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Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Round 15 · Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan · 2026-09-26

What to Watch

  • Laps 1–10 — Verstappen charges through the field: Starting P8, Verstappen is already up to P3 by Lap 10, while Russell controls the race from the lead.

  • Laps 31–38 — Two Safety Car periods reset the race: Back-to-back Safety Car phases compress the field dramatically. By Lap 38, Verstappen is just 0.388s behind Russell, with P2 through P7 all within 1.4 seconds of the lead.

  • Lap 42 — Antonelli reaches the top five: After starting P16, Antonelli's recovery brings him into P5, where he stays through to the finish.

  • Laps 39–51 — Russell vs Verstappen becomes the fight for the win: Verstappen stays within one second of Russell throughout the closing stint, keeping the lead battle alive all the way to the final lap.

  • Final laps — Almost nothing separates the leaders: Russell sets the fastest lap on Lap 49 with a 1:44.916, while Verstappen's best is only 0.077s slower. The official finishing margin is just 0.196s.

Short Version

Race Weekend Breakdown

Weekend Summary

  • Russell sets the benchmark all weekend: George Russell tops both FP1 and FP2, finishes just 0.099s behind Verstappen in FP3, then takes pole by 0.837s before converting it into the race win.

  • Verstappen recovers from a qualifying setback: Verstappen stays near the front throughout practice and tops FP3, but qualifies only P8. He charges back to P2 in the race and finishes just 0.196s behind Russell.

  • Hadjar's weekend transforms from FP1 to the podium: Isack Hadjar starts the weekend down in P20 in FP1, improves to P9 in both FP2 and FP3, qualifies an impressive P4 and finishes the race on the podium in P3.

  • Antonelli rebounds from Q1 elimination: After running P5, P2 and P4 across the three practice sessions, Kimi Antonelli is eliminated in Q1 and starts P16. He recovers eleven positions to finish P5.

  • McLaren's qualifying promise doesn't carry into Sunday: Oscar Piastri qualifies P3 — just 0.001s behind Leclerc — with Lando Norris P5, but their race unravels: Piastri finishes P13 after his major mid-race drop, while Norris retires and is classified P19.