Race recap: Verstappen’s masterclass in Baku
The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix wrapped up on September 21 at the Baku City Circuit, delivering what felt like a one‑man show from the Red Bull star. After a flawless qualifying session, Max Verstappen turned the pole into a win that stretched over 51 laps and more than 306 kilometres. He stopped only once, kept his tyres in the sweet spot, and built a gap that left the rest of the field chasing a moving target.
Verstappen’s final race time—1 hour, 33 minutes and 26.4 seconds—shows how the Dutch driver blended raw speed with surgical strategy. While other drivers battled traffic and tyre wear, Verstappen’s lap times stayed consistently quick, allowing him to finish 14.6 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. For a street circuit as hard‑on‑the‑tires as Baku, that margin is huge and highlights the advantage of his low‑fuel start and flawless pit work.
George Russell, pushing a Mercedes that has shown strong pace all weekend, claimed second place. He never got close enough to challenge the leader, but his steady run earned him 18 points, keeping his championship hopes alive. Russell’s ability to keep the car on the limit through Baku’s tight corners and long straights reminded fans why he’s considered a future world champion.
Williams secured a surprise podium as Carlos Sainz, now wearing the green‑and‑blue livery, crossed the line third. The former Ferrari driver turned the Williams car into a point‑scoring machine, finishing just under 19.2 seconds behind Verstappen. Sainz’s experience helped him extract performance where the chassis was not the fastest, proving that driver skill can still make a big difference.
Young Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli continued his impressive debut season with a fourth‑place finish. He trailed the race leader by a little over 21.8 seconds, showing that his raw speed can translate into points on a demanding circuit. Liam Lawson, driving for the Racing Bulls entry, rounded out the top five, ending the race 33.3 seconds behind Verstappen and confirming the midfield’s tight competition.
The final classification of the top five looks like this:
- 1st – Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
- 2nd – George Russell (Mercedes)
- 3rd – Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- 4th – Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 5th – Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
Practice, qualifying and the wider season picture
Baku’s three practice days set the tone early on. Friday’s first session gave McLaren’s Lando Norris the fastest lap, but the session was repeatedly halted by a red flag after debris littered the back straight and by a kerb problem at turn 16 that forced the marshals to intervene. When the track cleared, Mercedes‑Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton, now in a Ferrari shirt, topped the second practice, beating teammate Charles Leclerc and Russell by a narrow margin. The third session, back on Friday, saw Norris reclaim the top spot, edging out Verstappen and Australian rookie Oscar Piastri, hinting at a closely contested weekend.
Qualifying turned into a short sprint for pole, and Verstappen delivered a perfect lap of 1:41.117 to lock out the front row. The rest of the field shuffled under changing track temperatures, but the key takeaway was the consistency of the Red Bull car across the long straight and the tight turn one complex. Mercedes struggled to find a perfect balance, and the Ferrari drivers, despite strong practice runs, couldn’t translate that into a top‑three start. The grid layout promised a race where overtaking would be limited, especially after the first safety car.
The Baku City Circuit stretches 6.003 km and blends narrow medieval streets with a high‑speed waterfront stretch that kisses the Caspian Sea. Its fastest section, the 2.2‑km straight, lets cars hit over 320 km/h before plunging into the chicane that leads to the historic Baku Fortress. For drivers, the track is a test of bravery on the long sweep and precision in the tight hairpins. The surrounding skyline, anchored by the Flame Towers, gives the race a visual punch that few other venues can match.
This race also highlighted the biggest off‑track storylines of the season. Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari finally saw him on a podium‑capable car, and his immediate performance suggested a quick adaptation. Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli, only 18, continued to impress. His fourth‑place finish marks the fastest rise for a rookie this decade, and his feedback on tyre degradation is already influencing Mercedes’ development road‑map. Sainz’s switch to Williams gave the team a veteran perspective that translated into immediate points.
With the win, Verstappen stretched his lead in the drivers’ standings, moving a comfortable 20 points ahead of his nearest challenger. Mercedes, collecting points from both Russell and Antonelli, closed the gap to Red Bull in the constructors’ table, keeping the battle alive as the season moves into its final third. Williams, boosted by Sainz’s podium, climbed out of the back‑marker zone, showing that strategic driver signings can change a team’s fortunes quickly.
Next up, the calendar turns to the United States Grand Prix in Austin, where the track’s fast corners and long straight will test the same strengths that shone in Baku. Teams will be fine‑tuning their low‑drag packages and tyre strategies, hoping to replicate the dominance of Red Bull or to sneak past them with smarter pit stops. For fans, the question now is whether the championship race will stay tight or whether Verstappen will pull away for another record‑breaking season.
