George Russell Holds Off Max Verstappen to Win Azerbaijan Grand Prix - [your]NEWS

George Russell held off Max Verstappen by just 0.1 seconds to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and claim his third race win of the 2026 season. The Mercedes driver’s victory came in a race shaped by six retirements and two Safety Car periods. Russell started from pole after beating Charles Leclerc by 0.837 seconds and led at the start with Piastri, Hadjar and Verstappen in close order. Chaos followed: Lance Stroll retired on lap 9 with a water-pressure issue, while Norris and Albon were caught in incidents, and a second Safety Car arrived after Colapinto’s collision with Gasly and Norris. Verstappen overtook Piastri for second, but lost control at Turn 1, dropping to P15, before pushing again at the front. Isack Hadjar finished third, with Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton next. The F1 schedule continues with the Bahrain Grand Prix—run in Malaysia—on October 2–4 at Sepang, despite its Bahrain designation due to Middle East conflict.