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Story summary
Kimi Antonelli surprisingly crashed out during qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, hitting the wall at the first corner and damaging his car's suspension, placing him 16th on the grid. His teammate George Russell secured pole position, despite Antonelli leading the Formula 1 standings by 81 points after 14 rounds.
Russell expressed confidence in his car's performance around the Baku City Circuit but acknowledged that Antonelli remains a threat due to previous performances from behind the starting grid. The race is set for Saturday, September 26, at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan, with temperatures expected to be warm and sunny. Apple TV offers a seven-day free trial to watch the race live streaming exclusively in the United States. Mercedes’ George Russell will start first ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri from McLaren starts third. The longest straight on the F1 calendar at Baku City Circuit highlights the importance of straight-line speed for this event. Despite Antonelli's poor qualifying position, he remains the championship leader and a contender for victory. Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr., Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Arvid Lindblad, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, and others will also compete. The race is an early one for U.S. viewers starting at 7 a.m. ET on September 26. Despite the large point deficit, Russell aims to narrow it with a strong performance in Baku.
Written for “Azerbaijan Grand Prix” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Mercedes' George Russell held off a late challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win an Azerbaijan Grand Prix enlivened late on by two safety car periods.
asserted
Russell → publish → periods
Russell dominated the first part of the race while Verstappen was climbing up from eighth place on the grid before becoming stuck behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
asserted
Verstappen → dominate → Piastri
But two safety cars in quick succession put the Red Bull on Russell's tail for an 11-lap chase to the flag.
asserted
cars → put → flag
Russell could never break free of Verstappen but the four-time world champion was not quite able to get close enough to try an overtaking move.
uncertain
champion → break → move
After an issue with energy deployment, Russell was scared Verstappen would pass him on the run to the line, but held on to win by just under 0.2 seconds.
asserted
Verstappen → scar → seconds
Russell's win, coupled with team-mate Kimi Antonelli recovering from 16th to fifth, narrows the Italian's advantage over the Briton in the championship to 66 points.
asserted
Antonelli → couple → points
The key stories of an initially soporific and then dramatic and tense grand prix were:
Russell's accomplished drive to his first win since the Austrian Grand Prix in June
Verstappen's superb fightback from a difficult qualifying
Mid-race chaos with a first safety car triggering a second almost immediately, as so often happens
McLaren's race unravelling after a promising start
Russell appeared on course for a comfortable win as the race unfolded with few incidents of note in the opening stages.
asserted
race → trigger → stages
Piastri moved up from third on the grid to second by passing Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the start but the Australian lacked the pace to chase Russell, who edged away into a comfortable lead.
asserted
who → move → lead
Behind, Piastri soon found himself holding off Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, who won an early battle with McLaren's Lando Norris and then passed Leclerc to challenge the McLaren.
asserted
who → find → McLaren
Meanwhile, Verstappen was making his way up from eighth place after a qualifying session in which a cascade of problems had prevented him qualifying second to Russell.
asserted
him → make → Russell
By lap seven, he was past Hadjar into third place after the Frenchman did not fight him.
asserted
Frenchman → fight → him
The three cars circulated together in a stalemate, with no-one able to pass and the teams all waiting for the expected accident that would lead to a safety car and a cheap pit stop.
asserted
that → circulate → car
That happened on lap 30, when Williams' Alex Albon crashed at Turn Five.
asserted
Albon → happen → Turn
On the restart, six laps later, Verstappen passed Piastri into Turn One to move into second place.
But the race was almost immediately put back under caution after a pile-up at the first corner caused by Alpine's Franco Colapinto, who cannoned into team-mate Pierre Gasly, who in turn clattered into Norris.
asserted
who → pass → Norris
Behind them, the two Racing Bulls also came together, Arvid Lindblad tipping Liam Lawson into a spin, leading to a sarcastic response from the New Zealander on the radio.
asserted
Lindblad → come → radio
That put Verstappen on to Russell's tail for another restart but the Briton handled the situation coolly, accelerating early and catching the Dutchman somewhat unawares.
asserted
Briton → put → Dutchman
He was unable to shake Verstappen, who was always about 0.5secs behind but never quite close enough to try a move into Turn One, the only significant overtaking place.
asserted
who → shake → Turn
Valtteri Bottas crashed his Cadillac at Turn 15, and after backing off for the yellow flags, Russell lost his turbo which in turn cost him electrical boost.
asserted
which → crash → boost
Verstappen closed in on the run to the line and there was just 0.196secs between them as they crossed the line, the closest green-flag finish to a grand prix since the 2002 United States Grand Prix.
asserted
they → close → Prix
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