The 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend was a whirlwind of drama, speed, and shifting fortunes. From practice sessions that swung between McLaren and Ferrari, to a record six red flags in qualifying, and finally a dominant race win by Max Verstappen, Baku delivered its trademark unpredictability.
The Chronicle Headlines
- Record-Breaking Qualifying Chaos in Baku: Six red flags, changing skies, and crashes from Leclerc and Piastri created a marathon session.
- Verstappen Seizes Maiden Baku Pole: The Dutchman kept his cool in the storm, denying Sainz and celebrating his first pole on the streets of Baku.
- Piastri’s Nightmare Weekend Ends on Lap One: A false start and crash compounded his qualifying disaster, cutting his championship lead to just 25 points.
- Norris Misses the Chance to Strike Back: Seventh in qualifying became seventh in the race, the Briton couldn’t maximize his rival’s DNF.
- Williams Celebrates as Sainz Takes the Podium: The Spaniard’s P3 marked a milestone in the team’s resurgence and his first silverware in blue.
- Lawson Stars, Tsunoda Delivers for Red Bull Camp: The Kiwi’s career-best fifth and Tsunoda’s P6 capped a strong weekend for both teams in the Red Bull stable.
Baku Practice a Tale of Two Teams: McLaren and Ferrari Split the Spoils
McLaren opened the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend with strong showings in unpredictable conditions, leading FP1 and FP3, while Ferrari took charge of FP2. Norris and Piastri split the top spots early, but barriers, walls and kerb damage ensured none of the sessions ran smoothly.
The practice sessions painted a complex picture ahead of qualifying.
FP1 – Norris Sets the Pace After Kerb Chaos
Practice 1 unfolded under drama. Lando Norris lapped fastest with a 1:42.704s, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri (+0.310s) and four-time Baku pole-holder Charles Leclerc.
The hour began quietly, but a loose kerb at Turn 16 sparked a red flag that halted running for 25 minutes. During that interruption, McLaren resolved Piastri’s power unit issue, allowing him to return once the marshals cleared the track. Russell narrowly trailed Leclerc, while Albon grabbed a solid fifth. Hamilton clipped the barriers damaging his front wing, dropping him to 13th.
Outside the top ten, Verstappen had an off-track moment; Tsunoda, Sainz, and Lawson also featured just behind. Norris’ pace on the C6 showed confidence, though lack of clean running leaves open questions for those aiming for pole: every little error in the castle section or braking zones will cost.
FP2 – Ferrari Rises While McLaren Stumbles
Session two at the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix belonged to Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton led a Ferrari 1-2 with Charles Leclerc trailing, as both McLarens found trouble in the tricky Baku mix. Norris clipped the wall exiting Turn 4, damaging his left-rear suspension and ending his lap count early. Piastri also grazed the barriers at Turn 15, though his car survived more cleanly.
Ferrari’s consistency shone: Hamilton pulled a 1:41.293s to lead, with Leclerc about 0.074s behind. Behind them, Mercedes’ Russell closed in, but couldn’t match Ferrari’s benchmark. Others like Lawson, Bearman and Albon also edged up as grip improved. McLaren’s grid-threatened performance showed vulnerabilities under braking and in wall proximity.
Rather than clear pace advantage, FP2 highlighted risk. Tyre selection looked key; softs shone in short bursts, while mediums offered more stability. Teams will need to balance aggression and caution. With qualifying looming, session two served as a clear warning that mistakes would be punished hard in Baku.
FP3 – Norris Rebounds to Top the Final Tune-Up
Norris bounced back in the final free practice, posting the fastest lap of the weekend until that moment at 1:41.223s on soft tyres. He edged Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.222s, with Oscar Piastri in third, despite a crash in qualifying anticipation, his FP3 showed his car still had speed.
The session opened slowly; strong crosswinds and a freshly wet track stripped rubber laid down on Friday. Oliver Bearman briefly led early timing charts, but as the sun broke through and slick tyres warmed, times tumbled. Leclerc tried to push but suffered errors at multiple corners, while Hamilton and Mercedes placed fourth through sixth, with Alex Albon, Bearman, Lawson rounding out strong top-ten finishes.
Norris’ rebound from his FP2 wall strike speaks volumes. Red Bull will want better consistency; McLaren must address Norris’ edge errors, especially under pressure. Qualifying simulations dominated the back half of the session, yet nervous energy held across garages. FP3 suggested that the fight for pole would be tight and that whoever keeps calm would gain the advantage in Sunday’s race.
Qualifying: Six Red Flags, Spit-Rain, and Verstappen’s First Baku Pole
Qualifying in Baku was nothing short of chaos. A record number of red flags, scattered rain showers, and late drama turned the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix grid into a lottery. Through it all, Max Verstappen kept his composure, seizing a maiden Baku pole with a lap delivered in the dying seconds, ahead of Carlos Sainz and the sensational Liam Lawson.
Q1: Norris on Top as Albon, Hülkenberg and Alpine Trigger Stoppages
The opening phase set the tone for what was to follow. As the lights went green, almost the entire field rushed onto the track to bank laps before the forecast rain could complicate matters. Grip was already marginal, with gusts funneling off the Caspian Sea and a slick surface in the braking zones.
Alex Albon was the first casualty, clipping the wall at Turn 1 and breaking his suspension, which brought out the initial red flag. No sooner had the session resumed than Nico Hülkenberg crashed at Turn 4, scattering debris and triggering another stoppage. Alpine’s troubles deepened moments later: Pierre Gasly skated into the runoff at the same corner, while rookie Franco Colapinto oversteered into the barriers behind him, ending his day and compounding the team’s misery.
When the dust settled, it was Lando Norris who held the edge, clocking a 1:41.322s on mediums to top the timesheets ahead of Verstappen, Leclerc, and Russell. Isack Hadjar impressed with a place in the top five, while Oscar Piastri survived a brush with the wall to advance. Eliminated were Albon, Hülkenberg, Gasly, Colapinto, and Esteban Ocon, who would later be disqualified entirely for a rear-wing infraction. For the rest, the lesson was clear: precision mattered more than outright pace.
Q2: Verstappen Heads McLarens; Hamilton and Alonso Bow Out
The second phase carried the same chaos. On his out lap, Isack Hadjar ran wide at Turn 4, narrowly avoiding damage, before Oliver Bearman slammed his Haas into the wall at Turn 2. The collision snapped his suspension and brought out yet another red flag, the fourth of the day.
Once green again, McLaren showed early promise. Norris posted a 1:41.396s on softs to lead initially, with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli close behind on mediums. Piastri followed in fourth, though not without drama, he grazed the Turn 15 wall and limped back for checks.
Then came Verstappen. The reigning champion delivered a clean lap on medium tyres, a 1:41.255s, to seize the top spot and underline his authority. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, struggled to string together a clean lap, running deep at Turn 1 before finally banking a time just strong enough to scrape through.
The shock was Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari rolled the dice on softs, but his laps were scruffy, and traffic at a critical moment left him stranded in 12th. He was joined on the sidelines by Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Bearman.
Q3: Sainz’s Shock Bid Fizzles as Verstappen Nails a Last-Ditch 1:41.117
If Q1 and Q2 hinted at chaos, the final shootout delivered it in full. From the start, drama followed every lap. Russell slid into the runoff at Turn 4, forcing Norris to back off a flying attempt. Carlos Sainz took advantage, placing his Williams on provisional pole with a superb lap on mediums. Lawson and Hadjar also impressed, briefly occupying top three spots on softs.
Then came disaster for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, a four-time Baku polesitter, clipped the barriers at Turn 15 and ended his session in the wall. Minutes later, Oscar Piastri crashed heavily at Turn 3, bringing the total to six red flags, the most ever in a Formula 1 qualifying session. Rain began to sprinkle, further raising the stakes.
When the session finally resumed with just minutes on the clock, the grid was wide open. Norris, desperate to capitalize with both Piastri and Leclerc sidelined, brushed the wall himself at Turn 15, ruining what could have been a front-row bid. Verstappen, however, kept his cool. Hooking up all three sectors, he stopped the clock at 1:41.117s, taking his maiden Baku pole and silencing doubts about his one-lap pace on street circuits.
Sainz’s lap was still enough for a remarkable second, giving Williams its best start of the year, while Lawson’s composed effort secured him a sensational third. Antonelli and Russell filled out the top five, with Tsunoda sixth. Norris was left seventh, two places ahead of his battered team-mate Piastri, while rookie Hadjar slotted into eighth. Leclerc, after his crash, completed the top ten.
2025 F1 Azerbaijan Gran Prix – Sunday Race
Verstappen Dominates, Russell Chases, Sainz Stops the Bleeding
Max Verstappen turned his pole into a commanding win at the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading from start to finish in what turned out to be a flawless “lights-to-flag” performance. He opened on hard tyres, stretched that first stint until lap 41, then switched to mediums and cruised to the flag with over a 14-second margin.
George Russell followed, recovering well despite illness, to claim second for Mercedes. He kept pressure on Sainz, who had started strong but couldn’t match Russell’s closing pace. Carlos Sainz took third, marking Williams’ first full-season podium in years. His drive was tight, defensive early, clean and efficient later.
The race’s drama exploded on the very first lap. Championship leader Oscar Piastri, starting ninth, jumped the start, triggered anti-stall, dropped back, locked up into Turn 5, and crashed out, his race ended before it barely began. That DNF not only snapped his 34-race points streak but cut his lead over Norris to 25.
Lando Norris, although handed an opportunity by Piastri’s exit, couldn’t fully seize it. He fought through midfield chaos to finish seventh, keeping just enough pace to limit the championship damage. But in a race soaked in unpredictability, the front was all Verstappen.
Mid-Field Battles, Penalties, and What It Means
The mid-field was a pressure cooker. Liam Lawson impressed with a career-best fifth for Racing Bulls, holding off Norris and Leclerc down Baku’s long straight and through its tight braking zones. Yuki Tsunoda gained sixth, benefitting from consistent tyres and risk-averse overtakes.
Lewis Hamilton fought past Leclerc late in the race to secure eighth, while Leclerc and many others struggled to maintain grip or match tyre performance. Isack Hadjar salvaged a point in 10th after rough early laps.
There were penalties too: Alex Albon received a 10-second time penalty after colliding with Franco Colapinto; Fernando Alonso was handed five seconds for a false start. Piastri’s false start also drew penalty, though he crashed before he could finish.
What next?
The next stop on the calendar is the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, taking place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit from October 3-5. It marks Round 18 of the season, and after Baku’s high-speed walls and chaos, teams will face a very different test: tight turns, humid air, and night racing under lights. The shift to street conditions in Singapore typically stresses cooling and tyre wear more than outright power, so expect strategy to come into play once again.
Drivers shaken or lifted by their fortunes in Baku will carry that momentum forward: Verstappen, fresh from back-to-back wins in Monza and Baku, will aim to close the championship gap even further.
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool