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Russell won one of the closest finishes in F1 GP history.
George Russell of Great Britain driving the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W17 won the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit.
After a dominant qualifying run by Mercedes' George Russell, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was always going to be his to lose. Russell survived a pair of restarts before having to hold off Verstappen in the final stretch to deliver his third win of the F1 season, leading from start to finish at Baku.
Russell won by less than two-tenths of a second in one of the closest finishes in an F1 Grand Prix.
"It was amazing to be back on the top step of the podium," said Russell, who had previously won the Austrian and Australian GPs this season. Points leader Kimi Antonelli, Russell's Mercedes teammate, finished fifth, impressive enough given he started 16th after hitting a wall in qualifying. Verstappen, who was looking for his first win of the season, took second with Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar in third.
Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on September 26, 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Russell lost some speed on the final lap after the yellow flag came out and Verstappen quickly closed on him and made one final push ahead of the finish. Russell held him off. Barely.
It was the ninth-closest finish under a green flag in F1 history. Russell had a massive gap in qualifying to give him the pole. The first half of the race had been fairly routine for Russell, who led by more than 10 seconds until a crash forced the first restart. With the victory, Russell narrowed his Mercedes teammate's — Antonelli's — lead in the points standings to 66.
Antonelli picked up 10 points and has 302 for the season followed by Russell's 236. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who finished sixth at Baku, has 199. Verstappen had considered Baku to be Red Bull's best chance of winning given Mercedes is expected to get an upgrade at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia next week.
However, a problem with the internal combustion engine in qualifying dropped Verstappen farther back in the grid than he had hoped.
"We've certainly done a great job messing up that chance," Verstappen told the Dutch media ahead of the race. Catch up below on all the action from Baku:Max Verstappen closed within a tenth of a second of Russell in the final stretch but couldn't overtake him. Russell led from start to finish, surviving a couple restarts and a valiant attempt by Verstappen. Kimi Antonelli just overtook Lewis Hamilton for fifth.
Antonelli, who started the day 16th, had a scare in the first restart when he somehow avoided damage in the Alpine pile-up. Red Bull could have two drivers on the podium after Piastri locked up on lap 39. It's now Russell, Verstappen and Hadjar in that order. The safety car came in at the end of lap 35 and Verstappen overtook Piastri at the restart!
Another lock-up sent drivers scrambling and the safety car is back out again. Norris got clipped after Colapinto locked up and hit Gasly. The Safety Car is out after Albon went into the wall! Norris also lost three spots after locking up in the first turn.
Hadjar seems more poised to challenge Piastri for second, but Verstappen, his Red Bull teammate, is holding him off for third so far. Verstappen also sounds like he wants to switch to soft tires. George Russell has nearly a 10-second lead over Piastri but raised some concern about his tires at the halfway point of the race. Hamilton overtakes Norris Lewis Hamilton moved past Lando Norris into sixth on lap 17.
Ferrari is now running fifth and sixth with Hadjar and Hamilton, respectively. George Russell has opened more an a seven-second lead on Piastri in lap 15, but mentioned the wind at Baku had picked up.
"It was very gusty there," he told his team. After dropping to 17th out of the opening lap, Kimi Antonelli, as expected, has started to make his way up. He's moved into 11th at lap 14. Verstappen has the fastest lap in the early going, having climbed into third and gaining on Piastri.
Hadjar, his Red Bull teammate, is running fourth. After admitting this is probably Red Bull's best chance to win — as challenging as it will be to top Mercedes — Max Verstappen has come out aggressive. He moved up to fifth by the second lap. Given his mistake in Q1, Kim Antonelli wasn't pressing much to start the race.
He actually dropped a spot to 17th coming out of the opening lap. Piastri got off to a good start to move into second behind Russell. Antonelli was cautious in the middle of the grid.
Max Verstappen F1 Grand Prix Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku Kimi Antonelli
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