George Russell Wins One of Formula 1’s Closest Races in History, and Carlos Sainz Scores Points Four Months Later

This Azerbaijan Grand Prix will not only be historic because the race took place on a Saturday. George Russell and Max Verstappen were at the center of one of Formula 1’s closest finishes in history. 196 thousandths gave Russell the win. In the 21st century, only one race has seen a closer margin.

Russell appeared to have the race well in hand until it descended into chaos. Two virtual safety cars and a string of incidents in the second half of the race upended the Grand Prix, in which he managed to score points, with Carlos Sainz among those scoring, who had been out of the points for four months.

Colapinto messes up and eliminates his teammate and Lando Norris

Who would have thought that this Saturday in Baku would deliver such a historic milestone. George Russell beat Max Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by a mere 196 thousandths, the second-shortest margin of the 21st century, only surpassed by Ferrari’s antics at Indianapolis in 2002.

Russell had the race under control, with a substantial lead, but the safety car neutralized his advantage. And on the restart, Verstappen moved up to second and, with soft tires, pressured Russell to the checkered flag, taking advantage of Valtteri Bottas’ late accident to push even harder under yellow flags and close the gap further.

Verstappen started eighth, but quickly carved his way through the early part of the race to reach third. There he became bottled up behind Oscar Piastri, and was pressured by his teammate, an aggressive Isack Hadjar, returning to Formula 1 after an injury and securing a podium, the second of the season.

Piastri made a mistake precisely while battling Hadjar and dropped out of the points, clipping at the first corner. A bad day for McLaren, because Lando Norris also failed to score. The champion fell victim to a wild move by Franco Colapinto, which knocked out his teammate Pierre Gasly and the champion.

Kimi Antonelli ran a conservative race and salvaged a fifth place that gives him valuable points. Although the Italian also benefited from the champion’s luck. He narrowly avoided contact with Oliver Bearman, ninth at finish, and also dodged the melee sparked by Colapinto, escaping by a hair. His lead now stands at 66 points.

The Ferraris inherit a fourth place for Charles Leclerc and a sixth for Lewis Hamilton thanks to the crashes, but the harsh reality is that they were the fourth team in Baku, and by a fair margin. Once again, the Maranello outfit seems to be lagging as the season progresses. The endless story.

Incredibly, the margin of victory was not the smallest of the race. Arvid Lindblad finished seventh, overtaking Esteban Ocon on the finish line by just three hundredths. Still, Lindblad will receive a stern talking-to in the pits, because he ran into his teammate Liam Lawson on a late restart.

All this chaos allowed Carlos Sainz to score, who finished tenth despite the pace of his Williams being disappointing in the race. Sainz benefited from the chaos unleashed precisely by his teammate, Alexander Albon. As for Fernando Alonso, another retirement in another inglorious race for Aston Martin.

F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026 – Race Results

Formula 1 World Standings

1st. Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes-ITA), 302 points

2nd. George RUSSELL (Mercedes-GBR), 236 points

3rd. Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari-GBR), 199 points

4th. Lando NORRIS (McLaren-GBR), 186 points

5th. Charles LECLERC (Ferrari-MON), 179 points

Images | Mercedes, Alpine