A qualifying lap for the ages from George Russell means it’s a Mercedes on pole in Azerbaijan, the British driver having gone almost a second faster in Q3 than the man who joins him on the front row, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Turn 1 scrap for the race lead may well also feature McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull returnee Isack Hadjar, who line up third and fourth respectively, the...
George Russell survived a late challenge from Max Verstappen to secure his third victory of the season in a dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix that saw six drivers retire, including McLaren’s Lando Norris. The Mercedes driver built on a strong start to control the first half, leaving Oscar Piastri to defend against the charging Red Bull pair of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar while Russell extended his lead. An error from Williams'...
Arvid Lindblad offered a particularly critical assessment of his individual performance after Qualifying at the Baku City Circuit, suggesting that he has recently “been trying to be too special”. Lindblad put himself on the back foot when he crashed out of Thursday’s second practice session in Azerbaijan - marking consecutive FP2 incidents following his heavy shunt at the previous round in Madrid. Beyond that, the Racing Bulls rookie has struggled...
Audi came to Azerbaijan with a major package of aero upgrades, and while the team played down the potential performance gains no one in the Hinwil camp could have anticipated how the Baku weekend has unfolded so far. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg both failed to make it out of Q1 in P17 and P18 respectively, and for a team that has regularly put a car in the top 10...
He’s still not won a race in 2026, but Max Verstappen could not have come closer in Baku, taking the chequered flag just 0.196s behind polesitter and victor George Russell, having started his Red Bull from only eighth on the grid. With the four-time World Champion the only man able to live with Russell’s blistering pace, the closing stages of the race became a straight two-way fight, as Verstappen hunted...
Lando Norris was less than impressed after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver dissatisfied at both his own performance and an incident with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly that prematurely ended his race. The whole weekend at the Baku City Circuit was one to forget for Norris after a lock-up in Qualifying left him to start the race from P5. A decent start saw him gain a position...
Liam Lawson admitted that he didn’t understand what team mate Arvid Lindblad was hoping to achieve in a move that saw the Racing Bulls pair make contact in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the New Zealander summarising that “it sucks for our race”. After both drivers recovered from being knocked out in Q2, they found themselves in contention for a double points finish heading into the final part of the...
Kimi Antonelli made clear that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend “taught me a lot” after enduring his “worst weekend of the season” on Baku’s streets. Antonelli’s start to the weekend was hampered by technical problems in practice before he dramatically crashed out in the opening phase of Qualifying - leaving him down in 16th on the grid, with team mate George Russell on pole. While Antonelli recovered to fifth position...
George Russell hailed an “incredible” weekend from start to finish in Azerbaijan, with the Mercedes driver topping Thursday practice, charging to a dominant pole and ultimately securing victory - cutting team mate Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead by 15 points in the process. Russell headed into the event 81 points behind Antonelli, but trimmed that gap to 66 by edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a dash to the chequered...
Franco Colapinto has apologised to team mate Pierre Gasly and Alpine after the Argentine’s mistake on a Safety Car restart eliminated both cars from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Alpine looked on course for a double points finish in Saturday’s 51-lap race on the streets of Baku, with Gasly running in P7 and Colapinto P10 as a Safety Car was deployed in the final third of proceedings following Alex Albon’s crash....
Max Verstappen admits he “was trying everything” to claim victory on the streets of Baku, the Red Bull driver eventually falling short by just one tenth against George Russell. The Dutchman was left a frustrated eighth on the grid for Saturday’s 51-lap race after issues in Qualifying, but Verstappen quickly began to make progress with the medium tyre. Moving into third, Verstappen demoted Oscar Piastri’s McLaren for second at the...
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies has set Isack Hadjar a clear target following confirmation that he will continue to race for the squad through 2027 - that being to “continue to progress” at his current rate on and off the track. Hadjar, who made the step up to the senior outfit in 2026 after a strong rookie season at Racing Bulls, has impressed alongside four-time World Champion Max Verstappen so far, appearing to end a so-called curse of the second Red Bull seat....
Max Verstappen denied George Russell a clean sweep of fastest practice times ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as the Red Bull driver finished quickest in Free Practice 3. The Dutchman finished one-tenth clear of Russell and Lewis Hamilton with a 1m 43.922s on the streets of Baku, during a final hour of practice where drivers pushed the limits ahead of Qualifying later on Friday. As has been the case throughout the season, teams and drivers were reluctant to immediately head out at the start of FP3, with the track surface in Baku noticeably covered in dust and leaves due to high winds....
Alex Dunne claimed his first win of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season, earning his third consecutive podium to put himself back in serious title contention. The Alpine F1 Academy and Rodin Motorsport driver converted pole position into an early lead, taking advantage of a Safety Car to emerge from the pit lane in second but the net-lead. In the final laps and following a mid-race red flag after an incident behind in the pack, Dunne cleared the yet-to-pit Oliver Goethe and drove off into the distance to take win number one of the season at a crucial time in the campaign....
George Russell clinched his fifth pole position of the 2026 season in a remarkably competitive Qualifying hour for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the Briton finding himself as the lone Mercedes driver after Kimi Antonelli crashed out of Q1. It looked like four teams would be in contention for the top spot, but Russell improved with every lap in Q3 to establish a dramatic advantage of eight tenths over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, ending the session with a time of 1m 42....
Kimi Antonelli was left to rue a “very unnecessary” and “very stupid” incident that ended his Qualifying session early in Azerbaijan, and leaves him towards the back of the grid for Saturday’s Grand Prix. Antonelli had just started a Q1 lap at the Baku City Circuit when he thumped the inside concrete wall at Turn 1, causing damage to the front-left corner of his Mercedes and forcing him to stop out on track - as instructed by Race Engineer Peter Bonnington....