Azerbaijan - Race

After one of the craziest qualifying sessions in the history of the sport, the scene was set for a race to remember. With both McLarens starting closer to the middle of the field than to its front, Max Verstappen on the pole, and a few unexpected names in the top five, anything could happen over the 51 tight laps. 

The start of the race couldn't have gone worse for Oscar Piastri. The Australian jumped the start and, after the five red lights went out for real, his anti-stall kicked in, making it impossible for him to move straight away. He was overtaken by everyone who started in front of him and went into the first corner in a less-than-satisfactory P20. While it may seem bad enough, it wasn't the end of his troubles. He only managed to get to turn five before finding the wall and prematurely finishing his weekend. A safety car was immediately called, and yellow flags waved over the track. 

Piastri wasn't the only driver facing difficulties. His teammate, Lando Norris, lost a position to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and, soon after, both of them overtook the uncharacteristically slow Isack Hadjar. At the same time, both Mercedes fell behind Yuki Tsunoda. George Russell managed to reclaim the place from Tsunoda by lap ten.

Further in the back, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg made contact, which forced the Frenchman to pit straight away. He pitted for the second time a lap later, making it two stops in the span of three laps. On top of that, Fernando Alonso received a 5-second penalty for a false start. When informed about the steward's decision, he apologized for the mistake and explained that he had been misled by Piastri's maneuver. 

Alex Albon pitted at the end of the very first lap and did so again 15 laps later. This put him right behind Alpine's Franco Colapinto. During a fight for position, he drove into the back of the Argentinian, causing him to spin and touch the wall. Colapinto was able to continue, and Albon received a 10-second penalty for the incident. 

Kimi Antonelli was the first out of the top cars to drive into the pit. Leclerc and Lawson followed his lap soon after, with the latter trying to cover off the Italian. He came out just ahead of his rival, but didn't get to keep the position for long as Antonelli's warmed-up tires helped him overtake the Racing Bulls car. Carlos Sainz, running second for most of the race, stopped a few laps later, leaving Verstappen, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton as the top five. All of them remained on the old tires for a long while, hoping that a safety car, or maybe even a red flag, would give them the advantage of a 'free stop'. 

Hamilton was the first to break, pitting on lap 37, with Norris deciding to change his tires a lap later. The McLaren driver would have no problem coming out in front of the Ferraris if it wasn't for the terrible pitstop performed by his team. After being stationary for more than four seconds, he rejoined the track behind Leclerc. The other drivers fighting for the highest position pitted soon after. The stops ended up serving Russell and Lawson particularly well, with both of them overtaking their immediate rivals as a result. 

After all the shuffling, Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Antonelli, and Lawson made up the top five. It soon became clear that this would be the order in which they would finish the race. Verstappen took his 67th career victory, Russel scored his seventh podium of the season, and Sainz made it into the top three for the first time since he left Ferrari. 

Order of the grid:

1. Max Verstappen

2. George Russell

3. Carlos Sainz

4. Kimi Antonelli

5. Liam Lawson

6. Yuki Tsunoda

7. Lando Norris

8. Lewis Hamilton

9. Charles Leclerc

10. Isack Hadjar

11. Alex Albon

12. Gabriel Bortoleto

13. Oliver Bearman

14. Esteban Ocon

15. Fernando Alonso

16. Nico Hulkenberg

17. Lance Stroll

18. Pierre Gasly

19. Franco Colapinto

DNF: Oscar Piastri