Max Verstappen won his second race in a row in Baku on Sunday (September 21). He was followed home almost 15 seconds later by George Russell and driver-of-the-day Carlos Sainz, who gave his trademark “VAMOS” as he crossed the finish line.
“This weekend has been incredible for us,” Verstappen said after the race. “The car was working really well on both compounds, and it was pretty straightforward. The last two weekends have been amazing, so we’ll see what we can do [in Singapore].”
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX!!! 🤩
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
That’s back-to-back wins for the @redbullracing driver 🏆🏆#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/qOuBHm1Ksu
The second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli finished in fourth, followed by a close pack of Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10, with championship leader Oscar Piastri having crashed out of the race on the opening lap.
A large banner on one of the Baku hotels proclaimed “expect the unexpected,” and that was at least partly true for the starting order. Max Verstappen lined up in pole position for the second consecutive race, but he was not joined by the usual McLarens, or even by a Ferrari.
Verstappen’s old Tauro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz took the second front-row grid slot, followed by Lawson and Antonelli in third and fourth, respectively. Norris and Piastri, the two main protagonists in the 2025 Driver’s Championship, started from seventh and ninth, with the Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton further back in 10th and 12th.
The frontrunners all got a clean start, but Piastri dropped immediately from ninth to last before locking up and hitting the wall at turn 5.
Piastri went into the barriers at Turn 5 💥
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
We have a Safety Car on track #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ka5RvcF3M9
The race restarted at the end of lap 4, and Norris lost a position to Leclerc, putting the remaining McLaren into ninth.
Despite having less grip on the white-striped hard tires, Verstappen quickly pulled a gap of more than one second to the Williams of Sainz.
LAP 5/51
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
Verstappen streaks away at the restart but they are squabbling behind!
Sainz keeps hold second, Lawson is third, Antonelli fourth and Tsunoda fifth #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/3sQNuHOs4T
While Verstappen looked in control at the front, several heated battles were developing behind. Tsunoda, now in fifth, was being closely followed by the Mercedes of George Russell, who finally passed on lap 10.
A similar fight was in play between Leclerc and Norris for seventh position, the latter hoping to capitalize on his teammate’s first-lap exit. However, Norris found the straight-line speed of the Ferrari to be a much greater challenge.
LAP 12/51
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
Norris is currently the meat in a Ferrari sandwich 🥪#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/wT5AhK7fid
Antonelli, running in fourth, was the first of the frontrunners to pit on lap 18, rejoining the track in clear air. The Ferrari of Leclerc stopped one lap later.
On lap 21, Lawson also took to the pits from third position. When he returned to the track, he was just ahead of Antonelli, who managed to get past one lap later.
LAP 21/51
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
Lawson pits from P3 comes back out in P10 with Antonelli is his rear view mirrors, but only just! 😮#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/d2idrMlSWf
With 30 laps completed, the top five positions were held by Verstappen, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton, none of whom had yet stopped. Verstappen was over 13 seconds clear.
Norris pitted for new hard tires on lap 38, but a slow stop put him back on track in eighth position, behind Leclerc. Tsunoda stopped one lap later, re-entering just in front of Lawson, Leclerc, and Norris, but losing a position to Lawson.
LAP 38/51
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
Norris pits and it's not the quickest by McLaren – just over four seconds 😖
He's back out on track in P8#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/heM23Xh2EZ
Over 30 seconds clear at the front, Verstappen finally stopped for fresh medium tires on lap 40. Meanwhile, Norris passed Leclerc for seventh place. At the front, Verstappen led from Russell, with Sainz in third position.
The focus remained on the train of cars beginning with Lawson, who was closely followed by Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton, the latter having been let past by Leclerc.
LAP 46/51
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2025
A four-way fight for P5! 😮
Lawson ⚔️ Tsunoda ⚔️ Norris ⚔️ Hamilton#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/lqvs2qjXmi
Almost 15 seconds ahead, Verstappen took his second consecutive race win. He is now 44 points behind Norris and 69 points behind Piastri, putting him back into contention for the 2025 driver’s championship.
Crucially, Norris reduced Piastri’s lead to 25, a gap that could have been much smaller if Norris had managed to finish further ahead.
Peter Molloy began following Formula 1 during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. He cheered for a certain Ayrton Senna, who was driving the same black and gold colors as a toy F1 car that Pete had been given. Pete continued to be a fan of Senna throughout his childhood. Fast forward many moons, and Peter now combines significant journalistic experience with decades of watching F1 to cover the latest on-track and off-track action.