George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after surviving a tense late challenge from Max Verstappen, while Ferrari left Baku with Charles Leclerc fourth and Lewis Hamilton sixth. The result extended Ferrari’s run without a podium to five consecutive races despite both SF-26s finishing inside the top six.
George Russell had controlled much of the race without being seriously threatened, but the complexion changed after two Safety Car periods triggered first by Alexander Albon’s crash and then by contact between the two Alpine drivers. The Mercedes driver ultimately had to defend from Max Verstappen in the closing stages, with less than a tenth separating them at the chequered flag after a final-lap yellow flag caused by Valtteri Bottas.
George Russell holds off Max Verstappen as Red Bull takes double podium
Max Verstappen emerged as George Russell’s main challenger after Red Bull used team orders to move the four-time world champion ahead of Isack Hadjar. From there, Max Verstappen remained close to the Mercedes W17 throughout the closing phase, forcing George Russell to manage the pressure all the way to the finish.
Isack Hadjar completed a double podium for Red Bull with an impressive third place on his return after a wrist injury. The French driver consistently ran at a pace comparable to Max Verstappen and repeatedly asked whether he could attack his team-mate. In the final laps, however, he was unable to mount a serious challenge and settled for third.
George Russell’s victory followed his dominant Baku pole position, while Ferrari’s race confirmed some of the concerns that had already emerged around the SF-26 during the weekend.
Charles Leclerc finishes fourth as Ferrari struggles on the straights
Charles Leclerc brought the leading Ferrari home in fourth place. There was little more the Monegasque could realistically achieve with an SF-26 that was clearly too slow on the straights, although he still managed to protect the position from Kimi Antonelli during the closing laps.
The straight-line limitation had already been one of the central themes of Ferrari’s Baku weekend, with the SF-26 telemetry analysis highlighting the compromise between cornering performance and straight-line efficiency.
Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, recovered to fifth after starting 16th following his qualifying mistake. The Mercedes driver made steady progress through the field and then benefited from the double McLaren retirement to complete his recovery.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth after never appearing completely comfortable across the Azerbaijan weekend, although his race pace was not dramatically different from that of Charles Leclerc. The result can also be viewed in the wider context of the Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton season comparison.
For Ferrari, the result means a fifth consecutive Grand Prix without a podium, extending a difficult run at a point in the season when the team has increasingly been forced to focus on extracting the maximum possible result from the SF-26.
Oscar Piastri takes second early as Red Bull charges forward
Kimi Antonelli encountered trouble before the race had even started, failing to pull away cleanly from 16th on the formation lap. He joined the back of the field before recovering his original starting position for the race start.
When the lights went out, George Russell retained the lead while Oscar Piastri moved ahead of Charles Leclerc. Behind them, Lando Norris held fourth ahead of Isack Hadjar and Lewis Hamilton, while Kimi Antonelli lost a place to Carlos Sainz.
On lap two, Max Verstappen used the performance of his new engine to pass Lewis Hamilton and move into sixth behind Isack Hadjar. The French driver remained close to Lando Norris before using Baku’s long pit straight to overtake the McLaren, with Max Verstappen repeating the move on lap three.
Isack Hadjar then targeted Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver successfully defended into Turn One but could not hold the Red Bull back through Turn Three, losing third place. Max Verstappen followed shortly afterwards, passing Charles Leclerc on the main straight.
The sequence of early position changes can be followed more broadly through the F1 Race Position & Progression Tracker.
Red Bull swaps its drivers as Kimi Antonelli begins recovery
With Isack Hadjar on soft tyres and Max Verstappen on mediums, the two Red Bulls began chasing Oscar Piastri in second place. Red Bull then reversed their order, asking Isack Hadjar to allow Max Verstappen through.
Further back, Kimi Antonelli continued his recovery and reached 13th place by lap 10. After 13 laps, the pace of Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar and Charles Leclerc was very similar, preventing the Red Bull pair from putting sustained pressure on the McLaren driver.
Lewis Hamilton passes Lando Norris for sixth
Lewis Hamilton’s race came alive on lap 17 when he passed Lando Norris to take sixth place directly behind Charles Leclerc. The move brought the two Ferraris together on track after the seven-time world champion had dropped behind Max Verstappen earlier in the race.
At Red Bull, another possible team order was being discussed, this time potentially in the opposite direction. Max Verstappen was struggling more on the medium compound while Isack Hadjar, running on the softs, believed he had more pace and indicated over the radio that he could potentially attack.
George Russell, meanwhile, remained comfortably in control at the front. On lap 25, the Mercedes driver reported that he had brushed the wall and asked the team to check his tyre, but the pit wall reassured him that there was no damage to the W17.
The internal Red Bull situation continued as Isack Hadjar appeared significantly faster than Max Verstappen and asked over the radio whether he was allowed to attack his team-mate.
As George Russell continued lowering the fastest lap, Lando Norris made a mistake at Turn One, locking up heavily and running deep. The error cost the McLaren driver positions to both Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli, promoting the Mercedes driver to eighth.
First Safety Car resets the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
The first major interruption arrived on lap 31 when Alexander Albon hit the barrier and Race Control deployed the Safety Car. Kimi Antonelli was the first of the leading runners to take advantage, followed one lap later by the front group.
Despite double pit stops for both Red Bull and Ferrari, the order remained unchanged. George Russell switched to soft tyres, as did Max Verstappen, while Oscar Piastri moved onto mediums. Isack Hadjar and both Ferrari drivers also took the medium compound.
The strategic phase added another layer to a race that had initially been relatively stable, with Ferrari’s broader race execution and position changes also comparable through the Ferrari qualifying-to-race performance data.
Alpine collision triggers another Safety Car as Norris is eliminated
At the restart, Max Verstappen surprised Oscar Piastri and moved into second place. Behind them, however, the two Alpine drivers collided when Franco Colapinto hit Pierre Gasly, with the innocent Lando Norris also caught in the incident.
There was further contact between the Racing Bulls, as Arvid Lindblad sent Liam Lawson into a spin. Liam Lawson reacted over the radio by remarking that it was interesting for his own team-mate to push him off the track.
The collision brought out another Safety Car and set up a second restart. George Russell again retained the lead ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.
Oscar Piastri error opens the door for Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli
Oscar Piastri’s race then unravelled on the following lap. The McLaren driver made a mistake into Turn One, ran deep and rejoined all the way down in 15th position after having spent the first part of the race running at the front and defending second place.
The McLaren setback helped reshape the positions behind the leaders, ultimately contributing to Charles Leclerc finishing fourth, Kimi Antonelli fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth.
The day was especially difficult for McLaren. Lando Norris had already struggled to match the pace of the leading cars before being eliminated through no fault of his own in the Alpine collision, while Oscar Piastri lost his strong position through his mistake after the second restart.
George Russell survives final Max Verstappen attack
At the front, the closing laps developed into a direct fight between George Russell and Max Verstappen. Under pressure from the Red Bull, George Russell asked Mercedes for more power to help defend his position.
Mercedes responded to the request, and George Russell was able to hold on to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, completing a weekend in which the W17 had already demonstrated a major performance advantage around Baku. Further context on that advantage can be found in the analysis of the Mercedes W17’s 2026 competitiveness.
Max Verstappen crossed the line less than a tenth behind after the final-lap yellow flag compressed the finish, with Isack Hadjar completing the podium. Ferrari, meanwhile, had to settle for Charles Leclerc in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in sixth, extending the Scuderia’s podium drought to five consecutive races.
