George Russell claimed a dramatic victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen to secure his third win of the season by just one tenth of a second.

The Mercedes driver made a strong start and controlled the opening stages, building a comfortable advantage as Oscar Piastri battled to keep the Red Bull drivers behind. Verstappen and Isack Hadjar eventually moved into contention, but Russell remained firmly in control.

The race was transformed by a series of incidents. Williams’ Alex Albon made a costly error that brought out the Safety Car, while another restart was followed by a crash involving Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, his team-mate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris. The incidents left six drivers unable to finish.

After the second Safety Car period, Verstappen applied intense pressure to Russell in the closing laps. However, the Mercedes driver held his nerve to cross the finish line first, denying Verstappen his first victory of the season.

Hadjar completed the podium in third, giving Red Bull a double podium, while Charles Leclerc finished fourth. Kimi Antonelli produced one of the drives of the race, climbing from 16th on the grid to fifth.

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, followed by Arvid Lindblad, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman and Carlos Sainz. Haas celebrated its first double points finish since Monaco, while Oscar Piastri ended a difficult race in 14th after a lock-up dropped him out of contention.

2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Race Results

DNFs: Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. 

Note: the finish gap for Russell and Verstappen was officially 0.196s, rather than 0.1s when rounded to one decimal place.