Piastri falters in Baku… but gets off lightly
Oscar Piastri had been almost flawless so far in the 2025 Formula 1 season, but not this time. The Australian was already on the back foot for today’s race after crashing head-on into the wall at Turn 3 during Q3, leaving him ninth on the grid. He arguably still had a good opportunity to make progress.
However, it all unravelled right from the start – or even before that, more precisely. Piastri jumped the start and then stopped immediately in reaction, which dropped him down the order. Later, he crashed at Turn 5, ending his race on the spot.
To understand how uncharacteristic Piastri’s performance in Azerbaijan was, he had qualified in the top four in every race since last year’s Qatar Grand Prix. His DNF ended a 34-race scoring streak in grands prix and marked his first retirement after 44 consecutive race finishes, two streaks that place him in the top three in F1 history.
Almost every world champion has had a disastrous weekend. If this was only a detour in Piastri’s road to the title, only time will tell. In the meantime, Lando Norris’s own poor result in Baku – the Briton also struggled on Saturday and qualified just seventh, which was also his Sunday finishing position after another slow pitstop from McLaren – played in Piastri’s favour, as he limited the damage to just a six-point loss to his team-mate and title rival.
– Federico Faturos
McLaren lucky Verstappen not in F1 title fight
This is the year the F1 title is being dictated by the car, rather than who is the championship’s best driver. Granted, when has the title not been won by who is in the best car, but there is absolutely no doubt that Max Verstappen was F1’s best driver during his title-winning years, likewise with Lewis Hamilton.
Whereas, in 2025, would you even say Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris have been F1’s top three performers? Verstappen, George Russell and Charles Leclerc would have something to say about that – particularly the four-time world champion.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Ozan Kose / AFP via Getty Images
McLaren should count itself lucky that Verstappen has rarely had a Red Bull car good enough to fight the papaya squad because, otherwise, he’d have walked away with it. That was first illustrated a fortnight ago in Monza when he won from pole but even more so this weekend in Baku.
Qualifying was hectic, there were six red flags across a two-hour event, and so it is in those conditions when the best rise to the top. Verstappen did by taking a last-gasp pole, whereas Piastri crashed in Q3 and Norris failed to take advantage of his title rival’s mistake qualifying seventh. That carried into race day when the Red Bull driver comfortably won from pole while Piastri, again, crashed out and Norris, again, failed to take full advantage by only finishing seventh, leaving a 25-point deficit in the standings.
It is no coincidence that since Red Bull got its act together, Verstappen has won each time. But that’s no surprise because, as 2023 showed, if the Dutchman has the best car then nobody is challenging him.
– Ed Hardy
Red Bull needs more time to assess drivers
The word in the paddock is that Red Bull chiefs have already identified the prime candidate for the seat next to Verstappen in 2026. Isack Hadjar’s podium in Zandvoort was so impressive that it looks like he’s now set to become the Dutchman’s next team-mate, but the final decision has not been made yet – and Red Bull can still wait a few weeks before making a final call.
But that call isn’t any clearer after the weekend in Baku. Hadjar was quick in qualifying, but he still let the big result slip away through his fingers with a mistake during his final attempt – instead, Liam Lawson stole P3 and then drove an impressive race to highlight that he’s not giving up on his F1 career.
Yuki Tsunoda also looked a lot stronger than he has been for most of the season, telling journalists in Baku that he may have finally found the key element to unlock better race pace. He’s still nowhere near Verstappen’s brilliance, but that’s nothing to be shocked about, either. Had the Japanese driver driven like that a couple of months ago, he’d have cemented his seat by now.
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team
Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images
Add into the mix Arvid Linblad’s struggles in F2 – and you get the full picture. It’s a very difficult pick for Red Bull.
– Oleg Karpov
Sainz gets the result many expected
Although luck is often an easy excuse for some, the truth is that Carlos Sainz’s first season with Williams hadn’t been the luckiest so far, so this result at the Azerbaijan GP feels like karma paying back. Many thought the Spaniard wasn’t showing the expected level, but in Baku he proved that he certainly hasn’t forgotten how to drive and that he remains a reliable driver who also has moments of brilliance.
He was close to causing an upset in qualifying and held a podium position during the race with a strong pace, especially on medium tyres. Yes, Piastri wasn’t there, for example, and it wasn’t a race full of overtakes as one might expect, but Sainz gave Williams its first podium of the year and the team’s first since 2021.
Whether luck changes after this weekend is something beyond Sainz’s control, but step by step the Spaniard is becoming the team leader even if the standings don’t show it. He now leads 9-8 in qualifying over Alex Albon (having done so the last four Saturdays) and is restoring the confidence Williams placed in him. Sainz is still a Smooth Operator with a lot to say in F1.
– Jose Carlos de Celis
Antonelli still showing flashes of brilliance amid chaotic rookie campaign
Much has been discussed of Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s rookie F1 campaign. The 19-year-old, who replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, arrived with much expected of him given his track record in the junior categories but he has often failed to deliver.
He went on a run of just one points finish across seven grands prix, has needlessly caused red flags in practice by going off, and arrived in Baku behind the Williams of Alex Albon in the championship despite the superiority Mercedes holds over its customer outfit. So it’s fair to say this year has not gone as hoped, Toto Wolff even called Antonelli’s Italian Grand Prix “underwhelming”, but Baku highlighted why he is still so promising.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images via Getty Images
Because consistency is very rare in a teenage F1 talent, Verstappen didn’t exactly have it in his early years, but what all the good ones do is show flashes of brilliance. That is what Antonelli has done. He took pole for the Miami sprint race, claimed a maiden podium in Montreal and certainly held his own this weekend.
The Italian outqualified team-mate George Russell before delivering a solid race to finish fourth. It perhaps shows that some of the reaction to Antonelli’s year has been over the top and, actually, it should all work out just fine for him.
– Ed Hardy
