to really challenge and be exactly where we wanted to be. Our approach was key to a strong week; taking it step-by-step allowed me to build confidence and then the lap time comes with that. Ending it with P3 is a really pleasing result,” Hadjar shared.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished P4 and P6 respectively. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli split the two Ferrari drivers in fifth place, battling his way up the order after starting P16 on the grid.
Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad defeated Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman to finish P7. Williams’ Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10.
No points for McLaren
The Baku race ended up being a chaotic affair with seven drivers retiring. It was an especially disappointing weekend for McLaren, as the team walked away from the race with zero points.
Colapinto’s error forced Norris to retire, prompting the reigning world champion to later comment that “some drivers shouldn’t be in F1”. Colapinto has been handed a five-place grid penalty for next weekend’s race in Malayasia for the incident.
Despite the Baku circuit not playing to McLaren’s strengths, Piastri spent a good portion of the race firmly in the top three. But a lock up at Turn 1 dropped him all the way down to P15. While he did gain a position after Valtteri Bottas’ late crash, he still ended up P13.
2026 F1 championship standings
Heading into the Azerbaijan GP, Antonelli held an advantage of 81 points on top of the standings. Russell has cut that gap to 66 points after his victory. Hamilton holds on to third place overall, 37 points behind Russell and 13 points ahead of Norris.
F1 will next return to Malaysia for the first time since 2017. Interestingly, the event (scheduled for October 2-4) will be held as the Bahrain GP, with the Middle Eastern kingdom funding the race.
