George Russell holds off Max Verstappen to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix

George Russell held off a late charge from Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on 26 September 2026, finishing just one-tenth of a second ahead. The victory came from pole position and was Russell’s first win in Baku and his third of the season.

Russell led from the start, managing two tense restarts after safety-car periods and keeping Verstappen at bay to take the flag. Verstappen recovered to second after starting eighth, while Isack Hadjar finished third. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed the top six in fourth and sixth respectively, and Kimi Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to finish fifth.

At the race start Russell kept the lead into turn one as Oscar Piastri moved past Leclerc to run second and Antonelli fell to 17th. Verstappen was quick off the line, rising from eighth to sixth by lap two, and by lap three both Hadjar and Verstappen had passed Lando Norris for fourth and fifth. Russell opened a gap of more than two seconds during the opening laps as Antonelli made gradual progress back through the field.

Verstappen, fitted with a new engine, passed Hadjar on lap seven to take third and sat about five seconds behind Russell. He closed on Piastri by lap nine but the Australian held his position. The race ran without major incidents until lap 31 when Alex Albon locked up and crashed nose-first into the wall at turn five; Albon was unhurt.

Pit stops were taken under the safety car following Albon’s crash, which erased Russell’s roughly 11-second advantage and bunched the field. Antonelli moved up with the pack to eighth before racing resumed five laps later, and on the restart Verstappen overtook Piastri for second. Shortly afterwards a three-car collision at turn one involving the two Alpine cars and Norris brought out a second safety car; Norris retired after being hit in that incident.

Another restart followed with Antonelli promoted to seventh, and Russell again retained the lead despite heavy pressure. Antonelli progressed to sixth and then passed Hamilton for fifth on lap 42, while Piastri—who had run in podium positions for much of the race—dropped out of the points after a late lock-up. Verstappen remained within a second of Russell in an attempt to use overtake mode but was unable to mount a successful pass.

The win cut Russell’s deficit to team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 66 points with eight meetings remaining.