Russell Finally Delivers in Baku | Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026

George Russell finally converted pole position into victory as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix erupted into a dramatic late-race battle. Stuart Codling looks back at a race of two halves in Baku — a relatively processional opening before Alex Albon’s crash triggered a chaotic sequence of safety cars, restarts and incidents. Russell had built a lead of more than 10 seconds before the safety car closed everything up, leaving Max Verstappen right on his heels for the final laps. Could Red Bull have taken the win they were targeting? Behind them, Isaac Hadjar completed an impressive return to the podium, while Oscar Piastri crashed out after struggling to get his medium tyres up to temperature. Kimi Antonelli also produced a remarkable recovery from 16th on the grid to finish fifth, while Lewis Hamilton endured another frustrating afternoon. And then there was Franco Colapinto’s dramatic restart incident, which eliminated Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly and prompted some strong reactions from the McLaren camp. Stuart also takes a closer look at Sergio Perez’s surprisingly strong underlying performance for Cadillac — despite finishing only 15th. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Russell finally gets his third win 01:05 – Chaos strikes: Albon, Colapinto and the first restart 01:35 – How Russell built his winning advantage 02:02 – Verstappen turns up the pressure 02:58 – Piastri crashes as the race unravels 03:28 – The dramatic finish: Russell vs Verstappen 03:48 – Russell’s win and Verstappen’s regrets 04:30 – Hadjar’s brilliant return to the podium 05:19 – Antonelli’s recovery from P16 06:54 – Hamilton’s frustrating afternoon 07:20 – Lindblad, Ocon and the midfield battle 08:54 – Colapinto’s costly crash with Norris 09:45 – Why Perez’s P15 doesn’t tell the full story 11:15 – The verdict from Baku #F1 #Formula1 #AzerbaijanGP #BakuGP #Autosport FOLLOW us online: Website: https://www.autosport.com/ Facebook: http://facebook.com/AUTOSPORT Twitter: https://twitter.com/autosport Instagram: http://instagram.com/autosport