In the urban canyons of Baku, World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed his next Formula 1 miracle. At the end-grabbing Grand Prix in Azerbaijan with two safety car phases, the Mercedes driver raced from 16th position to fifth place after a debacle in qualifying. Three weeks after his crazy drive from 19th place to victory in Monza, Antonelli once again successfully limited the damage.
His stable rival George Russell celebrated a start-to-finish victory that was only in jeopardy in the final phase and reduced the gap to the Italian to 66 points. With his third success of the year and the eighth of his career, the Englishman beat Max Verstappen in the Red Bull to second place with a lead of just 0.1 seconds on breathless final kilometers.
Third in his comeback after an injury break was Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull. After a completely botched qualification with 18th place, Nico Hülkenberg almost raced into the points in eleventh place in the Audi.
Antonelli’s misfire “completely unnecessary”
Antonelli had experienced a debacle in qualifying. In a crash in the first corner, he irreparably damaged the left front suspension of his Mercedes after a driving error. “It was my mistake, completely unnecessary,” admitted the teenager. “To be honest, I’m extremely annoyed about it.” His Baku misfire was a “very good reminder” that “nothing is just given to you”.
His hope? A miracle. Just like three weeks ago at his home game in the high-speed temple of Monza. Antonelli received a grid penalty for an illegal engine change and still raced to victory from 19th place. In the narrow streets of Baku, the Italian didn't make any progress in the first few laps and was initially stuck in traffic. After 17 of 51 laps, Antonelli was already in the top ten.
Verstappen also couldn't keep up with pole man Russell's pace. A battery problem slowed him down in the hunt for a starting position. “The weekend actually went well. When it comes down to it, you have an engine problem. “This is absolutely shitty,” he complained.
Clean start from Russell
With a new engine in his Red Bull, Verstappen was on course for the podium early on. His teammate Isack Hadjar, who had previously missed three races due to a wrist injury, had to let the faster Dutchman pass him.
“I’m concentrating on a clean start,” Russell announced before the red lights went out. And that worked. The Englishman got away brilliantly and led the field through the urban canyons. Oscar Piastri passed Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in the first corner in the McLaren and was the Brit's first pursuer. But Russell was in a class of his own and continued to expand his lead over the Australian.
Russell had a moment of shock halfway through the race when he hit the wall and was worried about his tires on the right side of the Mercedes. “It doesn’t feel good, please keep an eye on the tire pressure,” he instructed his pit box over the radio.
Antonelli uses the first safety car
On lap 31, Williams driver Alex Albon crashed into the track wall in turn five. The safety car drove onto the asphalt and the field tightened up. Antonelli immediately used this phase to change tires. A lap later, Russell and Verstappen got fresh rubber.
A crane recovered the demolished Williams and on lap 35 the road was clear again. Verstappen overtook Piastri after the restart, but then there was another crash caused by Alpine driver Franco Colapinto. The yellow flags were waved and the safety car returned.
The cleanup work was quickly completed - and then Russell had to tremble. Verstappen put a lot of pressure on the Brit. Russell called for a new engine setting and was just able to save his victory across the finish line.
