Baku: Russell holds Verstappen off by two tenths as Red Bull return to a double podium

In control… for thirty laps

By the end of lap one, Russell already had a second in hand. The Mercedes looked on rails, and the Briton stretched his lead lap after lap while Oscar Piastri tried to keep both Red Bulls behind him. On lap seven, the pit wall made the call: Isack Hadjar let Max Verstappen through without a fight. A logical order, and one that would matter a great deal later in the afternoon.

Everything changed on lap 30. Alex Albon made a mistake, his Williams was out, and the first safety car came out. The strategy picture was reshuffled in one stroke.

Colapinto's braking point too far

At the lap 36 restart, Verstappen caught Piastri out to take second place. Moments later, Franco Colapinto locked both front wheels and took out his team-mate Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris. A second safety car, a double retirement for Alpine, and an apologetic Argentine on the radio while calls for a penalty grew louder in the paddock.

McLaren leave Baku without a single point. Norris was eliminated in the collision, and Piastri, at one stage in a podium position, slid down to 14th after two lock-ups. Aston Martin fared no better: despite bringing upgrades this weekend, both cars retired with technical problems.

Twelve laps decided by tenths

The final stint turned into a straight fight. The gap between Russell and Verstappen swung between half a second and a second, never giving the Mercedes driver room to breathe. A yellow flag on the last lap, caused by Valtteri Bottas, added one more twist. At the line, 0.196s separated them. Russell called it the most dominant weekend of his career; the final timing sheet tells of a much tighter finish.

For Verstappen it is a frustrating second place: he is still without a win this season. Yet his pace, with a power unit considered down on power, shows Red Bull have closed much of the gap. Starting from pole, he might well have won.

Hadjar, Antonelli and the day's bargains

On his return from injury, Isack Hadjar completed the podium despite a vibration detected on his gearbox. A clean race that gives Red Bull their first double podium since April 2024. Behind him, Charles Leclerc took fourth ahead of Kimi Antonelli. The championship leader started 16th after hitting the wall in qualifying, used the restarts to climb to fifth and limited the damage. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth.

Further back, Haas scored with both cars, Esteban Ocon eighth and Oliver Bearman ninth, ending a long drought for both drivers. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) earned a valuable seventh place, and Carlos Sainz rescued the final point in tenth for Williams.

Russell reignites his season and Antonelli salvaged what mattered, but the lasting image from Baku is that Red Bull sitting in the Mercedes' gearbox. If the progress holds, Verstappen's first win of 2026 may now come down to where he starts on the grid.