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Kimi Antonelli has conceded that although the Drivers’ Championship is on his mind, he’s aware that it’s not over until it’s over and is determined to maintain his high standards over the remaining rounds. The Italian has excelled this season by taking eight Grand Prix victories and a further four podiums, which have enabled him to steadily build an advantage of 81 points over George Russell. A win in Madrid caused his Mercedes team mate to state that he’s not in the fight for the drivers’ title, but Antonelli insisted that he’s not allowing himself to lose focus, instead opting to take each race weekend as it comes.
"It's not over until it's over. Until you cross that finish line, it's not over. It's like tennis, one point at a time, here one race at a time. Keep giving your best and keep trying to raise that bar, keep delivering results and see where we end up at the end of the year. As we're getting closer, I've thought about the championship and stuff, but by thinking about it I’ve always come to the final conclusion that I need to keep driving like I am and delivering the results. The sooner it's over, the better it is. Still a long way and it's not going to be easy. It’s going to be intense but I’m ready to give my best and to keep having fun".
The 20-year-old could add another win to his tally at the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, held at the Baku City Circuit where he narrowly missed out on a podium to Williams’ Carlos Sainz in last season’s race. Despite his previous strong showing, Antonelli was keen to manage expectations, especially as rival teams McLaren and Red Bull have joined Ferrari in closing the gap to the Silver Arrows.
"I think it could be a good track for us but if McLaren have the upperhand, or Red Bull with Max or even with Isack, then it might be one of those weekends where you have to be satisfied with maybe a podium or a P4. Of course the goal is always to win but we'll see. You have no margin for mistakes, or very little, and it's going to be important to build up throughout the weekend, and when it matters to squeeze everything out of it. Always keep that tiny margin in case something happens. It is a cool track, very challenging. Hopefully we're going to be fast".
George Russell has stated he will keep fighting every single race until it's mathematically impossible that he can't win this year's Formula 1 title. The Mercedes driver trails team mate Kimi Antonelli by 81 points in the drivers' standings, with the young Italian having taken his eighth victory of the season last time out in Madrid. Russell was only able to finish P5 at the Madring and claimed after the race that he was not in the fight for the title anymore with just nine rounds remaining. Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, Russell admitted that he would still keep fighting until the last opportunity, but that increasing his performance was the main priority.
"I'm going to keep fighting every single race until it's mathematically impossible. It doesn't change how I go about my job. I want to try and win every single race and put it on pole every single race. That's my goal, that's what I'm working towards every single weekend and what happens thereafter will be. There's obviously a huge deficit but it's not even a consideration right now. The performance is the biggest priority. I don't think I was really putting pressure on myself before from a championship standpoint. I was putting pressure on myself from a performance perspective. I'm in this position in the championship because the performance hasn't been strong enough. It's been the case for a while where the pressure has come from trying to improve the performance, rather than thinking I need to fight for this championship because you can only fight for a championship if you've got the performance".
Russell has failed to register a win since the Austrian Grand Prix back in June, but he admits that although results have not shown it since the summer break, he has been encouraged by his pace over the last three Grands Prix, which have yielded two podiums.
"I've been pleased with that progress since the summer break. The race pace, which was a weakness, has been substantiality better and has been in the mix every race since the break. I now feel more comfortable that I can fight for great results. Let's see from now until the end of the season how the points could fall".
Lewis Hamilton has explained his approach to the title battle heading into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the Ferrari driver optimistic that the team can continue to work hard and get the most out of it. After the seven-time World Champion took his superb maiden win for the Scuderia Ferrari in Barcelona, there was speculation that he could take the fight to Mercedes consistently enough to challenge for another championship. However, Ferrari haven’t finished on the podium since the Belgian Grand Prix, opening the door for Lando Norris and Max Verstappen to close up and secure significant points for McLaren and Red Bull respectively. Hamilton still sits third in the standings, albeit only five points clear of Norris and over 100 adrift of leader Kimi Antonelli, and has a clear vision of his goals for the rest of the season.
"We’re just hoping to have some cleaner weekends and just focus on enjoying each race and trying to get the most out of it,” he told the media on Wednesday in Baku. I think there are positives to take out of the last few races, it's just that they haven't been the best in terms of execution and we've not had the best results. The positives we take forward and we try to learn from the areas where we weren't as good, but I believe that we can make improvements and I think we have. I'm excited for this weekend. Antonelli is 101 points ahead of me. I think just in two races he gained something like 40-odd points on me. We've been working so hard just to gain a couple of points here and there, so there's still a long way to go. I think the focus for me is to try to make sure we can hold on to second, if not somehow catch Mercedes for the Constructors’ - I think that would be remarkable. I think we also just have to think about where we were last year and where we've come to this year. While it sometimes seems like doom and gloom, you have to look at the positives. We've been fighting. We've had wins and podiums. The team have done an incredible job in terms of bringing upgrades, so you really have to acknowledge the good things that we've done this year, and I know lots of people focus on the negatives. For me, again, if I can battle with George [Russell] and somehow get ahead of him – which would be very difficult because Mercedes are the leaders - I think if we could look at the end of the year at managing to stay in the top three, even second, it would be a huge achievement for us as a team".
A strong result at the Baku City Circuit would help Ferrari take another step closer to that ambition, but while Hamilton called the track a really fun rollercoaster ride, his team mate Charles Leclerc was more focused on the challenges. While the Monegasque has achieved a record four pole positions at the venue, he’s been unable to convert any of them to a win. That task would be made much harder if he receives a grid penalty for taking an upgraded power unit this weekend, which he refused to confirm.
"Kimi went from last to first in Italy. I don’t know if that's realistic for us if we had to take the penalty. As of now, it’s in the pool of our engines that we can use. I won’t go too much into detail on the plan of what engine we’ll use because that’s still something strategic for us. We don’t want to give that away, but it’s definitely back in the pool of engines that we can use, so that’s a good thing. Qualifying is probably where we struggle the most in terms of car performance. If we are in front in Qualifying, then I’m hopeful for the race. Before thinking about that, we’ve got to prepare for the weekend as we should. With this year’s car, it seems that there’s a lot of variability from one weekend to the other just based on the optimisation of your power unit. On a track like this, it will play a big role as well, so I think that’s where we’ll focus. It’s a track that I enjoy driving and it has been good for me on Saturdays, mostly, but the races have been more challenging. Hopefully we can fix that for this year".
Lando Norris believes I'm doing some things better than last year after a strong recent run of form, but says that this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the one I've not been looking forward to. Norris arrives in Baku having taken two wins from the last four Grands Prix, with a likely victory last time out in Madrid snatched from the McLaren driver's grasp by an ill-timed Virtual Safety Car.
During Wednesday's media day in Baku, Norris was asked whether being the reigning World Champion had given him an extra strength as he continues to challenge the frontrunning Mercedes.
"I certainly think I'm doing some things better than last year but it's not like I'm just doing a much better job than last season. The second half of last season, a lot of my races were just a good as they have been this year. People didn't credit them as much as they seem to be doing now. I certainly feel like I'm doing a better job in places and I think maybe a bit more consistent. I think I'm doing a better job at extracting things out of, let's say, a tricky car but I think we've been able to see the last three races we've been probably the quickest car. It's different but I think with the team we're extracting everything we can out of the car and at the same time, I feel more relaxed than this point last year. I trust more myself and my abilities. That certainly seems to help at times".
Norris has dismissed any notion of challenging Kimi Antonelli for the drivers' title as he sits 106 points behind with nine Grands Prix remaining. The Briton also believes this weekend could be one of the most challenging for McLaren, the team's 2026 car thriving on high speed corners which are generally lacking from this weekend's venue.
"Certainly the pace has been there, the team have been doing a very good job. We're there or thereabouts but I think Baku will be another challenge for us. Not one high speed corner on this track, not even a medium speed corner. I think it will be more of a challenge to Monaco spec, which is where we struggled a lot last time. Out of the last few circuits, this is the one I've not been looking forward to the most. Last year was not a good race weekend for us. Our goal is to try and win but that's all the focus for now".
Oscar Piastri has hailed McLaren for their support and constant search for solutions to the difficulties he’s faced this season, stating that they are not standing still as they push for additional performance. After challenging for the title in 2025, the Australian has struggled to match his team mate Lando Norris, who maximised the team’s effective development to secure a brace of Grand Prix victories in Hungary and the Netherlands. Both Piastri and Team Principal Andrea Stella have been open about how his natural driving style doesn’t suit the new generation of cars, but the 25-year-old appeared optimistic about his gradual improvement ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Addressing the media, Piastri said:
"The progress isn’t linear - you’re always going to find some things that work, and go down some paths that don’t work. We’re still very much in that phase at the moment. I think last weekend [in Madrid], the car was quick eventually but it was very difficult to get the lap time out of it. That’s probably the biggest thing. I feel like we’re making progress and at least exploring different things - some are working, some aren’t. We’re not standing still, which is the most important thing. I’ve definitely felt that we’re throwing everything we can at trying to improve, which has been good. There are only so many things you can do without jumping in the car and trying stuff. I think with the limited time we have, you need to have a good set of ideas that you want to action. You can’t just try random stuff. I feel like it’s been a very good team response in trying to improve things as quickly as we can. I feel like I’m being well supported".
After Piastri finished a frustrating eighth in the Spanish Grand Prix, Stella confessed that McLaren would shift more engineering resources in order to help him. While he conceded that the move has made a difference, Piastri was eager to explain how it’s the fundamental behaviour of the cars that doesn’t align with how he’s raced in the past.
"Obviously the cars this year - power units aside - are quite different to what we’ve had previously. A lot of the things that have worked for me previously don’t really seem to work this year, so it’s about trying to find different things that do work. I’m making some progress on that but it’s not as simple as you find one direction and that just works for you all the time. You need to constantly adapt and change things. That is part of what makes finding a solution difficult because the solution is always a little bit different every time. We’re trying our best. I think we are making progress but we’re certainly not in the place we want to be where we feel like we’re on top of this".
Piastri’s next chance to extract performance from the MCL40 comes at the Baku City Circuit, where he clinched his second career win in 2024 before suffering a rough weekend last season that saw him crash on the opening lap. Asked what his relationship with the track is like as a result, he responded:
"Love-hate in some ways. I think probably my best race ever has been at this track, and probably my worst race ever has been at this track. It’s always eventful, which I know. I think it’s always a big confidence track. You need to push the limits a lot. It’s quite a rare combination of a street circuit with so many massive braking zones, so it’s an interesting track. Hopefully this year is more like 2024".
Isack Hadjar believes that he’s ready to tackle the challenge of the Baku City Circuit after recovering from his wrist injury, but the Red Bull driver admitted that it’s still going to be painful for a while. Hadjar was forced to sit on the sidelines for the last three rounds in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain as Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson stepped in at the top team, giving the Frenchman sufficient time to heal from a small fracture he sustained in training over summer. His highly-anticipated return for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix coincided with news of his contract extension, which will see him continue to partner Max Verstappen in 2027 and pursue Red Bull’s goal of contending for titles once again.
"It’s good to come back in these conditions, for sure. I’m really looking forward to driving again. The last time I touched a steering wheel was in Budapest, so it’s been a very long time. It’s definitely a challenging track to come back to but I’m excited. It’s also good to have [the contract] announced now. Everything is great".
Elaborating on his injury and rehabilitation, he added:
"I had a small fracture on the outside of the wrist. It’s just quite a long process. I didn’t need any surgery, so it’s all natural and it takes some time. It’s still going to be painful for a while, but it’s going to be six weeks soon and it’s strong enough at the moment to resist the tension. I had a test on the sim that went well. I think it’s a similar environment to the cockpit - if anything, it’s nearly identical. If it’s fine on the sim then with the adrenaline on track, I should be okay. The training sessions have not been fun because I’ve been doing basically nothing with the left limb. It’s been a bit boring".
Hadjar was on an impressive run of form before the setback, having seemingly shaken off the so-called ‘second seat curse’ that has seen a number of drivers before him struggle to go up against Verstappen. He was on a streak of seven top-six finishes between Miami and Hungary, which included a podium in Monaco and memorable charge from P21 to P6 in Belgium that made an impression on Team Principal Laurent Mekies. Asked how he felt about knowing where he’ll race next season, Hadjar replied:
"It’s good, it’s nice. It’s natural. I’m not here to be hopeful. I’m here to show what I do on track. Naturally, the rest comes, so it’s normal in a way. I didn’t even talk about the contract. I let my people do the talking for me. I do it on the track and that’s about it, so it was very easy. If you’re good, you stay, and that’s it".
A flurry of cars heads out on track once the green light appears at the end of the pit lane at 12:30 p.m. local time, with drivers immediately met by a dusty and slippery track surface on the streets of Baku. Isack Hadjar, making his return after missing the last three rounds due to a wrist injury, complains about the brakes on his Red Bull pulling to one side, while McLaren's Oscar Piastri reports vibrations in the opening minutes. Carlos Sainz also suffers an issue with his brakes, returning his Williams - which is heavily updated this weekend - to the pit lane with its rear brakes on fire after just 15 minutes. Times continue to tumble as track conditions improve and drivers build up greater confidence, with Antonelli fastest on a 1m 46.265s approaching the 25-minute mark with the hard Pirelli tyre. The Mercedes driver is one of the first to bolt on a set of soft tyres, but the Italian pulls his car off at Turn 7 on the out-lap, reporting over the radio a hydraulic issue as his stricken car is retrieved under a Virtual Safety Car. The yellow flags are out again shortly after, as Max Verstappen and George Russell both go into the run-off areas at Turn 1 and Turn 3 respectively before rejoining. Both are soon back up to speed, Verstappen becoming the first driver to dip below the 1m 46s barrier by posting a 1m 45.787s with the red-walled tyre, before being usurped by Russell's 1m 45.387s, the Mercedes driver helped by a tow down the main straight. A second VSC is deployed in the final five minutes, Arvid Lindblad needing to reverse from the Turn 7 run-off area, while Nico Hulkenberg's Audi simultaneously comes to a stop on the exit of Turn 4 which is recovered behind the barrier. Russell's effort remains fastest at the chequered flag, with Verstappen just fractionally ahead of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari drivers setting their times with the medium tyre. Antonelli remains fifth fastest despite missing the second half of the session, while Piastri also loses some track time as McLaren repairs issues with his car. The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Lindblad, Esteban Ocon (Haas) and the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto complete the top 10.
Plenty of cars are quick to head out on track when the green light switches on at the end of the pit lane at 4:00 p.m. local time - the sun gradually setting over the Baku City Circuit, but the air temperature still sitting at a toasty 30 degrees Celcius. Most drivers spend the early stages of the session running either medium or hard tyres, bringing an early benchmark of 1m 45.115s from Verstappen, who nonetheless promptly gets on the radio to complain about a poor ride at the wheel of his Red Bull.
"I’m constantly counter-steering because my rear axle is coming off the ground".
Stresses the four-time World Champion a few minutes later, before improving to a 1m 44.492s on medium tyres - a few hundredths faster than Mercedes’ George Russell with the same compound. A little further back, Lando Norris slots into third over Lewis Hamilton, the returning Isack Hadjar, Charles Leclerc and team mate Oscar Piastri, with the two McLarens running a makeshift solution to their FP1 floorboard issues in the form of plastic cable ties. Then, just under 20 minutes into the session, a red flag is thrown due to Arvid Lindblad pushing too hard through the Turn 8/9 castle section, thumping the wall and coming to a halt with significant damage on the right-hand side of his Racing Bulls car.
"I’m really sorry".
Says the British rookie over the radio, having also crashed during FP2 in Madrid last time out.
"I think I literally clipped it by like a millimetre".
He adds, before being collected by the Medical Car and dropped off in the paddock. With Lindblad’s car recovered and the track cleared, the session resumes at 1629 local time - attention now turning towards Qualifying-style simulations on soft tyres, and a first look at how the one-lap pecking order might unfold this weekend. Only moments after the session resumes, though, there is drama for Ollie Bearman and Haas.
"My engine switched off and just… broke".
Sighs Bearman, who manages to park his car at the end of an escape road and make the marshals’ job easier. As Bearman and Lindblad watch from the sidelines, the rest of the field starts to deliver some soft-shod times - Russell pumps in a 1m 43.759s to lead Verstappen by some four tenths, and Leclerc, Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli are the best part of a second adrift. Another round of runs brings a 1m 43.347s from Russell, before team mate Antonelli delivers his own significant improvement to go second on a 1m 43.899s. Verstappen is shuffled down to third at this point, from Leclerc, Hamilton and Norris (who backs out of a stronger lap). Pierre Gasly puts his Alpine seventh, ahead of Piastri, Hadjar and the sole remaining Haas of Esteban Ocon, followed by team mate Franco Colapinto, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson - frustrated by a slow-moving Hamilton in the final sector - and Cadillac’s Sergio Perez. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg are 14th and 15th respectively as Audi continues to learn about a raft of updates, over the similarly upgraded Williams cars of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Lindblad, the other Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas, Bearman and the Aston Martins - Fernando Alonso’s running limited by a suspected oil leak. Kimi Antonelli believes that his performance in practice ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a good recovery, after the Mercedes driver suffered a mechanical issue which curtailed much of his running. The Italian enters this weekend with an 81-point lead in the drivers' standings after his victory last time out in Madrid, but found himself on the back foot on Thursday in Baku. Antonelli suffered a hydraulic issue aboard his Mercedes approaching the halfway point of Free Practice 1 that ended his participation in the one-hour session. He also missed the first half of proceedings in FP2 as a new power unit was fitted due to fire damage, but even with the issues, Antonelli was still fifth fastest in FP1 and second quickest in the second session.
"We tried to do the max with what we had. Obviously lost quite a few laps in FP1 and then missing half of FP2 is never ideal, especially on a street circuit. Overall I feel like it was a good recovery. I feel quite good in the car, obviously a few things to work on but looking forward to tomorrow".
Mercedes team mate George Russell topped both sessions on Thursday, finishing more than half a second clear of Antonelli in FP2 as Mercedes looked strong on the streets of Baku. But Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord believes that the margin between other teams will close once Qualifying and Saturday's Grand Prix take place.
"We've seen competitors bring pretty big update packages if you look at McLaren, Red Bull as well. They'll be absolutely in the mix, I don't think the gaps at the top after FP2 were representative of the true gaps in performance. I think everything will be much closer once we're all running the same number of laps on the tyres. We hope to be in the mix, we should be in the mix on a low-drag circuit like this having performed really strongly at Monza but we'll have our work cut out to get on pole".
Lewis Hamilton believes others just took another step forward during Thursday practice ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Ferrari needing to find more performance if they are to challenge. Hamilton and Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc looked competitive during Free Practice 1 in Baku, the pair finishing third and fourth but only four tenths away from the top time having used the medium Pirelli tyre.
By the second session, however, that margin had expanded to 1.1 seconds for Leclerc in fourth, with Hamilton a further two tenths behind in fifth.
"FP1 felt really strong, continuous laps, I thought we were doing pretty well. And then FP2, for some reason, the others just took another step. And it’s trying to understand... We didn’t really change anything on the car, but the others took a step somehow. These tyres are really, really difficult to get to work. You do an out lap and a prep lap, and they still are not in the window, or they still don’t provide you with the grip. And when you do an extra lap, all of a sudden they switch on, and all of a sudden you have tons more grip. So that’s a really fine line and really difficult to get working. We’re trying our best, and some teams do it better than others. So we’ve got to look into that. I think that’s part of it. And then our straight-line speed is not as good as Mercedes. Whether or not we can close that deficit tomorrow is what I will try and work on tonight".
Despite looking like Mercedes' closest challenger at times this season, Ferrari have failed to match the German manufacturer of late, falling behind McLaren in the general pecking order. With its long straights but slow corners, the Baku circuit offers a unique challenge on the F1 calendar, with Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur aware of how Ferrari have struggled at the venue in the past.
"It’s difficult to read. Honestly, the McLaren was very quick, but they didn’t finish the lap. You will need to have a good slipstream, and not to be impeded during the middle part of the lap. It’s difficult, Baku, as we know. If you have a look at last year, we were in a very good shape and we finished 10th and 11th, I think, in Qualifying. Let’s be focused on what we have to do and try to extract the best".
Lando Norris has described his and McLaren’s deficit to the front of the field during Thursday practice at the Baku City Circuit as a little knife in the heart, with the team miles off the pace as things stand. McLaren endured a disrupted start to the Azerbaijan weekend due to floorboard issues on their upgraded MCL40 through FP1 - Norris and team mate Oscar Piastri losing track time as mechanics worked on a fix. Heading back out for second practice with a makeshift solution in the form of cable ties, Norris and Piastri were at least able to get some more laps on the board, but the pair wound up around 1.5 seconds behind pace-setter George Russell. Reflecting on Thursday’s running, having backed out of a stronger lap late in FP2, Norris sighed:
"We’re miles off. I mean, we’re up there, let’s say, relative… We’re in the position we expected to be in, but at 1.5 seconds off the pace. It’s pretty pants".
Asked how much of that gap can realistically be closed overnight, he said:
"I have no idea. We’ll see what work we can do. The car didn’t feel that bad, so it’s just a little knife in the heart when you see how far off you are".
In terms of how he is feeling behind the wheel more generally, Norris added:
"I don’t really care how confident I am in the car, I just care about the pace, and we’re not very fast. I don’t care. I drive whatever car I get given, I just want it to be quick, and it’s not very quick at the minute. We’ll see what we can change for tomorrow".
Also speaking to the media post-session was McLaren’s Chief Technical Officer and Chief Designer Rob Marshall, who explained what went wrong on their cars in FP1 - and how their updates otherwise performed.
"We put a lot of new bits on the car today".
He said, with changes being made to the sidepods, engine cover, floor, diffuser and rear suspension.
"A lot of learning, a few cliches... I could roll a few more out... but obviously you put your package on and you need to learn how to dial it in. I don’t think we’re there yet. I think the car seems to be doing what we want it to do. The aero map kind of seems pretty happy, it’s just a matter of dialling in the performance now. It’s early days. A bit of a disrupted first session, but we’ll see how we get on tomorrow".
As for that disrupted first session, he continued:
"You look up and down the grid, things go wrong… You’ve got to remember that we’re racing prototypes. We do our best to simulate what the conditions are, but ultimately you come to a track and it’s not quite as you expect. In truth, it was a minor issue. We spotted a crack in a part and those tie wraps were added to mitigate that, to stop it getting any worse while we work out what to do properly. We could have left it. It might have been alright if we had left it. We didn’t want to as we’re short of bits".
Isack Hadjar smiled that his Red Bull car felt better than when I left it at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix after returning to action during Thursday practice around the Baku City Circuit. Hadjar missed events at Zandvoort, Monza and the all-new Madring track over the last month, having injured his wrist while training in the summer break. However, he was finally able to get back into the cockpit of his RB22 in Azerbaijan, where Red Bull have introduced a host of updates - including to the floor body, diffuser and sidepods. While he lost valuable track time in FP1 due to a gearbox issue, Hadjar got a healthy number of laps under his belt through FP2, which he finished in ninth position, 1.5 seconds away from pace-setter George Russell, and seven tenths behind team mate Max Verstappen. Summing up his return to action, and how he felt out on track, Hadjar said:
"It feels good. It’s been a minute, so it was good. I had a good feeling. Not many laps, unfortunately, today, but this will come. I’m not really worried too much about the pace. The feeling… With this new package, we know the characteristic is the same, of the car, but it feels nice. It’s better than when I left it in Budapest, so I’m pretty happy. I think the car in FP1 was pretty strong. I had like three laps, so I wanted a few changes on the car. They didn’t do what I wanted them to do, so at least we have one clear lead. I’m excited for tomorrow".
Also speaking to the media post-session, Red Bull Technical Director Pierre Wache offered some more insight into the team’s upgrades and how the pecking order appears to be shaping up this weekend.
"It was quite positive.Both cars had the upgrade, and that is quite a good sign for us, to be able to produce and to deliver on track this upgrade. From the first analysis in FP1, and I’m waiting on the FP2 one, we more or less delivered what we expected. Clearly, Mercedes are in front of us after today, especially on the short runs. I think we have to look at the long runs also, but they look quicker. McLaren looks a little bit quicker, or similar to us. After Ferrari it’s difficult to say, because so many people stopped their [soft tyre] lap before the end of the straight, and how you use the energy could be misleading completely the overall lap time".
Hadjar heads into Friday and Saturday’s running boosted by the news that he will be continuing as Verstappen’s team mate for the 2027 season - Red Bull having activated their option to retain him.
As is the case throughout the season, teams and drivers are reluctant to head out immediately at the start of FP3, with the track surface in Baku noticeably covered in dust and leaves due to the strong winds. It takes until the 20-minute mark for the leading contenders to appear on the soft Pirelli tyres, with Hamilton posting a 1m 46.168s before Charles Leclerc usurps him with a 1m 45.564s on the Monegasque driver's second attempt. Kimi Antonelli and Russell slot into third and fourth with their first flying laps, but both Mercedes drivers begin the final practice session on the medium tyres. Verstappen briefly jumps to the top of the timesheets thanks to a double slipstream in the final sector, before Hamilton lowers the benchmark to a 1m 45.093s approaching the halfway point of the session. Drivers including Antonelli and Verstappen note how much the wind is affecting the cars, with the Red Bull driver reporting that the "car is very numb in Turn 16", while the Mercedes driver goes fastest with a 1m 45.046s on the yellow-walled tyre. Times continue to tumble, with Russell posting a 1m 44.715s as Hamilton, Antonelli and Verstappen find the run-off areas at Turns 1, 4 and 15 respectively. While all three drivers rejoin the track, Lance Stroll's running comes to an early end after he glances the inside wall at Turn 1, damaging a wheel on his Aston Martin before pulling off behind the barrier. With just over 15 minutes remaining, both Mercedes drivers switch to the soft tyre, with Russell setting a 1m 44.177s that leaves him six tenths clear of Antonelli after their first attempts. The Briton lowers the benchmark to 1m 44.021s on his next lap, still leaving him two tenths clear of Antonelli, before Verstappen slots between the two Mercedes drivers after brushing the walls several times on his flying lap. Russell comes even closer to the wall, going straight on at Turn 7 and just avoiding a head-on collision with the barrier, while Antonelli runs deep at Turn 1 as the drivers push the limits ahead of qualifying. While the Mercedes drivers fail to improve, Verstappen sets a 1m 43.922s in the final minutes, leaving him fastest at the chequered flag ahead of Russell, Hamilton and Antonelli. Leclerc is the best of the rest in fifth, ahead of Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, while Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull and Alpine's Franco Colapinto complete the top 10.
The three practice sessions that precede Qualifying see plenty of near-misses with the walls of Baku, and after last season sees a record-breaking six red flags in this all-important hour, it remains to be seen just how disrupted this will be. After a short delay, the 18-minute opening segment begins as a long queue of drivers exits the pit lane, with Cadillac’s Bottas the first out to tackle the warm and noticeably windy track. It doesn’t take long for the first yellow flag to be thrown as Stroll locks up and veers off the circuit, but the Canadian manages to avoid the barriers and continues on. The error is a stark reminder that the early laps are crucial, especially if any bigger incidents cause Qualifying to be halted. The Alpine pair of Colapinto and Gasly, who are impressive throughout practice and look capable of a Q3 appearance, are among the first to complete their opening efforts on the soft tyres, but it is Red Bull returnee Hadjar who claims the initial benchmark time of 1m 44.702s. Meanwhile, his team mate Verstappen can’t hide his frustration at the ride quality, reporting that the car:
"Is bottoming like crazy on the front, I can’t brake".
He isn’t the only unhappy frontrunner, with Russell complaining of front locking before Antonelli hits the wall at Turn 1, causing terminal damage to his Mercedes in a significant blow to his weekend. The championship leader battles to take the car back to the pits but is ordered to park up in a safe position, cutting his session short as his race engineer Pete Bonnington confirms that they will not be able to fix his suspension in time to set another lap.
Antonelli: "I hit the wall".
Bonnington: "I think we just better park up, mate. We’re not going to be able to fix that".
Antonelli: "Are you sure?"
Bonnington: "Affirm. Stop in a safe place".
Antonelli: "Let me try, mate. Let me try".
Bonnington: "We can’t fix this, mate".
Antonelli: "Why can’t we fix it?"
Bonnington: "It looks like we’ve done something to the track rod or upright, so that’s a fairly big job".
Antonelli: "Fuck. I’m sorry guys. My God".
Bonnington: "No sweat, Kimi".
As the sole Mercedes left, Russell loses the top spot to Verstappen and is demoted further by Hadjar and Hamilton, with the Dutchman briefly enjoying an advantage of 0.120s. However, Russell finds significantly more time on his last run to wind up as the fastest on track at the conclusion of Q1, albeit by mere thousandths. At the other end of the timesheets, it is Bearman, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Perez, Bottas and Stroll who are at risk heading into the final minutes.
The Haas racer delivers a great lap under pressure to improve, subsequently dropping both Audi drivers into the elimination zone. Following the big shock of Antonelli’s exit that leaves him P16 on the grid, the remaining 15 drivers venture back out for Q2, which begins with a mistake from Racing Bulls’ Lindblad. Just as in Q1, Hadjar closely matches Verstappen in his first Qualifying session since July, although it is Russell who comfortably sets the early time to beat with a 1m 43.686s. The first runs tick off, and he finds himself ahead of Leclerc, the two McLarens and Hamilton. Hadjar then surges into P3, just 0.194s adrift of Russell to make it four different teams at the top, hinting at a close battle for pole position later on. Alpine’s Gasly also posts an eye-catching lap after receiving a tow from his team mate, helping him to jump up to P7. That is key for the tight midfield battle with Racing Bulls as both Lawson and Lindblad need to find significant improvements to progress to Q3. The latter opts not to go again after making another blunder, and the pair miss out alongside Bearman, Albon, Ocon and Antonelli. The time arrives for the pole position fight, which looks as though it will come down to the wire between Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari. After leading the pack throughout, Russell looks like the likely favourite - especially as his final attempt in Q2 puts him two-tenths clear of Verstappen.
While he is the first to finish a lap, it isn’t enough to match his earlier times, opening the door for McLaren to charge through and snatch provisional pole - Norris takes P1 before Piastri makes the most of a slipstream to eke out a critical margin of 0.101s. Hadjar is the next to use a relatively quiet track and move into P3, but further behind, Russell is on a spectacular lap that sends him back to the top with an advantage of around four tenths over Ferrari’s Leclerc. His competitors aren’t done quite yet, but their efforts are ultimately in vain as Russell goes even quicker to clinch pole position by a colossal 0.837s, beating Leclerc, Piastri and Hadjar. Norris settles for fifth after locking up on his final lap, leaving him to line up for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Hamilton, Gasly, Verstappen, Sainz and Colapinto. George Russell was ecstatic to complete what he believed was the perfect lap in Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which earned the Mercedes driver pole position by a commanding 0.837s over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Based on the timesheets alone, it looked like a straightforward session for Russell as he topped every segment, but he faced consistently tight competition from the Scuderia Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren. With his team mate Kimi Antonelli out of Qualifying following a damaging error in Q1, the fight for pole was wide open heading into Q3. But despite his rivals’ best efforts, the Briton improved with every lap to wind up with an unbeatable time of 1m 42.526s, setting up his fifth P1 start of the season.
"It’s been a while, so it definitely feels good. It’s probably the biggest margin of my whole career, even including F2, F3 days, so the lap felt really sweet. The car’s been feeling great this weekend, and on a track like this, when you can hook it up like that, it feels really amazing. I was feeling good, to be honest. I think Max has been very fast this weekend. I don’t know what happened to him at the end. I think with the yellow flag for Lando, he didn’t have that last chance, so it would have been interesting to see. But it was just the perfect lap at the end. I was in a good gap behind Hadjar, which gave me a nice little slipstream, probably by another tenth or two down this back straight. So yeah, it was great".
The messy Qualifying hour saw plenty of drivers lock up and take to the run-off areas, which caused yellow flags that subsequently impacted others’ laps, but Russell succeeded in largely avoiding the disruption. He nevertheless remained aware that the Baku City Circuit could throw up further incidents on race day that would jeopardise his chances of clinching his first victory since Round 8 in Austria. Offering his thoughts about how the Grand Prix might unfold, Russell explained:
"I’m feeling good. I think we’re in a great place to go for the win. But of course, this is Baku and anything can happen. Of course, Charles is going to be motivated to probably throw one down the inside at Turn 1, but whatever happens, I feel confident that we can go for the win".
Kimi Antonelli is left to rue a very unnecessary and very stupid incident that ends his Qualifying session early in Azerbaijan and leaves him towards the back of the grid for Saturday’s Grand Prix. Antonelli has just started a Q1 lap at the Baku City Circuit when he thumps the inside concrete wall at Turn 1, causing damage to the front-left corner of his Mercedes and forcing him to stop out on track - as instructed by Race Engineer Peter Bonnington. While Antonelli officially progresses to Q2 with the lap time he posts in the opening minutes of the session, the Italian has to watch the rest of Qualifying from the sidelines and ultimately classifies down in 16th position. Speaking after the session, Antonelli sighs:
"A very unnecessary mistake. Obviously I misjudged with the grip being so different compared to the first lap. I hit the wall, a very unnecessary mistake so early on. It’s a good way to come back to Earth and to remind myself that I need to be on top of it every time, because otherwise I do these mistakes, and a very stupid one".
Antonelli leads fellow Mercedes driver George Russell by 81 points ahead of the 51-lap race, but his team mate - who charges to pole position by almost a second over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri - now has a golden opportunity to make up some ground. Asked about his chances of a recovery, and emulating his P19-P1 charge on home soil at Monza a couple of rounds ago, Antonelli says:
"I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully we can recover many places. The car is quick, so we’re ready to do our best. Hopefully tomorrow is going to be a good race".
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is left with mixed feelings after Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, admitting that while a front-row grid slot is encouraging, the gap to pole position is a lot more than we expected. Leclerc produces a time of 1m 43.363s on his final Q3 run at the Baku City Circuit, edging out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by a thousandth of a second and earning P2 on the grid behind polesitter George Russell. However, Russell’s benchmark lap is a whopping 0.837s quicker, as the Mercedes man builds on encouraging practice form to claim P1 and capitalise on team mate Kimi Antonelli’s early Qualifying exit. Giving his thoughts after Qualifying, and the tow he appears to receive from team mate Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc says:
"I mean, honestly, it was quite a good lap. Lewis was in front at three, four seconds, I think, and I managed to do a good lap at the end, but when I see the gap to George, maybe the lap wasn’t good enough. Overall, we’ve been on the back foot all weekend. We kind of expected to be very far off after a difficult Friday, but this morning in final practice I had a little bit more hope. I think in terms of grid position, that’s where we expected to be, but in terms of the time gap, it’s a lot more than what we expected".
Asked about the challenge of trying to overhaul Russell on race day, Leclerc adds:
"We’ll see tomorrow. Our straight-line speed is not our strength, but the pace has been quite strong in FP1 for the high fuel, so I hope it will be the case tomorrow".
Sixth-placed Hamilton cuts a slightly more dejected figure after Qualifying, as he gives his side of the story when it comes to Ferrari’s intra-team towing tactics.
"It’s never looked good for me this weekend. It’s not my strongest circuit, for sure, and I think we’re relatively slow on the straights. What happens in Q3 is I am ahead of Charles, and on the normal rhythm we are behind somebody, so we are equally in a tow. Then they kind of change the plan as we get to Q3, which means I am 25 seconds behind. I have no tow at all - not even in the stream of other drivers. I am a sitting duck, basically, in that last one, unfortunately".
As for his chances of recovering some positions in the race, Hamilton comments:
"I don’t really know what to expect. I think all the cars up ahead are very quick, so I don’t really see much happening in the race for us. All the cars with Mercedes engines are ahead of me, apart from Charles, so overtaking them, I think, will be pretty tough".
Oscar Piastri says starting from P3 in Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix is a big surprise after both McLaren cars appear to lack pace during practice. Early in Q3, however, Piastri and team mate Lando Norris put in times that see them provisionally lock out the front row, with the Australian’s best time of 1m 43.364s ultimately just one thousandth of a second off Charles Leclerc in P2. Before Qualifying, the McLaren pair are not really mentioned in the hunt for pole, having only placed as high as sixth in practice. But come Friday afternoon in Baku, something seems to click. While they cannot hold on to the front row - Norris has a lock-up on his final run which sees him finish fifth fastest - Piastri only misses out by the narrowest of margins.
"It’s not the first time that’s happened to us this year. We seem like we’re a bit on the back foot through practice, we come out in Qualifying and, yeah, we just find that bit extra. I was pretty surprised to see us 1-2 after the first lap of Q3, but unfortunately, we had no hope against George. So, happy with how the weekend’s gone so far".
From P3, Piastri will surely start the Grand Prix with the hope of a podium finish, but he has mixed fortunes at the circuit. In 2024 he wins after defending from Leclerc for more than 30 laps but, a year later, he crashes in Qualifying and in the race - significantly denting his title hopes. The 25-year-old remains cautiously optimistic about his chances this time out though.
"Difficult to know. I think, honestly, our race pace on Thursday almost looks better than our one-lap pace. So from that side of things I’m pretty happy, but we’ll have to wait and see. Obviously, it’s always a bit of chaos around here, so we’ll see what we get".
Meanwhile, Norris cuts a disappointed figure with his fifth-fastest time - compounded by the lock-up on his final attempt - saying afterwards:
"I was already up I think a little bit on the first two corners. I mean, when we’re so far off, I’m going to try and push to get a… I don’t think P1 was possible today, because George did an amazing job, but I’d rather try and push for P1 and P2 but make a mistake than settle for a P5, or a P3, or a P4. It’s the way it is sometimes. Obviously we’re a long way off, but still there or thereabouts. I’ve been driving very well this weekend. It’s just some problems that we have with the car that just limits my lap time a little bit. Hopefully we can fix them. We’re probably not going to fix them tomorrow, which means we’re in for a tough race. We’ve got some things we need to fix on the car, because I’m just at a deficit to the other car at the minute".
Max Verstappen is visibly frustrated with Red Bull’s performance during Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, branding it not good enough as he is left to settle for eighth. Verstappen looks strong during Friday’s final practice session on the streets of Baku after topping the times, beating the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with plenty expected from him in the Qualifying hour. With Antonelli eliminated after crashing during Q1, it looks like Verstappen will be in a straight shootout with Russell for pole, but the four-time World Champion’s Q3 session unravels, leaving him 1.5 seconds adrift and down the order.
"The whole Qualifying is not how it should be. Already from Q1, my engine is already half a second down on the straight compared to my team mate and they can’t understand why, so you’re just on the back foot. Then in Q3, on my middle lap, which is normally a good lap, exiting the final corner Turn 16, my battery just doesn’t charge to 100%, so I have to abort the lap, which means you lose tyre temperature and around here that’s killing. I try to put as much temperature in it, try to push on the final lap but of course being down on top speed and I have a yellow flag from Lando in front of me means that’s where we are. It’s not good enough. The whole weekend we are running really well, the car is feeling well and then we run into so much trouble in Qualifying. It’s not good enough".
Verstappen admits that it is difficult to beat Russell’s time, with the Briton eight tenths clear of the next best car, but says that second should be achievable.
"When you have that many issues, you also don’t deserve to be there. We need to be more robust and we need to be on top of these things".
Team mate Isack Hadjar has a more encouraging Qualifying performance on his return to F1 after a three-round absence with a wrist injury. The Frenchman is towards the front throughout proceedings, eventually finishing with the fourth fastest time and marking only the fourth time this season Hadjar beats Verstappen in Qualifying.
"I’m actually even surprised to be that close from second. It’s good. Even though I feel like there’s still more to come. I feel like I’m building up the whole weekend, I don’t take many risks in practice, it’s a risky track, I don’t want to hit the wall with my conditions right now. Honestly, I take it quite easy but I feel like there’s still more to unlock, even in Q3 I wish we had more laps. All in all, it’s still good".
The tricky Baku City Circuit has already caught out plenty of drivers over the weekend, and even championship leader Antonelli - who is largely faultless this season - is not immune to the track’s challenges. He hits the wall at Turn 1 in the opening segment of Qualifying, resulting in damage that rules him out of the rest of the session. As a result, the Italian lines up in P16, significantly adrift of his dominant Mercedes team mate. Russell delivers a superlative lap in Q3 to secure pole position by the biggest margin of the year - 0.837s over Ferrari’s Leclerc. It gives him the confidence to target his first victory since Round 8 in Austria, but as previous races in Baku show, anything can happen. Those behind Russell are remarkably close in Qualifying, with Piastri - eager for redemption after crashing out of this event in 2025 - and Hadjar lining up alongside one another on the second row, followed by Norris and Hamilton. There are some alterations to the order prior to the start, with Williams’ Sainz demoted from P9 to P14 due to a yellow flag infringement. Perez is also penalised after impeding Piastri, though his position of P20 remains unchanged, while both Aston Martin drivers receive grid penalties for the use of additional power unit elements, relegating them to the back row. As the field takes to their grid spots, it is revealed that there is an almost equal split between medium and soft tyres on display, with Russell, Norris, Gasly, Verstappen and Colapinto among those in the top 10 to opt for the former. Leclerc, Piastri, Hadjar, Hamilton, Bearman and the trio on the outskirts of the points go for the more aggressive strategy of starting on the red-walled compound, likely with the aim of making up places in the early laps. They are joined by Alonso and Stroll at the back, while everyone else - including the out-of-position Antonelli - bolts on the mediums. After a clean formation lap, the five lights go out and Russell enjoys a great launch as Piastri improves to P2, leaving Leclerc in the clutches of the second McLaren of Norris, who surges past Hadjar for P4. Verstappen also gains spots from Gasly and Hamilton, carrying out a smart move down the inside to pass the Ferrari, but further back, Antonelli’s mission to move up the order gets off to a nightmare start as he drops back to P17.
Meanwhile, his team mate has already opened up an advantage of 1.2s at the front of the pack and is seemingly under little pressure from Piastri, but the Red Bull pair are on the charge - Hadjar snatches fourth place back from Norris before the Briton loses out to Verstappen soon after. That is not enough for the Frenchman and he goes after Leclerc next, sweeping around the outside of Turn 1 in an attempt to displace the Monegasque. Although he cannot quite stay ahead, he gets the move done a few corners later to take P3. Red Bull’s brilliant first stint continues as Verstappen similarly dispatches Leclerc with ease, prompting Piastri’s race engineer to encourage the Aussie to keep them out of range. However, it does not take long for Hadjar to get within a second of the McLaren, with his team mate posting the fastest lap of the race almost simultaneously. That means it is not a surprise when the Dutchman powers past Hadjar down the main straight following an instruction from the team, and he rapidly closes up to challenge Piastri, who is fighting to cling onto second place while reporting concerns with his rear tyres. Elsewhere, Antonelli overtakes Lindblad, Sainz and Ocon to take P13, but his deficit to Russell looks more difficult to overhaul with every lap as the Briton ekes out a lead of 5s, calmly controlling the race. The first yellow flag of the day is shown on Lap 9 as Aston Martin orders Stroll to stop with a water pressure issue - the Canadian pulls off in a safe spot, preventing the need for any intervention from race control. While Piastri, Verstappen and Hadjar run within less than 2s of one another, Antonelli patiently waits to capitalise on a similarly close battle between Racing Bulls’ Lawson and Williams’ Albon, which allows the Italian to eventually pass both and creep closer to the points. There is another change among the frontrunners as Norris locks up and goes deep at Turn 5, offering Hamilton the perfect opportunity to set his sights on P6. The narrow section of the track enables the McLaren driver to stay ahead temporarily, but once it opens back up, Hamilton finds a way through. Their short contest demonstrates just how tight the field is as the soft tyre runners enter the pit window, with no one wanting to be the first to head in and subsequently tumble down the order. However, Verstappen is starting to struggle as he reports that his medium tyres are not good, leading to an odd exchange within the team - Hadjar questions the Dutchman’s pace and asks Red Bull to tell him to keep pushing, before changing his mind and claiming that his tyres are still performing well.
