The Englishman wins the Azeirbagian Grand Prix and reduces the gap to the World Championship leader who finishes fifth. Ferrari off the podium for the fifth consecutive time
George Russell he is the absolute ruler of Azerbaijan Grand Prix which took place on the Baku circuit. The English driver with his Mercedes after taking pole position, he won the grand prix and set the best lap. A monologue that was only questioned by the finale recovery of Max Verstappenfavored by the Safety Car which allowed the Dutchman to make the last eleven laps of the circuit spectacular. But Max’s pursuit of Russell was unsuccessful, if only by a tenth of a second, and with success in Baku Russell reduces the gap on teammate Kimi Antonelli to 66 points. “But he is having an extraordinary season – admitted Russell – and I, to try to catch him in the title fight, I will just have to try to win every race. I’ve come from a very difficult period and fortunately I think I’ve turned it around, so I feel a lot better and I can’t wait to keep racing.”
Kimi’s race
Antonelli finished in fifth place recovering eleven positions from the starting position. For the world championship leader it was important to limit the damage after the accident in practice and thinking of making a sensational comeback like the one that led him to win in Monza on a city circuit was unthinkable. Better to settle for a placing for once, perhaps hoping that from the next Bahrain Grand Prix (which will take place in Malaysia) the Italian can fight for victory. Russell’s race was flawless and, after taking first place after the start, he managed the difficult moments of the Safety Car’s entry onto the track as best he could, despite having a fast driver like Verstappen behind him.
Leclerc fourth
Once again (the fifth in a row) the two Ferraris are off the podium: fourth place for Charles Leclerc, who lost two positions in the first laps, and only sixth place for Lewis Hamilton, complained throughout the race about battery power problems on his SF-26. Antonelli was the one dividing the two Cavallino drivers.
The controversy
McLaren leaves Baku with zero points: the Woking team that brought a major update to the MCL40 was left with a handful of flies in their hands. Oscar Piastri paid for yet another mistake (he ended up wide at turn 1, slipping from third to fourteenth place), while Lando Norris was involved in the accident caused by the Safety Car on the second restart by Franco Colapinto after losing several positions because his papaya car never had the pace. The world champion commented harshly immediately after the race: “I haven’t seen the episode yet, but if you cause an accident during a restart like that, you should receive at least a one-race disqualification!”.
