George Russell secured his third victory of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off Max Verstappen by just 0.196 seconds in a dramatic finish along the Baku City Circuit’s start/finish straight.

The Mercedes driver converted pole position into his eighth career Formula 1 victory despite two Safety Car periods that repeatedly closed the field and handed Verstappen the opportunity to attack. Verstappen finished second for Red Bull Racing, with team-mate Isack Hadjar completing the podium in third, 10.704 seconds behind Russell, giving Red Bull a double podium.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, while Kimi Antonelli delivered one of the drives of the race, recovering from 16th on the grid — following a qualifying accident — to claim fifth, 14.512 seconds from the winner. Lewis Hamilton was sixth, followed by Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, whose result was placed under investigation for earlier contact with team-mate Liam Lawson. Haas scored a double points finish through Esteban Ocon in eighth and Oliver Bearman in ninth, with Carlos Sainz rounding out the top 10 for Williams.

The race’s pivotal moment came on Lap 30, when Alexander Albon locked up at Turn 6 while battling Ocon and hit the barriers, triggering the first Safety Car. The leading drivers used the neutralisation to pit, with Red Bull executing a double stack to keep Verstappen and Hadjar together behind Oscar Piastri. At the restart, Verstappen moved past Piastri for second. Moments later, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto locked up approaching Turn 1 and collected team-mate Pierre Gasly, who in turn was unable to avoid Lando Norris. All three retired on the spot, bringing out a second Safety Car and dramatically compressing the field once more.

Piastri, who had run as high as second and appeared on course for a podium, locked up into Turn 1 under pressure from Hadjar on the lap following the second restart, spinning and dropping to the rear of the field. The McLaren driver recovered to finish 14th.

With the field bunched for the final time, Verstappen kept Russell within tenths through the closing laps around the narrow Baku streets. A late incident involving Valtteri Bottas, who put his Cadillac into the barriers, produced a yellow flag but did not neutralise the race. On the final lap, Verstappen drew alongside Russell on the run to the line in a drag race to the flag. Russell held his line and crossed first, 0.196 seconds clear of the Red Bull.

Six drivers failed to finish the 51-lap race: Norris, Gasly, Colapinto, Albon, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll.