George Russell held off a late challenge from Max Verstappen to claim victory at the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, securing his third win of the season.
Starting from pole, the Mercedes driver maintained his advantage through two safety car restarts during a dramatic closing phase at the Baku City Circuit. Verstappen pushed hard in pursuit of his first victory of the campaign but ultimately finished second, with Isack Hadjar completing a double podium for Red Bull in third.
Several post-race penalties altered the final classification. Franco Colapinto’s unserved 10-second penalty was converted into a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming race in Sepang.
Gabriel Bortoleto was also handed a 10-second time penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. The sanction dropped the Audi driver from 13th to 15th in the final standings.
Below is the adjusted classification following all penalties:
2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Final Classification
- George Russell — Mercedes
- Max Verstappen — Red Bull — +0.196s
- Isack Hadjar — Red Bull — +10.704s
- Charles Leclerc — Ferrari — +14.136s
- Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes — +14.512s
- Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari — +22.382s
- Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls — +31.159s
- Esteban Ocon — Haas — +31.189s
- Oliver Bearman — Haas — +31.929s
- Carlos Sainz — Williams — +32.416s
- Nico Hulkenberg — Audi — +33.231s
- Liam Lawson — Racing Bulls — +34.013s
- Oscar Piastri — McLaren — +36.401s
- Sergio Pérez — Cadillac — +41.400s
- Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi — +44.230s
- Valtteri Bottas — Cadillac — DNF
- Franco Colapinto — Alpine — DNF
- Pierre Gasly — Alpine — DNF
- Lando Norris — McLaren — DNF
- Alexander Albon — Williams — DNF
- Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin — DNF
- Lance Stroll — Aston Martin — DNF
