Russell Wins Baku Thriller as Red Bull Doubles Up and McLaren Unravels

George Russell capped a commanding weekend with a nail-biting victory, Red Bull put both drivers on the podium, and Piastri’s costly lock-up helped leave McLaren empty-handed.

George Russell spent the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend showing how fast he could go. In the closing laps on Saturday, he had to show how much pressure he could take.

Max Verstappen finished just 0.196 seconds behind him, an astonishingly small reward for a race Russell had controlled before two Safety Car periods brought the field back together. Isack Hadjar completed the podium, giving Red Bull Racing plenty to celebrate even as another chance at victory slipped away.

For McLaren, the contrast was painful. Oscar Piastri had been running second. Neither car scored a point.

Russell’s weekend, right to the wire

Friday’s pole margin was 0.837 seconds. Saturday brought a third Grand Prix victory of the season. Put those together and this was a forceful response from Russell after watching teammate Kimi Antonelli build a commanding championship lead.

Russell led every lap, but the final margin hides how dramatically his afternoon changed. Alex Albon’s crash triggered the first Safety Car; a later collision involving Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris brought another interruption.

Verstappen suddenly had a chance to turn Russell’s comfortable afternoon into a very expensive near miss. Russell held on.

Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to fifth, limiting the damage from his qualifying crash. Even so, Russell cut his teammate’s championship advantage from 81 points to 66. The gap remains substantial, but this time Russell took the opportunity.

Red Bull gets both sides of the result

Verstappen’s climb from eighth to second was only half of Red Bull’s story.

Hadjar returned after missing three races with a wrist injury, qualified fourth and finished third. That made this a strong weekend for both cars, with 33 points between them.

Verstappen passed Piastri at the first restart to take second. Hadjar later gained third when the McLaren ran wide, then brought the car home ahead of Charles Leclerc.

Red Bull’s first win of the season remains elusive. But one driver threatening the winner while the other secures a podium is a result the team can build on.

Piastri’s podium chance disappears

Piastri had passed Leclerc at the start and spent the opening stint resisting the Red Bulls. After losing second to Verstappen, he still had a podium to protect.

Then, defending from Hadjar at Turn 1, he locked both front tires and took the escape road. Third became 15th in one costly moment.

Piastri told Sky Sports the lock-up surprised him: “I didn’t think I braked super late or super hard. Just instantly locked both fronts.”

He was ultimately classified 13th. With Norris already eliminated in the collision involving the Alpines, McLaren left Baku without points.

That was the weekend’s sharpest contrast: Russell converted his pace into victory, Red Bull delivered with both cars, and McLaren let a promising afternoon disappear.