Following an underwhelming debut Grand Prix weekend in Madrid, Formula 1 headed out east for the fifteenth round of the 2026 season in Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku. A notorious street circuit that first held a Grand Prix in 2016 under the banner of the European Grand Prix, Azerbaijan is a venue that frequently tests driver’s abilities and separates the men from the boys. A mixture of high speed sections and tight, twisting portions of the track that weave in and out of Baku’s streets and historical buildings, one small mistake can ruin a driver’s weekend. With a whooping eighty-one point lead heading into the weekend, would Kimi Antonelli be able to sustain this momentum or would Baku become the start of his unravelling and if so, would any of his rivals be able to capitalise on that?
Let’s take a look at the Key Takeaways from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Don’t Call it a Comeback
George Russell entered the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend eighty-one points shy of Championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Prior to the weekend, the British driver had said his focus was simply on taking each race as it came, instead of on the Championship. It came across as defeatist and extinguished many of the fires of hope across the fanbase that were still holding a candle for a Russell resurgence.
Then the momentum looked like it might be beginning to shift from one Mercedes driver to the other. Russell topped two of the three practice sessions and then went on to claim Pole Position in qualifying. Not only did he take Pole for the first time since Austria, but he did so by eight tenths of a second – the biggest margin in the dry since these qualifying regulations were first implemented back in 2006.
But Russell wasn’t done yet. From the moment the start lights went out the start of Saturday’s race, Russell was untouchable. He led every lap and put in the fastest lap of the Grand Prix for good measure too before going on to win the race in what was the first grand slam of his career – defending Champion Norris doesn’t even have one of those. While the gap to Verstappen behind was just 0.1 seconds (the closest finish since the U.S Grand Prix in 2002) across the line, thanks to Bottas, Russell had been dominant throughout and Baku was always his race to win. The gap to Antonelli is now sixty-six points. Maybe the Championship isn’t over just yet.
A Rare Mistake from Antonelli
On the other side of the Mercedes garage, there was a rare erroneous moment from Kimi Antonelli in the first part of qualifying. The Italian clipped the wall at the first turn of the street circuit and damaged his car beyond immediate repair and had to retire from qualifying as a result. He would start Saturday’s Grand Prix from sixteenth. In Monza, we’d seen Antonelli drive from nineteenth to take the win firmly from Russell. But in Baku, it wasn’t quite so straightforward.
Antonelli did make progress up the field during Saturday’s Grand Prix. But it wasn’t as swift or as smooth as his run in Monza. Antonelli was aided too by incidents on track clearing a path to the front for him. Colapinto took himself, Gasly and Norris out of the Grand Prix, gifting Antonelli three positions in a single corner. Piastri too tumbled down to thirteenth from second place after a costly error locking up into the first turn. Fifth place was as high as Antonelli could rise by the end of the race – due in equal measure to good luck and to his driving ability. The Italian still leads overall but has shown he’s not unbeatable this season, just when we thought he might be.
Hadjar’s Return
Isack Hadjar returned to Red Bull and Formula 1 for the first time since the Hungarian Grand Prix in Baku. He’d been out of action for the last three races due to a injury sustained training in the summer break. Azerbaijan was set to be the venue for his return and he came back possibly stronger than he’d been when we last saw him in Budapest. Not only did he qualify in an impressive fourth place, but he outqualified his teammate, Max Verstappen, in the process. This is was the fifth time Verstappen’s been out-qualified by a teammate in Azerbaijan – the most of any venue on the calendar.
Hadjar then worked well with Verstappen over the course of the Grand Prix, even if the Four-Time Champion did get past him early on in his charge to get back to the front. Hadjar proved to have more pace than Verstappen at times – a rarity in Verstappen’s teammates since the days of Daniel Ricciardo almost a decade ago. The pair stayed in tight formation throughout and Hadjar came home in third place – also his third podium in Formula 1. Red Bull have been looking for someone to expertly fill that second seat at Red Bull for a long time now. With news of Hadjar’s contract extension into 2027, they may have finally found the right person for the job.
McLaren in the Mix in Azerbaijan
Once again, McLaren were downplaying their chances ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. But both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri looked firmly to be in the mix in qualifying. Piastri was even the provisional pole sitter for much of the last part of qualifying before having to settle for third overall on the grid.
The Australian then pipped Leclerc at the start of the race to take second place and looked to be in control from there. Despite pressure from both Red Bull drivers behind him, Piastri didn’t relent. However, just as things were looking peachy for the McLaren driver, he locked up into the first corner and fell down the pack – only able get back as high as thirteenth by the end of the race.
Norris had no better luck as he seemed stuck in the bottom half of the top ten for much of the race. The World Champion then got taken out by Franco Colapinto on the race restart after Albon’s crash and it was day over for the McLaren driver. Neither one left Baku with points. But the potential for both is there. With Malaysia a fresh track for both of them next time out, they may have to wait until Singapore before getting a chance to shine again.
Williams Move Forwards in Azerbaijan
Williams have had a tough season so far. But Azerbaijan brough a glimmer of hope for the fan favourite team. They came to Baku with a car that was a whopping 20KG lighter than the one they’d brought with them to race in Madrid. Qualifying too went better for them with Sainz making it into Q3 and qualifying ninth, with Albon not too far back in thirteenth. A five place penalty for Sainz for a failure to slow for yellow flags put a damper on things but the improvements were clear.
While Albon crashed in the race (wind was blamed as the culprit by Team Principal James Vowles), Sainz managed to recover up to tenth place, stealing the last point on offer from the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg. It’s a significant point as it’s the team’s first since Monaco. It may not seem like much but Williams – and everyone else – are hoping it’s just the start of a new normal.
A Decade in Azerbaijan
Formula 1 has been racing in Azerbaijan for a decade now. Since 2021 though, the racing around the streets of Baku has felt somewhat lacking to many. Despite Piastri’s masterclass win in 2024 and Sainz’s debut podium for Williams in 2025, the results on paper have offered us a false image of what we’ve seen on track.
Fortunately in 2026, Baku was back to being itself again. Not only did it breath fresh life into what many believe is already a Championship with a forgone conclusion but it gave us a tantalising amount of other storylines too. Ferrari floundered while McLaren looked set to pounce before their own bad luck befell them. Colapinto broke the cardinal rule of motorsport by taking himself and teammate Gasly out, enabling Lindblad to score big and extend Racing Bulls’ advantage over Alpine. Haas got their first double points of the season and even Aston Martin and Cadillac in the form of Alonso and Bottas managed to have an entertaining fight at the back of the pack. All of that happened before we even get to the photo finish between Russell and Verstappen after their close battle in the last part of the Grand Prix.
Formula 1 can be frustrating at times. Madrid proved that. But Baku reminded us of what the sport can be and why we love it. Here’s to the next decade.
*
Formula 1 returns October 4th for the Bahrain Grand Prix hosted by Malaysia.
Feature Image: Mercedes Media Centre