George Russell held off a late charge from Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit by just 0.196 seconds, his third victory of the season. Two safety car periods turned the closing stages upside down, and seven drivers failed to finish, including reigning champion Lando Norris. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who hit the wall in qualifying and started 16th, recovered to fifth to limit the points damage.
Two safety cars turn the second half upside down
On lap 15, Alex Albon crashed into the wall at Turn 6, bringing out the first safety car and ending his race on the spot. On lap 28, Franco Colapinto locked up at Turn 1 and collected Pierre Gasly and Norris in a three-car pile-up, ending all three of their races. Late on, Valtteri Bottas also hit the wall, though the race continued green at that point. In total, Albon, Colapinto, Gasly, Norris and Bottas were joined on the retirement list by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, seven cars in all. Two restarts followed, and Russell had to defend his pole-won lead to the flag as Verstappen threw everything at the final restart, coming up 0.196 seconds short.
Antonelli limits the damage, 16th to 5th
Antonelli, who clipped the inside wall at Turn 1 in qualifying and started 16th, worked his way forward all race to cross the line fifth, 14.512 seconds behind the winner. Isack Hadjar, back after missing three races through injury, finished third for a Red Bull double podium. Leclerc took fourth, while Hamilton could only manage sixth as Ferrari left Baku without a win once again.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time/Gap | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russell | Mercedes | 1:38:02.143 | 25 |
| 2 | Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.196s | 18 |
| 3 | Hadjar | Red Bull | +10.704s | 15 |
| 4 | Leclerc | Ferrari | +14.136s | 12 |
| 5 | Antonelli | Mercedes | +14.512s | 10 |
| 6 | Hamilton | Ferrari | +22.382s | 8 |
Penalties: Colapinto's grid drop, Bortoleto's overtaking penalty
Colapinto's in-race 10-second time penalty went unserved once he retired, and was converted into a five-place grid penalty for the next round at Sepang. Gabriel Bortoleto received a 10-second time penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, dropping him from 13th to 15th in the final classification.