Before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix even had a chance to begin, the drama has already started. On the grid, Isack Hadjar had a problem with his car’s hydraulics and told his engineer, “the engine is not really liking it.” Luckily, his Racing Bulls team fixed the issue just in time, and he was able to start from eighth place.

At the front, Max Verstappen was on pole position, with Carlos Sainz next to him and Liam Lawson in third. When the lights went out, Verstappen had a perfect start, staying ahead of Sainz.

But things went very badly for Oscar Piastri, the championship leader. He had started ninth after crashing in qualifying. The Australian jumped the start, his car hit anti-stall, and he fell to the back of the field. Then he locked up his brakes at Turn 5 and crashed hard into the barriers. The McLaren was out immediately, and the safety car came out while the track was cleared.

When the race restarted on lap 5, Verstappen quickly pulled away, already more than a second ahead of Sainz. Lawson held third, with Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda close behind. Fernando Alonso was penalised five seconds for jumping the start, explaining he had reacted to Piastri’s early move.

Further back, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton passed Hadjar, who was struggling to keep up in the opening laps. George Russell then used DRS to overtake Tsunoda and move into fifth, while Tsunoda had to defend against a train of cars behind him.

By lap 15, Verstappen was four seconds ahead of Sainz, and Sainz had three seconds on Lawson, while Antonelli and Russell kept applying pressure on the Racing Bulls driver.

Alex Albon then tried to pass Franco Colapinto at Turn 5, but they collided. Colapinto spun, and Albon was given a ten-second penalty. Mercedes sorted out their own strategy by pitting Antonelli first, while Russell stayed out and closed in on Lawson. After rejoining, Antonelli fought past both Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s lead at the front had grown to nine seconds. On lap 28, Sainz made his pit stop, but Russell stayed out a bit longer and came out ahead of Sainz, winning the strategic battle for second place.

In the final part of the 51-lap race, Lando Norris lost time during a slow pit stop and dropped behind Leclerc. Tsunoda, Lawson, Norris, and Hamilton then formed a tight DRS train fighting over fifth place. Lawson defended well under pressure, keeping his position.

Verstappen was the last driver to make his pit stop, but he had such a big lead that he came back out comfortably in first. From there, the Dutchman controlled the race and took his fourth win of the season. Russell finished second thanks to clever tyre strategy, and Sainz gave Williams a big celebration by finishing third, their first podium of 2025. Antonelli matched his best career result in fourth, followed by Lawson, Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton. Leclerc and Hadjar completed the points.

2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix results: