en.malanginspirasi.com – George Russell held off a relentless final-lap charge from Max Verstappen to secure his third victory of the season in an action-packed, incident-filled Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday (26/9/2026).
Starting from pole, the Mercedes driver launched cleanly off the line to take command early.
Behind him, Oscar Piastri was left to fend off Red Bull’s aggressive duo of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, allowing Russell to carve out a comfortable margin at the front during the opening stint.
The narrative shifted dramatically when Alex Albon made a costly error in his Williams, bringing out the Safety Car and wiping out Russell’s comfortable gap.
Also Read:
Isack Hadjar Cleared for F1 Return with Red Bull at Azerbaijan Grand Prix
The Briton handled the initial restart well, but the race neutralised once again shortly after due to a major multi-car incident.
A costly lock-up from Franco Colapinto eliminated both his Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris, causing immediate retirements and triggering a second Safety Car period.
When racing resumed for the final sprint, Verstappen mounted an intense late assault on the lead.
Pushing his Red Bull to the absolute limit around the Baku City Circuit, Verstappen chased down the leader, but Russell held his composure to drag his Mercedes across the line just 0.1 seconds ahead of the Dutchman.
Key Race Highlights
Isack Hadjar backed up Verstappen’s runner-up finish by taking third place to complete a 2-3 result for Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, while Kimi Antonelli staged a brilliant recovery drive, slicing through the midfield from 16th to lock down fifth.
Haas celebrated their first points finish since Monaco, with Esteban Ocon in eighth and Oliver Bearman in ninth, finishing behind Arvid Lindblad in seventh.
Attrition was exceptionally high with six total retirements.
Beyond the crash involving Norris, Gasly, and Colapinto, Albon failed to finish after his earlier crash, Valtteri Bottas hit the barriers late in the race, and both Aston Martin drivers (Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll) retired with separate mechanical issues.
