Max Verstappen confirmed that he is still in the fight for the drivers' championship and claimed another victory in the Formula 1, this time with a flawless performance. With hard tires on his Red Bull, he maintained the lead from the start and controlled the race from start to finish, giving his rivals no chance.
In contrast, the big surprise of the day was delivered by his direct rival, McLaren, especially with Oscar Piastri. The Australian driver, who started from ninth place after a crash in qualifying, had a chaotic start: he jumped the start, dropped to the back, and then ended up against the barriers at turn five, retiring on the first lap. This forced the safety car to come out.
Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson settled in behind Verstappen at the start, while Lando Norris lost several positions in the opening laps. Further back, Franco Colapinto had a good start by moving up from 16th to 13th place, but his luck changed after the pit stop on lap 17.
Upon rejoining, he was hit by Alex Albon, which complicated his strategy and dropped him to the back of the field. The Thai driver received a ten-second penalty, although the damage was already done for the Argentine, who finished in 19th place.
As the laps went by, Verstappen consolidated his lead and managed his advantage with ease. George Russell remained his main pursuer, while Carlos Sainz secured third place and gave Williams its first podium since 2021.
The top 10 also featured strong performances from Antonelli (4th), Lawson (5th), and Tsunoda (6th), followed by Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, and Hadjar. Lawson, in particular, firmly resisted the attempts of Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton in a tight finish.
Verstappen crossed the checkered flag with almost a 15-second lead over Russell, confirming another dominant performance, while Colapinto had to settle for last place after an incident that definitively marked his race.
Drivers and Constructors Standings after Baku
Drivers:
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 324 points
- Lando Norris (McLaren) - 299 points
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 255 points
- George Russell (Mercedes) - 212 points
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 165 points
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 121 points
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 78 points
- Alex Albon (Williams) - 70 points
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 39 points
- Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber) - 37 points
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 32 points
- Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 31 points
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 30 points
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 30 points
- Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 28 points
- PIERRE GASLY (Alpine) - 20 points
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) - 20 points
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) - 18 points
- Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 16 points
- FRANCO COLAPINTO (Alpine) - 0 points
- JACK DOOHAN (Alpine) - 0 points
Constructors:
- McLaren - 623 points
- Mercedes AMG F1 - 290 points
- Ferrari - 286 points
- Red Bull - 272 points
- Williams - 101 points
- Racing Bulls - 72 points
- Aston Martin - 62 points
- Kick Sauber - 55 points
- Haas F1 Team - 44 points
- ALPINE F1 TEAM - 20 points
