Red Bull driver leads from pole to flag to cut title lead
Piastri out on first lap but Norris can finish only seventh
Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a dominant run from pole to flag for Red Bull on Sunday, while behind him Oscar Piastri endured an absolute shocker, the world championship leader crashing out on the opening lap. Lando Norris could not take full advantage of his title rival’s misjudgment, however, with the British driver starting and finishing in seventh.
George Russell was second for Mercedes, with Carlos Sainz making the most of a mixed-up grid to take a superb third for Williams, the team’s first podium at a full distance race since the Azerbaijan GP in 2017. Lewis Hamilton made a good comeback to take eighth from 12th on the grid for Ferrari.
Verstappen was serene in front on the streets of Baku, untroubled and giving a demonstration of what a title fight this might have been had Red Bull given him a more consistently competitive car this season. Piastri may consider himself lucky, as what might have been a huge swing in Norris’s favour was averted.
