Max Verstappen kept his championship hopes alive with a dominant victory on the streets of Baku after championship leader Oscar Piastri crashed out at the start.
Piastri only made it as far as turn five before skidding into the barrier. He made a dire start from ninth on the grid, jumping the start and falling to last place, before his car got away from him.
The challenge from the McLaren drivers never materialised. Lando Norris started two places ahead of his team mate, lost one place at the start and struggled to make progress over the rest of the race. A slow pit stop capped a miserable day for Norris as he finished where he started in seventh.
While Verstappen led comfortably from start to finish, George Russell climbed from fifth on the grid to take second place. He started the race on a set of hard tyres and delayed his pit stop as long as possible to make up ground.
His late pit stop allowed him to displace surprise front row starter Carlos Sainz Jnr from second place. The Williams driver nonetheless delivered the team’s first podium finish since Russell stood on the rostrum for them at Spa four years ago.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not help his team mate’s cause by squeezing Russell wide at turn one early in the race, costing him a position to Yuki Tsunoda. He closed on Sainz at the end but wasn’t able to attack the Williams.
Liam Lawson started third but fell to fifth place, taking the chequered flag with Tsunoda and Norris filling his mirrors. Charles Leclerc allowed Lewis Hamilton through into eighth place and Isack Hadjar collected the final point.
Verstappen’s win leaves him 69 points behind championship leader Piastri, while Norris is now 25 points behind his team mate at the top of the standings.
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