He nevertheless remains behind his team mate, but back at the front, Russell is experiencing his own tyre troubles. Driving nearly 10s ahead of Piastri at the halfway point, he brushes the wall at Turn 15 and asks Mercedes to keep an eye on the pressure, worrying that it doesn’t feel quite right. Norris is the next to make an error as he locks up at high speed down the start/finish straight, taking to the run-off area and losing two places to Gasly and Antonelli. But he is not the only one - Albon also suffers a lock-up and drives into the barrier at Turn 6, bringing his race to an early finish. The Safety Car is deployed to recover his abandoned Williams, giving the leaders the chance to peel into the pits and take on fresh rubber that is intended to last them until the end of the Grand Prix. After Red Bull executes an immaculate double stack to keep the order as it is, Hadjar says he is going to need his help with Piastri in reference to Verstappen, suggesting that the team is focused on achieving a minimum 2-3 finish with its drivers. That goal is thrown into jeopardy when the Frenchman is warned about vibrations in the gearbox, but he quickly has to switch his attention to the restart. Russell just about holds onto the lead as Verstappen finally succeeds in taking P2 away from Piastri, with chaos unfolding further behind. Approaching the Turn 1 braking zone, Colapinto locks up and bumps into his Alpine team mate, who consequently cannot avoid hitting McLaren’s Norris. All three go off the track and ultimately retire from the race, resulting in another Safety Car period to clear the debris. There is even more intra-team contact between the Racing Bulls pair as the 19-year-old tags Lawson’s rear wheel - the New Zealander is understandably not best pleased and sarcastically comments:
"I love getting taken out by my team mate. That’s pretty sick".
When the action gets underway once again, Russell has more control over the restart and keeps the lead Red Bull behind, but disaster strikes for Piastri while running in third place. Just as others have done earlier on, he locks up at the first turn and has to spin around to rejoin the circuit, which sees him plummet down the order to P15. Amid the chaos, Antonelli is bumped up to P6 and piles the pressure on Hamilton, with the Italian sailing past down the main straight with eight laps remaining. Verstappen is keen to make a similar pass on the lead Mercedes and consistently fights to stay close enough to force an error. He and Russell are separated by just a few tenths and it increasingly looks like the battle for victory is going down to the wire, with both drivers pushing the limits around the circuit. A yellow flag threatens to disrupt their exhilarating head-to-head when Cadillac’s Bottas finds the wall, but they can continue to race as they begin the 51st and final lap. Although Verstappen sticks as close by as possible and pulls alongside down the start/finish straight, he cannot quite get ahead of Russell and crosses the line 0.1s behind the Mercedes. The thrilling conclusion sees Russell take his eighth career win while Red Bull ends up with a double podium finish, Hadjar securing P3 ahead of Leclerc, Antonelli - who successfully limits the damage of his Qualifying crash - and Hamilton. Lindblad overtakes Ocon over the line for P7 as both Haas drivers finish in the top 10 for the first time this season, with Bearman and Sainz the last of the points scorers. George Russell hailed an incredible weekend from start to finish in Azerbaijan, with the Mercedes driver topping Thursday practice, charging to a dominant pole and ultimately securing victory - cutting team mate Kimi Antonelli’s championship lead by 15 points in the process. Russell headed into the event 81 points behind Antonelli, but trimmed that gap to 66 by edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a dash to the chequered flag, while the young Italian recovered from 16th to fifth after a dramatic Q1 accident. It marks Russell’s first Grand Prix victory since Austria in June, and his third of the 2026 season so far, comparing to the eight Antonelli has achieved up to this point.
"It’s amazing to be back on the top step of the podium. I just want to say a big thanks to my team, because they continued to believe in me through tough moments, helped me come through it. I’m really proud to have had this weekend. The first half of the race felt pretty plain sailing, getting the gap, the Safety Car restart… When I saw Max behind, I thought, It’s not going to be easy. He drove incredibly at the end of the race. When the yellow flag came out for Valtteri Bottas’ crash, I lifted off the power, and when I went back, I had no turbo, so then I had no power. Max almost got me at the line, so that would have been a real shame. All in all, an incredible weekend".
Asked about his confidence seemingly returning, Russell add:
"I think it’s just having more experience with this sort of new driving style that I’ve adopted. Every race since the summer break I feel like I’ve gone from strength to strength. I feel like more myself again, so that’s really great".
As for how he plans to approach the remaining rounds of the championship, in his quest to overhaul Antonelli, the Briton made his intentions clear.
"Win every race. That’s the game plan. My team mate’s had an incredible season, he’s been pretty flawless throughout, but now we’re getting to crunch time. I’m just going to focus on myself. If I continue delivering performances like I’ve done this weekend, no matter what happens towards the end of the season, I’ll be happy. It’s been a really tough period for me, and now I feel like I’ve come through the other side".
Lando Norris was less than impressed after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver dissatisfied at both his own performance and an incident with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly that prematurely ended his race. The whole weekend at the Baku City Circuit was one to forget for Norris after a lock-up in Qualifying left him to start the race from P5. A decent start saw him gain a position from Isack Hadjar, but the Red Bull racer quickly fought back past, as did his team mate Max Verstappen. From there, the reigning World Champion couldn’t keep up with McLaren’s rivals and lost out to Lewis Hamilton before locking up again, dropping behind Gasly and Kimi Antonelli as he rejoined the track. The first Safety Car restart promised an opportunity to recover some ground, but Norris became a passenger when Colapinto failed to make the corner and made contact with the other Alpine, who was subsequently knocked into Norris at Turn 1. All three had no choice but to retire due to the damage, leaving him to reflect:
"I just was slow. I was struggling a lot on the straights. You saw how quickly everyone came past me… Just an impossible race out there for me from that side, straight-line speed, today. Hopefully we get that fixed for next time. Otherwise, I still made the mistake. At the end of the day, I just got taken out… just some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1, to be honest".
It marked Norris’ first retirement since the Monaco Grand Prix and cut his streak of eight rounds in the points short, impacting what was already a slim chance of adding another World Championship to his list of achievements. The Briton had been enjoying improved form prior to this round, having clinched victory in the Netherlands and Hungary as McLaren continued to take the fight to standings leaders Mercedes. But the result in Baku left him less than enthusiastic about their potential across the rest of the triple header, which includes Formula 1’s return to Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as a challenge under the lights in Singapore.
"We won two and should have won three of the last four races. Plenty of positives, obviously not this weekend… not quick enough. We knew that. We’re going to be in for another tough few weekends, I imagine. Maybe Malaysia is a better one for us".
Franco Colapinto has apologised to team mate Pierre Gasly and Alpine after the Argentine's mistake on a Safety Car restart eliminated both cars from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Alpine looked on course for a double points finish in Saturday's 51-lap race on the streets of Baku, with Gasly running in P7 and Colapinto P10 as a Safety Car was deployed in the final third of proceedings following Alex Albon's crash. Heading into Turn 1 and with the field bunched together as racing resumed, Colapinto misjudged his braking and locked up, moving to the inside before swiping the side of Gasly's car on the apex.
The pair spun to the outside of the circuit, collecting Lando Norris' McLaren in the process, with all three drivers eliminated.
"Just bit of disappointment, for myself, for the team. Just a big sorry to all of them, to the factory, to Pierre of course. I took him out, so really disappointed. We were both in a position to score points, was a big day for the team and [I] did a big mistake. Big sorry, it shouldn't happen. I was locking up and completely out of control. Not a lot I could do. We move onto the next one and try to score points".
Alpine had been on course to slash the nine-point gap to Racing Bulls for fifth in the teams' standings, but instead have fallen six points further adrift as Arvid Lindblad finished seventh. The F1 rookie also collided with team mate Liam Lawson at the same time as the Alpines, with that incident ultimately concluding with no further action from the stewards.
"I don't think I really have words and I don't need the words now. We'll manage it together as a team. I'm obviously very disappointed for all the guys, P7 and P10 was a very good race, good pace. Honestly I have no idea how to answer your question. Got to move on".
