SportyTV | Russell survives late Verstappen charge to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix

George Russell capped a dominant weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by winning his third race win of the season after pipping Max Verstappen to the line.

Russell converted his pole position to stand on the top step for the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix in June as he overcame a hectic end to proceedings in Baku.

Alex Albon crashed out on lap 31 to bring out the safety car, and upon the restart, Franco Colapinto crashed into Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, forcing all three to retire.

Arvid Lindblad also collided with Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson, while the second safety car saw Oscar Piastri make a mistake and drop out of the podium places.

Russell and Verstappen were joined on the podium by Isack Hadjar, who marked his return from a wrist injury by claiming his second top-three finish of the campaign.

Charles Leclerc took fourth, ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who produced a sensational recovery drive after starting from 16th. Lewis Hamilton took sixth.

Lindblad overtook Esteban Ocon on the final lap to finish seventh, with Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz rounding out the top 10 on an enthralling day of racing on Saturday.

LIGHTS TO FLAG WIN FOR GEORGE IN BAKU pic.twitter.com/jWyR3lfqTo
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 26, 2026

Leclerc, starting on the front row alongside Russell, immediately dropped a place to Piastri on the opening lap, with the Red Bull duo also enjoying a blistering start further back.

By lap 10, Verstappen had made up five places, including taking third from team-mate Hadjar, but out in front, Russell began to pull clear of the chasing pack.

However, everything changed when the Williams of Albon went straight into the barriers, allowing almost all of the drivers to make a pit stop to attack the final part of the race.

Verstappen did just that and overtook Piastri, but behind him, Colapinto's attempt to go down the inside of the first corner saw him crash into Alpine team-mate Gasly.

The incident also saw Gasly collide with Norris, with all three forced to retire, bumping several drivers up the standings, including championship leader Antonelli.

Antonelli then passed Hamilton and had Leclerc in his sights, but he was unable to overtake the Ferrari driver, but there was still to be more late drama.

Valtteri Bottas crashed out on the final lap, an incident that allowed Verstappen to creep closer to Russell, but the Mercedes driver was able to hold his nerve and finish one tenth of a second ahead of the four-time world champion.

Russell ramps up title pressure on Antonelli

Ahead of the race in Baku, Russell insisted he would fight until it was mathematically impossible to catch Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship, and he did his chances no harm here by making up some ground on his team-mate, though the Italian still leads the way by 66 points.

But it was an impressive all-round display from Russell, who claimed Mercedes' first win in Baku since 2019, when Bottas led a one-two with Hamilton.

Win in Baku for George

Solid points from Kimi heading into the rest of the triple header pic.twitter.com/KrRUWqHNre
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 26, 2026

And it was so close yet so far for Verstappen, who is still without a race win to his name this season. Only in his debut season back in 2015 has he gone the first 15 races of a campaign without standing on the top step.

However, he will be able to take confidence from his drive at a track he has excelled at. He has now amassed 118 points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, overtaking former Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez (115) for the most in Baku.

TOP 10

1. George Russell (Mercedes)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

8. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

9. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

10. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS