Russell keeps fired-up Verstappen at bay to take win in incident-packed Azerbaijan GP

The pole-sitter made a clean getaway from pole position to retain the lead into Turn 1, with Oscar Piastri gaining a place on Charles Leclerc to move up to second. Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, endured a difficult start to the Azerbaijan GP, having been left at the back of the field during the formation lap and dropping one position from his starting spot to 17th.

Further back, Verstappen made an impressive start, gaining two positions and passing Lewis Hamilton down the straight to move up to sixth. Leclerc initially held third, with Isack Hadjar fourth, Lando Norris fifth and Hamilton seventh.

Verstappen then continued his charge by overtaking Norris, moving up to fifth and closing in on his team-mate. Hadjar also launched an attack on Leclerc, passing the Ferrari driver on the straight before carrying significantly more speed through Turn 1. Leclerc responded immediately by reclaiming the position, although his recovery would prove short-lived.

On the following lap, Verstappen did the same, this time taking fourth place and dropping Leclerc down to fifth. Once again, the Dutchman powered past the Ferrari with no chance for Leclerc to respond.

A fired-up Verstappen then overtook his team-mate on lap seven to move into a virtual podium position. However, Piastri defended brilliantly, consistently extending his advantage through the middle sector and denying Verstappen any opportunity to launch an attack. This resulted in a train forming behind the McLaren, with Hadjar also closing in and joining the battle.

Meanwhile, Antonelli found himself caught in traffic, taking longer than expected to make his way through the field. However, the Italian eventually fought his way into the top 10 on lap 17, even before making his first pit stop.

Behind them, Norris and Hamilton engaged in a battle for sixth place, with the seven-time world champion coming out on top to take the position.

Aston Martin endured another disastrous race, with Lance Stroll retiring in the opening laps before Fernando Alonso also suffered a retirement on lap 22, resulting in a double DNF for the team.

Alexander Albon brought out the Safety Car on lap 31 after losing control of his Williams and crashing heavily into the barriers at the entrance to the second sector, with Esteban Ocon following behind.

The incident prompted the front-runners to make their pit stops on the following lap, giving them an opportunity to reshuffle their strategies. However, there were no significant position changes at the front, with Antonelli the main beneficiary as he gained a place on Lando Norris during his stop to move up to eighth.

The race resumed behind the Safety Car, but the action quickly descended into chaos as both Alpine drivers and Lando Norris were forced to retire following a series of incidents. At the front, Max Verstappen wasted no time in making his move, overtaking Oscar Piastri at Turn 1 to take second place.

Franco Colapinto completely missed his braking point, triggering a chain reaction that also took out his team-mate, who then collected Norris and forced the McLaren driver into retirement.

There was also contact between the two Racing Bulls, with Lindblad hitting Liam Lawson, although both drivers managed to continue. The incident prompted another Safety Car period.

A major mistake from Piastri at Turn 1 saw him run wide while defending against Hadjar, rejoining the track at the back of the field. The Frenchman now moves up to third, with both Red Bull cars on the podium.

Russell managed to keep a charging Verstappen at bay all the way to the chequered flag to take victory, with Hadjar finishing third and an impressive Antonelli recovering all the way to fifth to limit the damage in the championship.