George Russell secured his third victory of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship season with a hard-fought win in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off Max Verstappen by just 0.196 seconds after a late-race battle around the Baku City Circuit.

The Mercedes driver converted pole position into victory despite two closely linked Safety Car periods that closed up the field. Verstappen finished second for Red Bull Racing, while team-mate Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third on his return from injury. Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who recovered from 16th on the grid to take fifth.

Lewis Hamilton was sixth, followed by Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman. Carlos Sainz completed the top 10 for Williams, while Oscar Piastri dropped from the leading group to 14th after a late error.

The race also saw six drivers fail to finish, including McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was caught up in a Turn 1 incident involving Alpine team-mates Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.

At the start, Russell made a clean getaway from pole and immediately established control of the race. Piastri moved into second ahead of Leclerc, while Norris passed Hadjar to take fourth. Verstappen also made progress, moving ahead of Gasly and Hamilton before setting his sights on the cars immediately ahead.

Russell quickly opened a gap at the front, while Piastri came under pressure from the two Red Bulls. Hadjar reclaimed fourth from Norris before Verstappen followed through, and the Red Bull pair then began to close on Leclerc.

Hadjar then attacked Leclerc around the outside at Turn 1 before completing the pass in turn 3. Verstappen soon followed him past the Ferrari, leaving the Red Bulls in close pursuit of Piastri.

The long run towards Turn 1 proved particularly important. The Red Bulls appeared to have an advantage on the straights, while Piastri’s McLaren struggled for traction exiting Turn 16. Verstappen eventually moved ahead of Hadjar and began to pressure Piastri for second.

The battle behind the leaders remained close, with Antonelli gradually recovering from his difficult opening lap. The Mercedes driver had dropped to 17th but began working his way forward, picking off a succession of cars as the race developed.

At the front, Russell continued to extend his advantage, reaching almost 10 seconds over Piastri by the halfway stage. Yet the Mercedes driver was not entirely comfortable, brushing the wall at Turn 15 and reporting concerns about his tyre pressure.

Norris was also struggling to make progress. After locking up at Turn 5 and running deep, he lost places to Hamilton and Gasly before another mistake on the start/finish straight dropped him further back.

The first major interruption came on Lap 30, when Alexander Albon locked up at Turn 6 while battling Haas’ Esteban Ocon. The Williams driver hit the barriers and brought out the Safety Car.

With the leading drivers yet to make their scheduled pit stops, the neutralisation provided an opportunity to change tyres without losing significant track position. Russell retained the lead, while Red Bull executed a double stack that kept Verstappen and Hadjar together behind Piastri.

The restart produced another decisive sequence of events. Verstappen finally moved past Piastri for second, while further back Colapinto locked up approaching Turn 1 and collided with his Alpine team-mate Gasly. Gasly was then unable to avoid Norris, with all three cars leaving the circuit and retiring from the race.

The incident triggered a second Safety Car and dramatically altered the complexion of the Grand Prix.

Russell again led Verstappen at the restart, with Piastri third and Hadjar fourth. Leclerc and Hamilton followed, while Antonelli had moved into contention after benefiting from the earlier incidents.

But the race remained unforgiving. Piastri, under pressure from Hadjar, locked up into Turn 1 on the following lap and spun, dropping from a potential podium position to the rear of the field. The McLaren driver eventually recovered to 14th at the finish.

Antonelli continued his recovery and passed Hamilton with eight laps remaining to move into fifth. The Italian’s progress represented a remarkable recovery from his qualifying accident and 16th-place starting position.

At the front, however, all attention was now focused on Russell and Verstappen. The Mercedes driver had appeared to have the race under control before the Safety Cars, but the two interruptions had brought Verstappen back into contention. The Red Bull remained within a few tenths through the closing laps, applying sustained pressure as Russell negotiated the narrow streets of Baku.

A late yellow flag was caused by Valtteri Bottas, who put his Cadillac into the barriers, but the incident did not prevent the leaders from continuing their battle. As the 51st and final lap began, Verstappen remained close enough to attack. He drew alongside Russell on the run towards the finish, creating a final drag race along the start/finish straight.

Russell held his line and maintained enough momentum to keep the Red Bull behind him, crossing the finish line just 0.196 seconds ahead of Verstappen to claim his eighth career Formula 1 victory.

Hadjar completed a double podium for Red Bull in third, 10.704 seconds behind the winner, while Leclerc finished fourth. Antonelli’s recovery was completed with fifth place, 14.512 seconds from Russell, with Hamilton sixth.

Lindblad took seventh for Racing Bulls, although his result was subject to investigation following his earlier contact with team-mate Liam Lawson. Ocon and Bearman gave Haas a double points finish in eighth and ninth, while Sainz claimed the final point-paying position in 10th.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Race
1 George Russell Mercedes 51 - 
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 51 0.196
3 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 51 10.704
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 51 14.136
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 51 14.512
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 51 22.382
7 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 51 31.159
8 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 51 31.189
9 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 51 31.929
10 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 51 32.416
11 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 51 33.231
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 51 34.013
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 51 34.230
14 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 51 36.401
15 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 51 41.400
16 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 49 - 2 laps
     Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 36 – Retirement
     Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 35 – Retirement
     Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 35 – Retirement
     Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 29 – Retirement
     Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 20 – Retirement
     Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 7 - Retirement