F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025 Recap: Max Verstappen registers another commanding win

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen converted his pole position to a second consecutive win as he eased to a comfortable victory at the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

George Russell finished second ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who had qualified on the front row. McLaren struggled under a cloudy Baku sky — championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out on the opening lap itself, while Lando Norris also wasn’t able to finish on the podium, though he did finish the race and cut down his teammate’s championship lead. 

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was fourth, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson fifth — ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda. Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Isack Hadjar rounded out the points places. 

A chaotic start to the race saw Max Verstappen breeze off pole. Current championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out instantly after a lock-up following his poor start, which dropped him right to the back of the grid. The Australian ended up locking up and sliding into the outside wall at Turn 5, which ended his race there and then.

Piastri’s crash also brought out the Safety Car. After four laps behind the Safety Car, the race resumed as Verstappen sped off once again, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda also had a strong restart and picked off George Russell for P5. Behind them, Lando Norris made up a place on Isack Hadjar a lap later, while the top three of Verstappen, Sainz, and Lawson drove comfortably at the front.

By Lap 10, Verstappen was almost two seconds clear of Sainz and was beginning to leave the rest of the grid behind. Russell, who lost out to Tsunoda on the restart, finally got back his fifth position on the same lap as he went around the Red Bull driver, while his teammate Kimi Antonelli was pressuring Lawson for P3.

Williams called in Alex Albon on Lap 16 for a stop. The Thai-Brit had a moment right after coming out as he came together with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, which handed him a ten-second penalty.

As the race entered its 20th lap, the drivers were slowly switching to the hard compound as Verstappen breezed up front; by Lap 25, he was almost seven-and-a-half seconds clear.

Hardly anyone managed to match the Dutchman. The reigning world champion drove in a league of his own as the rest of the grid fought for points places behind him. Verstappen’s race was such a comfortable and dominant one that he was the last driver to pit from the lead on Lap 42, and he came out two and a half seconds clear on the medium compound.

Behind Verstappen, there was a small train comprising Norris, Tsunoda, and Lewis Hamilton, all three of whom were fighting for P6, with Liam Lawson driving a solid defensive race in P5.

As Verstappen eventually eased to one of his most comfortable wins of the season, Russell came in second, well clear of Carlos Sainz. Both Lawson and Tsunoda were able to hang on to their fifth and sixth positions, respectively, as after Piastri’s opening-lap crash the race turned out to be a relatively uneventful affair.

Finishing 14 seconds clear of George Russell, Max Verstappen’s win has helped him close up to Lando Norris in the Drivers’ standings. Oscar Piastri still leads with 324 points, while Lando Norris has moved to 299 points.

Verstappen, who seemed like he was out of contention for the Drivers’ title heading into the summer break thanks to McLaren’s domination, is now 44 points behind Norris and looking like a proper threat.

A strong points haul for Red Bull has helped them close the gap to Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings to 14 points. The Scuderia, meanwhile, are four points behind second-placed Mercedes. McLaren, who had the chance to seal the Constructors’ title in Baku, will have to wait at least two more weeks.

From one street track to the next, Formula One will be back in action in two weeks’ time as the grid heads to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix.