George Russell wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Mercedes driver holds off Max Verstappen in dramatic finish
Quick Look
Mercedes driver George Russell secured victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, narrowly defeating Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.1 seconds following two late safety car periods that tightened the field.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The race featured two safety car periods that allowed Max Verstappen to close the gap on leader George Russell.
Mercedes' George Russell held off a late challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win an Azerbaijan Grand Prix enlivened late on by two safety car periods.
Russell dominated the first part of the race while Verstappen was climbing up from eighth place on the grid before becoming stuck behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
But two safety cars in quick succession put the Red Bull on Russell's tail for an 11-lap chase to the flag.
Russell could never break free of Verstappen but the four-time world champion was not quite able to get close enough to try an overtaking move.
After an issue with energy deployment, Russell was scared Verstappen would pass him on the run to the line, but held on to win by 0.1 seconds.
Russell's win, coupled with team-mate Kimi Antonelli recovering from 16th to fifth, narrows the Italian's advantage over the Briton in the championship to 66 points.
The key stories of an initially soporific and then dramatic and tense grand prix were:
Open Questions
- What was the specific nature of the energy deployment issue?
