Russell took his chance
The day after his brilliant qualification, George Russell transformed the test to rediscover the taste of victory this Saturday, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Everything led us to believe that the Briton would continue his momentum, driven by an insane pace with 10 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri at mid-race. The yellow flags and the safety car will have almost reshuffled the cards, bringing Max Verstappen within shooting distance... but Russell resisted, perfectly negotiating the two restarts and the finish, concluded by just a tenth. A third victory this season, the eighth in his career, as much as his teammate rival Kimi Antonelli (5th), now 66 lengths behind in the general classification. This time, Russell took his chance.
Hadjar, brilliant return
Finally back after six weeks of absence and extended into the week, Isack Hadjar was, to say the least, expected for his return to the track. And the Ile-de-France resident responded, with a nice third place at the finish, just behind his tireless teammate Max Verstappen (started 8th). A goal fulfilled for the Red Bull driver, who aimed for the podium with his fourth place on the grid. Surprised at the start, the young French driver patiently built his return to the front before showing his enthusiasm, demanding to compete regularly for Verstappen's place on the podium. Injured in the wrist after the summer break, Hadjar lost nothing of his always aggressive driving, as evidenced by this winning pressure on Oscar Piastri, who lost everything on the 40th lap, to score his third career podium, his second with Red Bull after Monaco.
Ocon regains the points
Esteban Ocon finds (a little) smile again. After another difficult qualifying on Friday, at the end of which he appeared quite annoyed, the Norman signed his first finish in the points since Monaco, at the end of June. 8th at the finish ahead of his teammate Ollie Bearman, the Norman, still under pressure, took his head out of the water a little, despite this 7th place lost on the line to Lindblad's Racing Bulls. “We deserve these results after these difficult days, it’s nice to have a victory that works and which can be fought on a regular basis,” agreed the Haas driver with Canal+.
FLOPS
Colapinto is expensive for Alpine
“I’m sorry, for Pierre and for the team.” Barely had the incident been cleared up, Franco Colapinto had grasped the scope of his gross error. While a finish in the points was promised to the two Alpine drivers, the Argentinian was the victim of a wheel lock before shooting straight on at the second restart, at the end of the endless Baku straight, taking with him his teammate Pierre Gasly and the McLaren of Lando Norris. From the double finish in the points to the double retirement, like in a nightmare, and a new incident between the two drivers of the Franco-British team after Madrid.
Cursed Piastri
A time promised to the supreme coronation last season, Oscar Piastri had shattered his dreams of coronation on this formidable track in Baku. This year, for the 10th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Australian, who finished overall, was aiming for nothing other than redemption and a first victory, but Russell was untouchable, so much so that the McLaren ended up with a traffic jam rather than a real threat for the Briton. Piastri was condemned to look behind, before being jumped without forcing by Verstappen then by Hadjar, whose pressure led the imperturbable Australian to make a mistake at the first corner (40th lap) and out of the points at the finish. Combined with the unfortunate retirement of Norris, this 14th place looks bad for the Papaya team.
Aston Martin still in the garage
The annus horribilis continues for Aston Martin. Overwhelmed by serious reliability problems, the British team experienced a new disappointment, not exactly a surprise, this Saturday. The first driver to retire, after only ten laps, Lance Stroll experienced a fourth retirement in a row before being followed around ten laps later by his teammate Fernando Alonso. A fifth “double retirement” for the team this season, i.e. in a third of the races.
