Russell holds off Verstappen to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix
George Russell held off a late challenge from Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on 26 September 2026, edging the Red Bull driver by 0.1 seconds. The victory was Russell's first grand prix win since the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
Russell controlled the opening phase of the race while Verstappen recovered from an eighth-place grid slot, moving up through the field before becoming held up behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Two safety car periods late in the race brought Verstappen onto Russell's gearbox and set up an 11-lap run to the finish. Russell experienced an issue with energy deployment and feared Verstappen would pass him on the run to the line, but he maintained the lead.
Verstappen's charge from eighth included several overtakes before the safety-car interruptions, but he was unable to get close enough in the closing laps to attempt a clean pass on Russell. The Red Bull remained in contention throughout the final stint but finished narrowly short of the win.
The race turned chaotic in the middle stages when an initial safety car was followed almost immediately by a second deployment. That sequence coincided with a collision that forced the retirement of McLaren's Lando Norris and both Alpine cars immediately after the first safety car restart.
McLaren's eventful weekend deteriorated after a promising start, with the team's hopes undone by the mid-race incident and subsequent retirements. Oscar Piastri's on-track position earlier in the race had contributed to Verstappen being delayed while he attempted to climb the order.
Russell's team-mate Kimi Antonelli recovered from 16th on the grid to finish fifth, a recovery that, combined with Russell's win, reduced the Italian's championship advantage over the Briton to 66 points.
The BBC's roundup of the race highlighted several principal storylines: Russell's accomplished drive to his first win since Austria, Verstappen's fightback from a difficult qualifying, the mid-race safety-car chaos, McLaren's unravelled race, the incident that led to the retirements, and the moment Antonelli "knew he had been transformed as an F1 driver"; the coverage also invited reader questions via an Andrew Benson Q&A.