Verstappen unstoppable in Baku as Piastri, McLaren crumble

The race kicked off in much the same manner as qualifying had largely followed, with Oscar Piastri prompting the first safety car of the day. The McLaren driver crashed into the barriers after a poor launch off the line.

The championship leader, who jumped the start, quickly found himself in last place as he stalled to avoid a possible penalty. Piastri would soon find the barriers between turns five and six as he attempted to recover from his disastrous start. The McLaren driver was subsequently handed a five-second penalty for the start-line incident.

After the safety car period ended, Verstappen continued his charge towards what would be his fourth win of the 2025 campaign. The Red Bull Racing driver, who started the race on hard compound tyres, consistently eked out a gap over Carlos Sainz, who had qualified in second place.

While things appeared a little calm and coasting for Verstappen, several incidents continued to mar the race further down the grid. Fernando Alonso landed himself a penalty after also jumping the start like Piastri. Alex Albon was also handed a 10-second penalty after he crashed into Franco Colapinto.

Championship contender Lando Norris also had his fair share of mishaps, as he again experienced another pitstop incident after switching his medium tyres for hard tyres on lap 38 of the race. The McLaren driver, who was aiming to undercut Yuki Tsunoda, endured a lengthy pit stop – 4.1 seconds, which translated into further position loss.

The Scuderia Ferrari also had their fair share of nightmares as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc largely witnessed their pace disappear as the race developed. The pair who had shown promise through free practice could only muster an eighth and ninth-place finish at the Azerbaijan race.

However, with the chaos in Baku unfolding, Verstappen continued to chip out time to second place, George Russell, who pulled the overcut on Sainz for second place, with the Williams Racing driver settling for third place. The Red Bull Racing driver who had clinched pole position would successfully convert it into victory number four of the 2025 campaign.

The win for Verstappen also witnessed him cut the lead atop the driver championship, with seven races left on the 2025 calendar.