Formula One returned to the fast, twisty streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With its extremely long straight, flowing yet tight and complex sequence of corners, and the dreaded castle chicane, which has claimed the front end of many drivers, we were in for a treat.
With the updated battery deployment system and the current regulations regarding car construction, power, and the recent aerodynamic upgrades from many teams on the grid, many, myself included, were curious to see what this grand prix had in store. Would it be the continued domination of Kimi Antonelli? Would McLaren come out on top after their stretch of strong performances? Enough questions, let’s get into it.
Qualifying
Isack Hadjar made his return to Red Bull after Liam Lawson took his seat for the last couple of races. Throughout Q1, Hadjar was quick, showing excellent pace and placing himself P1 early on. Partway through the session, there was contact with the wall at the apex of Turn 1 for Kimi Antonelli, destroying the left front of the car. Antonelli tried desperately to push forward, but he was told to park the car immediately. George Russell was hungry for victory this weekend and proved it, exiting Q1 on top with Max Verstappen following in P2 and Isack Hadjar in P3—a dominant performance from Red Bull early on. The Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc filled P4 and P5, followed by an impressive session from Pierre Gasly in P6. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were struggling early, crossing the line in P7 and P8, with Alex Albon making it into Q2 in P9, and Esteban Ocon, whose Haas contract ends this year, drove like he had something to prove, exiting Q1 in P10.
In Q2, Russell still had the pace for the front row, but Verstappen was getting faster and faster, session by session, lap by lap, keeping himself in P2, but only by a slim two-hundredths of a second, with Charles Leclerc in his wake just under one tenth in P3. Piastri found a bit of life in his McLaren to jump up to P4, with Isack Hadjar dropping down the field slightly into P5. Norris also found a bit of pace, bringing himself into P6, Lewis Hamilton dropping three spots to P7, Gasly dropping two spots to P8, Carlos Sainz with an impressive comeback for P9, and right at the last minute, Franco Colapinto knocked out Oliver Bearman to bring his Alpine to P10.
I’m not sure what happened in Q3, but many cars seemed to drop off pace-wise, giving George Russell the opportunity to run away with P1 by over eight tenths of a second over Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, who were divided by one-thousandth of a second. Hadjar found a bit more pace, bringing his Red Bull back to P4, with Norris improving to P5, as well as Hamilton climbing back to P6. Pierre Gasly had another impressive qualifying result with P7, while Max Verstappen had a very opposite qualifying experience with a disappointing P8. Carlos Sainz would bring his Williams home in P9, with Franco Colapinto qualifying P10 to round out the top ten.
Race
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is underway! Piastri launched off the line to place his McLaren in front of the Ferrari of Leclerc, gaining P2 with Leclerc making an offensive attempt to get the position back on the exit of Turn 1, but was unsuccessful. Leclerc was under attack from the McLaren of Norris and the Red Bull of Hadjar, but managed to fend off both to maintain his P3 position. Kimi Antonelli started from the back due to his accident in Q1 and seemed to have some issues working his way through the field, creating some hesitation for the young Italian, keeping him in P17 for the opening laps.
Pass after pass, overtake after overtake, it was a spectacle to see so much action. Verstappen made a late braking pass on the Ferrari of Hamilton for P6, with the second Red Bull of Hadjar taking P4 away from Lando Norris moments later. Verstappen was gaining ground on Norris quickly, throwing his Red Bull on the inside to take P5. Hadjar, with heaps of momentum, began the chase on the Ferrari of Leclerc, making multiple attempts to pass for P3. Verstappen would quickly pass Leclerc for P4, gaining on his teammate and making a textbook pass into Turn 1 for P3.
The driver many were watching throughout the grand prix was Kimi Antonelli, but not from a dominant performance perspective as displayed in previous races. At the start of the race weekend, Antonelli showed great confidence behind the wheel around the tricky Baku circuit. After his accident in qualifying and starting from the back of the grid, his almost precautious driving throughout the race was surprising given his usual pace and the speed displayed by his teammate, George Russell. Many speculate he was playing it safe to ensure a points finish, but the only person who knows is Kimi Antonelli.
It wasn’t only Antonelli struggling throughout the race. Lando Norris seemed to struggle throughout qualifying with multiple brake lock-ups, and another big one before Turn 1 during the race, causing him to lose two places, bringing him from an already surprising P7 down to P9. One lap later, another lock-up, this time from the Williams of Alex Albon, unsettled the car; a severe amount of understeer caused Albon to slam into the tire barriers, bringing out the safety car.
The safety car pulled into the pits, and all cars headed hurtling towards Turn 1, with some hurtling through Turn 1. Franco Colapinto was occupied watching his mirrors, missing his braking point, causing the right front to lock, sending him uncontrollably into the side of his teammate, Pierre Gasly, who also took out Lando Norris in the process, ending a promising double points finish for Alpine and a possible recovery drive from Norris. In that same corner, Arvid Lindblad made a last-minute decision to make a passing attempt heading into Turn 1, but would be sandwiched between his teammate, Liam Lawson, and the Haas of Esteban Ocon, who barely made it through the chaos.
Just when the day couldn’t get worse for McLaren, it does, in the exact same corner. Oscar Piastri was defending his P3 position against an attacking Isack Hadjar. Piastri locked up and smoked both front tires braking into Turn 1, causing his car to understeer straight through the runoff area, where he’d drop from P3 down to P15, ending his and McLaren’s hopes of a podium or a points finish.
The final lap, everything was going according to plan for George Russell and Mercedes: George leading, Kimi clawing his way back to an impressive P5. Mercedes was in for another successful weekend when suddenly Valtteri Bottas was in the wall, bringing out yet another yellow flag. Bottas seemed to have a battery deployment issue that led his battery to overcharge, causing a sudden increase in power and RPM, throwing off his braking point and momentum, causing him to overdrive the corner and place his Cadillac in the barriers.
When you’re leading a race, a yellow flag is the last thing you want to see, but Russell had it covered, at least so we thought. As the field came around to the Cadillac nested in the tires, Verstappen in P2 managed to close up to the gearbox of the Mercedes, leading to a drag race down the main straight to the chequered flag. Verstappen had the momentum, gaining tenth by tenth, until they crossed the line…George Russell wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by only one tenth of a second, Verstappen finishes P2, and after some time away from F1, Isack Hadjar crosses the line in a hard-fought P3.
We’re not done yet. There were multiple drag races to the finish, the next being the battle between Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli, ending with Leclerc in P4 and Antonelli in P5 by three tenths of a second, followed by Lewis Hamilton driving on his lonesome for P6. It was down to the wire, Lindblad vs. Ocon for P7, and Lindblad would make the pass, taking P7 from Ocon, moving him down to P8. Lindblad crossed the line ahead by only three-thousandths of a second. Oliver Bearman would bring home P9, making it a double points finish for Haas, and Carlos Sainz would round out the Top 10 and get some points for Williams.
Another victory for Mercedes after an action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It makes me happy to say we don’t have to wait long for more action, as this coming weekend is the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia from the beautiful Sepang International Circuit. The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved to Malaysia due to military conflicts in the Middle East, so we’ll be treated to one of the most iconic tracks in F1 history in its place. We’ll see you in the next one.
FEATURE PHOTO: GEORGE RUSSELL, AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX 2026. COURTESY OF MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS F1 TEAM.
