Max Verstappen controlled to win F1 Azerbaijan GP, as George Russell works the strategy to be P2 from Carlos Sainz.
It was cloudy and windy to start F1 Azerbaijan GP race in Baku City Circuit where Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made the bold call to start on the hard compound and maintain his lead from Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson in the Top 3.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli kept fourth but teammate George Russell lost fifth to Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda at Turn 2. The Brit got him back at Turn 4 to be fifth again. Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar picked up McLaren’s Lando Norris to move up to seventh in the order.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was ninth, with teammate Lewis Hamilton making up two places to be 10th on Lap 1. The disaster was for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri from ninth. He jumped the start which caught out Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. This dropped the Australian to the back of the grid.
In the bid to make up places at Turn 5, Piastri lost grip and went straight into the barrier to retire and bring out the safety car. Just ahead, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg tapped Haas’ Esteban Ocon, with the Frenchman on the outside. It forced a double stop for the Haas driver under safety car.
Williams’ Alexander Albon pitted early as well. The re-start worked well for Verstappen against Sainz and Lawson. But Russell lost a place to Tsunoda at Turn 1 when the Brit tried to pass Antonelli, but had no place. Leclerc caught Norris napping to take eighth on the lead-up to Turn 1.
A lap around both Leclerc and Norris cleared Hadjar, who had a wide moment at Turn 16, to move up to seventh and eighth. Hamilton tried to get through Hadjar but the Frenchman got the place back until they came around again when the Brit managed to stick the move to take ninth.
Alonso, meanwhile, was handed 5s time penalty for false start as he lost a place to Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. It was easy for Verstapen at the front as he build a good gap on Sainz. But Lawson was under pressure from Antonelli and Russell, with the Brit urging for a swap.
Tsunoda held firm in sixth from Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton and Hadjar. At the back, Albon pitted the second time and had a contact with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto when the Argentine exited the pits. The Thai went for a move at Turn 5 on the inside, but they made contact to lose endplate.
Albon was handed a 10s time penalty for causing a collision. Antonelli pitted on Lap 19 to release Russell, while Leclerc pitted on Lap 20. The Kiwi was called in on Lap 21 to cover the Italian which they did at pit exit. But Antonelli got track position by the end of the lap at Turn 1.
Sainz made his stop on Lap 28 in order to cover the Mercedes F1 pair. It steadied then. Hamilton pitted first on Lap 37, followed by Norris on Lap 38. The former was on the hard compound, with the latter stretching his mediums. It was a slow stop from McLaren which put him behind Leclerc.
Tsunoda stopped on Lap 39 and just came out ahead of Lawson. But the Kiwi managed to get through him for fifth, with Leclerc and Norris close behind. Russell pitted on Lap 40 to retain second, while Verstappen pitted on Lap 41 to retain the lead of F1 Azerbaijan GP.
Sainz lost second to Russell, with Antonelli chasing him. Lawson was fifth from Tsunoda as Norris cleared Leclerc for seventh. Hamilton started to close in, in ninth, with Hadjar rounding the Top 10. Ferrari played the team game and asked Leclerc to give way to Hamilton in the fight for fifth.
Lawson led the pack with Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton very close behind. It was clean from Verstappen at the front to win F1 Azerbaijan GP by 14.609s margin over Russell, who climbed up to second. It was a return to the podium for Sainz in third and first with Williams.
Antonelli tried hard but had to be content with fourth, as Lawson secured his best result in fifth after defying Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton, who ended up sixth, seventh and eighth. The Ferrari driver slowed to acknowledge Leclerc, who was ninth from Hadjar in the Top 10.
Albon was 11th on the road but the penalty dropped him to 13th behind Bortoleto and Haas’ Oliver Bearman. His teammate Ocon was 14th from Alonso, Hulkenberg, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Colapinto, where both the Alpine drivers finished a lap down.
