Formula 1 race day reactions: Russell wins Azerbaijan thriller as Antonelli salvages P5

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

George Russell led from pole to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but two Safety Cars neutralised his advantage and compressed the field for a tense final run. With Verstappen rapidly closing, Russell had to defend his position for the last few laps, including clipping the wall in his Mercedes during the closing fight. Despite losing his Boost on the final lap, Russell held on for his first Grand Prix win since Austria, with the Mercedes driver claiming first place on race day.

Kimi Antonelli finished fifth after a difficult start. The Italian initially lost ground, then slowly worked his way into the top 10. He was also fortunate to avoid a crash at the first restart on the outside, and although he made a move on Lewis Hamilton, he ran out of time to catch Charles Leclerc. Bradley Lord, Deputy Team Principal, praised the team’s execution and described Antonelli’s recovery to P5 as an impressive performance under challenging circumstances, aided by Safety Cars that closed the pack.

Max Verstappen took second after his team changed his PU overnight within allocation, a decision that paid off at Baku. The Red Bull driver climbed to third, then battled Oscar Piastri before working his way into the fight for the win once Piastri moved to the slower mediums. Verstappen came close but could not match Russell on the straights, finishing 2nd. Isack Hadjar secured third for Red Bull, earning his second podium of the season and finishing on the Medium and then managing the final stint after swapping from mediums.

Behind the leaders, Charles Leclerc recovered to fourth, while Lewis Hamilton finished sixth following difficulties managing pace on the straights and on the slower medium tyres. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri retired, with Lando Norris also failing to finish after a late clash involving Alpine cars following a Safety Car period. At Racing Bulls, Arvid Lindblad secured seventh after a race that opened up with collisions at a restart, while Liam Lawson was punted into a spin and dropped down the order.

Red Bull’s Laurent Mekies highlighted that the team secured a P2 and P3 as part of a strong weekend turnaround, while Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur and McLaren team leaders stressed the need to address pace and top-speed gaps ahead of the next event.