Kimi Antonelli made clear that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend taught me a lot after enduring his worst weekend of the season on Baku’s streets. Antonelli’s start to the weekend was hampered by technical problems in practice before he dramatically crashed out in the opening phase of Qualifying - leaving him down in 16th on the grid, with team mate George Russell on pole. While Antonelli recovered to fifth position on race day, Russell’s pole-to-victory drive means the Italian’s championship lead has been cut from 81 points to 66. Reflecting on his race, and the event as a whole, Antonelli says:
"I think it’s one of those days where you have to be happy with P5. Obviously it was the worst weekend, by far, of the season. I was just… I felt always a step behind, and especially with the mistake in Qualifying, the confidence level was not high. In today’s race I just tried to… today was about damage limitation. I didn’t have strong pace, and also after [contact with Haas’ Ollie Bearman at] the Safety Car restart I was carrying big damage, big floor damage. It was not easy out there, but I just did my best".
F1 will move on to Malaysia and Singapore over the next two weekends, as the season heads into a busy final phase – and Antonelli is hopeful that Azerbaijan will turn out to be only a blip in the road.
"I think this weekend taught me a lot. I think in many occasions this weekend… I don’t know, probably also with the mindset I was not in the best pace. I’ll just make sure that next weekend we get back at the right level".
Max Verstappen admits he was trying everything to claim victory on the streets of Baku, the Red Bull driver eventually falling short by just one tenth against George Russell. The Dutchman was left a frustrated eighth on the grid for Saturday's 51-lap race after issues in Qualifying, but Verstappen quickly began to make progress with the medium tyre. Moving into third, Verstappen demoted Oscar Piastri's McLaren for second at the first of two Safety car restarts, allowing him to challenge race leader Russell in the closing stages.
"Starting in P8 I knew it wasn't going to be that straightforward but we worked our way quite nicely up into the top three but that first stint was very tricky. That medium tyre was just not very good, not having the grip that I think the soft tyres had so was just trying to survive on that stint to try and stay with the guys on the soft. I think that Safety Car came at the right time for everyone to box onto that soft, because once we were on that soft tyre, it felt a lot better, just miles faster. I think that also showed once George and I were on the soft, we were pulling away quite a lot over everyone else".
Verstappen stayed on the cusp of a one second gap to Russell over the final laps down the main straight, with Red Bull enjoying straight-line speed during the race. A yellow flag at Turn 15 after Valtteri Bottas crashed gifted Verstappen the chance to gain an even stronger slipstream on the run to the line for the final time. But the Dutchman ultimately fell short by just one tenth, meaning he has still yet to record a victory during the 2026 season. Says Verstappen in his quest to pass Russell, which included glancing the wall on the entry to Turn 16 several times:
"I was trying everything that I have available. Of course on the last lap because there was a yellow, I think George picked up a bit of boost lag, so he didn't pull out of Turn 15 and that gave me a little bit more of an opportunity and that's why it was so close to the line. We were constantly one second, so we were very close to each other".
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar was all smiles after completing his comeback from a very long six weeks on the sidelines with a podium finish at the Baku City Circuit. Hadjar missed events at Zandvoort, Monza and the all-new Madring track over the last month, having injured his wrist while training in the summer break. However, the Frenchman got the green light to compete again in Azerbaijan, where he gradually built his speed throughout practice before qualifying fourth and racing his way to third place. It marked Hadjar’s third podium in F1, but the first that he feels was earned on pure pace, given that he gained from Lando Norris’ retirement at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, while representing Racing Bulls, and from Pierre Gasly’s penalties in Monaco earlier this year. Sharing his thoughts post-race, Hadjar says:
"I’m happy. It’s been a very long six weeks. It’s been like six weeks since I enjoyed myself. I think it was the right time to come back. I felt strong. This weekend I really took it step by step. It’s a track where you can end up in the wall really quickly, and I didn’t need that, to gain the confidence. It was a very slow build-up, but it brought me here. I’m very, very happy for an actual first proper podium on pure pace. I’m very, very delighted".
Hadjar was further boosted by his recovering wrist holding up well across 51 laps of racing on Saturday afternoon – as a busy final phase of the 2026 season looms.
"I’m completely satisfied. Even though it’s a bit numb, I’m happy. I’m really looking forward to getting racing [again]. It’s going to be a very packed schedule. I can’t wait to be in Sepang".
Oscar Piastri admits that the lock-up which potentially cost the Australian driver a podium in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix certainly took me by surprise, on a day where McLaren failed to score a point. Piastri had enjoyed a strong first half to the 51-lap race around Baku's historic streets, overtaking Charles Leclerc for second through the opening corner. The McLaren driver then held off the charging Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar as both Red Bull drivers showed strong pace early on. Piastri maintained second when pitting under the first of two Safety Cars, but at the restart, he was unable to hold Verstappen behind and dropped to third. A second Safety Car was called after a collision at the opening corner, involving McLaren team mate Lando Norris, and Piastri once again faced pressure from behind at the restart, this time from Hadjar. Having initially rebuffed the Frenchman, Piastri went defensive into Turn 1 on the following lap, suffering a double lock-up that sent him into the run-off area and down the order.
"Just disappointed. Obviously I think the first stint and the first half of the race was very encouraging and then from there on, it kind of unravelled. The lock-up I need to understand what happened because it certainly took me by surprise. I need to go and have a look, but obviously very disappointing not to have a result at the end".
Piastri has endured a difficult season so far in 2026, taking just two podiums with the last one coming at Miami in May, while Norris has taken two wins from the previous five races. Despite missing out on the result, Piastri was encouraged by his performance over the weekend in Baku having been back towards the front of the field.
"I think once the dust settles there will be a lot of positives from this weekend. I think Qualifying yesterday was good, I think in general I felt much more comfortable, well maybe not more comfortable but I've had more direction on what I need to do with the car. There's plenty of positives it just hurts obviously when you don't have any points or a trophy at the end".
Charles Leclerc has emphasised the need for Ferrari to bring upgrades in order to close the gap to rivals Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren after enduring a frustrating Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Although the Monegasque’s Qualifying effort was eight tenths adrift of George Russell’s pole position lap, it still earned him a spot on the front row, and Ferrari opted to start him on soft tyres with the aim of taking an early lead.
But over the course of the first stint, Leclerc lost out to Oscar Piastri and both Red Bull drivers as he struggled to match their pace, leaving him to settle for P4 after the Aussie dropped out of the points late in the race.
"They were very strong. McLaren were also strong - not maybe as strong as Red Bull, but Red Bull were particularly strong. We know they have a very strong power unit so this is a good race for them, but still. We were quite far off Mercedes, far off Red Bull, a bit behind McLaren - these are our competitors and it’s not new. It’s [been] quite a few races now that we’re losing a little bit of track to them, so it's important that we react to that and that we bring upgrades in order to close the gap again".
Alongside Mercedes, who have set the benchmark for much of the season, the Scuderia chose not to introduce any updates in Baku, while McLaren and Red Bull made changes to their cars. Their lack of progress at the street circuit left Leclerc to question whether they’ll be able to make a big enough step to beat the other frontrunners and hold onto second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
"We've got things in the pipeline, but I don't know what the others have in the pipeline. We are going to improve the car - whether it's going to be enough to outrace them in the development programme… I don't know what they have in store".
His team mate Lewis Hamilton suffered a similarly lonely race as he failed to move forward from his starting position of P6, with a hard-fought overtake on Lando Norris marking his main highlight before he was later passed by Kimi Antonelli. Asked whether he was surprised not to take the fight to other cars up ahead, he says:
"Not really. I was just surprised all weekend - I couldn't get the tyres working at all. Even through the whole race the tyres were just switching on, switching off, switching on, switching off, and so one minute the grip picks up for a second and then it drops away. We were seconds a lap slower than the cars right at the front, so there was nothing I could do. It's different at every track. The last track I think we were okay, but for some reason this weekend we couldn't get it working the whole weekend".