GEORGE Russell dominated all weekend in Baku, only to edge Max Verstappen by 0.196 seconds in a historic photo finish that gave him Formula 1’s narrowest winning margin since 2002.
The Mercedes driver also completed his first F1 weekend Grand Slam by taking pole, leading every lap, setting the fastest lap and winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the first lights-to-flag victory of his eight-win F1 career.
READ: Russell grabs dominant Baku pole after Antonelli exits in Q1
Russell held off the four-time world champion in a frantic dash to the line, turning what had been a commanding weekend into a dramatic finish.
“The first half of the race felt pretty plain sailing. When I saw Max behind, I thought, ‘It’s not going to be easy.’ He drove incredibly at the end of the race,” Russell said.
“Max almost got me at the line, so that would have been a real shame. All in all, an incredible weekend.”
Baku gone wild
It was the most dramatic ending to a weekend Russell had ruled from the opening session.
After topping both practice sessions and taking pole by 0.837 seconds, Russell made a clean getaway and immediately began building his advantage. He led all 51 laps, at one point stretching his lead to nearly 10 seconds as Oscar Piastri and the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar battled behind him.
For much of the race, Russell looked in complete control.
Then Baku did what Baku does.
Alex Albon’s crash brought out the first Safety Car and wiped away Russell’s advantage. The Mercedes driver survived the restart, only for another neutralization to follow when Franco Colapinto locked up at Turn 1 and collected Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The incident also earned Colapinto a post-race grid penalty that he will carry into the next race in Bahrain.
The second restart again put Russell’s lead under threat. Verstappen had moved into second and was suddenly within striking distance, while Piastri’s lock-up at Turn 1 dropped the McLaren driver from third to 15th.
With eight laps remaining, Verstappen was within a few tenths of Russell. He stayed close through the closing stages and even pulled alongside the Mercedes down the start-finish straight on the 51st and final lap, but Russell held him off by razor-thin margins.
Verstappen settled for second after starting eighth, while Hadjar completed the podium on his return from injury.
Leclerc finished fourth, with Kimi Antonelli recovering to fifth after starting 16th following his Q1 crash. Lewis Hamilton was sixth, followed by Arvid Lindblad, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman and Carlos Sainz.
Antonelli’s comeback drive limited the damage, but Russell still made significant ground in the championship, with his victory cutting the gap from 81 to 66 points as the Italian moved to 302 points and Russell climbed to 236.
The race was chaotic beyond the fight at the front, with eight drivers failing to finish. Albon, Colapinto, Gasly, Norris and Bottas retired after incidents, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll suffered separate mechanical problems.
Through all of it, Russell stayed out front.
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