George Russell called it the most dominant weekend of his career — then had to survive a two-tenth drag race to the line against a Red Bull that started eighth.
The Podium
Russell led almost the whole way from pole. Verstappen — who qualified eighth and raced with a power unit disadvantage — came at him in the closing laps and ran out of road by under two tenths.
Dominant, Then Terrifying
Russell's weekend was decided long before Saturday's flag. He put the Mercedes on pole by 0.837s over Charles Leclerc — a colossal margin at a circuit where Leclerc has historically been untouchable on a Saturday — and then simply drove away at the front. For 50 of the 51 laps it looked like a procession.
Behind him, Baku did what Baku does.
Alex Albon put his Williams into the scenery to bring out the first Safety Car. Then Franco Colapinto locked up and took out both his own Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and, crucially, Lando Norris — ending the McLaren driver's race at Turn 1 and, in all likelihood, his title campaign. Oscar Piastri suffered a bizarre double front-wheel lock-up while defending and tumbled to 14th. Six cars didn't see the flag.
That second Safety Car is what turned a procession into a fight. It bunched the field and handed Verstappen — already carving through from eighth with a power unit deficit — a free run at the leader. The Dutchman closed onto Russell's gearbox over the final laps and dragged him all the way to the line down Neftchilar Avenue. Russell held on.
"The most dominant weekend I've had in my career."
Russell put the breakthrough down to finally adapting his driving style to the 2026 car after a difficult start to the season — which, given he arrived in Baku as the only realistic threat to his own teammate's championship, is an ominous thing for the rest of the grid to hear in late September.
Final Classification
| Pos | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 5 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Haas |
| 9 | Oliver Bearman | Haas |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Williams |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Audi |
| 12 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls |
| 13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi |
| 14 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| 15 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac |
| DNF | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| DNF | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
| DNF | Franco Colapinto | Alpine |
| DNF | Alex Albon | Williams |
What We Said vs What Happened
Before the weekend we published five storylines to watch in Baku. Here's how each one actually landed.
No grid penalty in the end — but the bigger surprise was that his Baku qualifying crown finally slipped. Russell beat him to pole by eight tenths, and P2 on the grid became P4 at the flag.
The lighter chassis didn't get a clean showcase. Albon binned it into the walls to trigger the first Safety Car, leaving Sainz to salvage a single point in tenth.
Brutal turned out to be an understatement. Collected at Turn 1 by Colapinto's lock-up, Norris scored nothing, stayed on 186, and slipped to fourth — now 116 back with the season running out.
Not the repeat — a scrappy Q3 left him eighth on the grid. But a recovery to second, with a power unit deficit, finishing two tenths off the win, was arguably the drive of the weekend anyway.
Completely vindicated. No big upgrade needed: pole by eight tenths, the win, and both cars in the top five. The car that was quick at Monza was more than quick enough in Baku.
For the record, our prediction poll had Verstappen at 32%, Norris 27%, Leclerc 21% and Antonelli 20%. Not one of us picked the man who won it from pole by eight tenths. Noted.
Still Thinking About
Hadjar's comeback podium
We went into this weekend unsure whether Isack Hadjar would even be fit to drive after the wrist injury that cost him Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid. He came back and finished third — calling it the "first time with the team that I actually get to do a very clean weekend." It handed Red Bull their best double podium since April 2024.
The title fight is now a Mercedes civil war
Antonelli clipped the Turn 1 wall in qualifying, started 16th, and dragged the car back to fifth — a genuinely good save. But Russell's 25 points to his 10 cut the gap from 81 to 66. With Hamilton 103 back and Norris 116 adrift, this championship has quietly become a two-car fight inside one garage.
Norris wants a ban
Norris didn't hide his fury, calling for Colapinto to face a race ban after the Alpine driver's lock-up wiped out both Gasly and himself. Whatever the stewards decide, the damage to his season is already done — two of the last five rounds have now produced nothing.
Piastri's mystery lock-up
McLaren's weekend was a write-off. Piastri suffered a double front-wheel lock-up while defending and couldn't explain it, saying he hadn't done "anything spectacular" to provoke it. He was classified 14th. With Norris out, McLaren left Baku with zero points.
Championship After Baku
Constructors
LOcO Says
We said this was a track that punishes hesitation, and that a Safety Car was never far away. Both turned out to be true in the most literal way possible: six cars out, two Safety Cars, a title contender collected at Turn 1, and a race that went from procession to photo finish inside ten laps.
But the lasting image isn't the chaos — it's Russell. Pole by eight tenths, lights-to-flag control, and enough composure to hold off Verstappen when the Safety Car handed away his cushion. He's cut 15 points out of Antonelli's lead in a single afternoon. The championship is still Antonelli's to lose, but for the first time this season it looks like something he'll actually have to defend.
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