There was drama galore in Baku through both Qualifying and the race, with Max Verstappen guiding his Red Bull through it all to take a super pole and victory. But while his Red Bull team celebrated, many of his rivals headed for the airport wondering what might have been. Lawrence Barretto selects his winners and losers from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Winner: Max Verstappen
Red Bull did not have the fastest car in Baku, but Max Verstappen still found a way to stick it on pole for the sixth time in 2025 (six poles is the most of any driver this year) and first time in Baku.
Once he held the lead from Carlos Sainz into Turn 1, having started on the less grippy hard compound tyres, he settled into a lead that never looked under threat.
He has now led more laps this season than championship rival Lando Norris, while victory was his second on the bounce and third successive top-three finish (having previously not been on the podium since Canada).
The reigning four-time World Champion slashed his deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri from 94 points to 69. That’s still a chunky disadvantage, but if this form continues when we return to high-downforce tracks, he could run himself back into contention for the crown.
Loser: Oscar Piastri
Piastri has looked bulletproof in his pursuit of a first world title this year, but the Australian hit the skids in a big way in Baku.
Last year’s race winner uncharacteristically crashed in Qualifying, causing damage so significant McLaren had to change his chassis.
Race day was worse still, the 24-year-old first dropping to the back of the field following anti-stall kicking in after he jumped the start and then crashing at Turn 5 when he misjudged the lack of grip.
A tough race to swallow, but blips happen and his brilliance until this point means he still heads to Singapore with a comfortable 25-point advantage in the standings.
Winner: Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz has been fast all year, but he’s failed to convert that pace into a decent points haul for several reasons, including unreliability, misfortune and his own errors.
But in Baku, he delivered with a superb front row Qualifying spot with P2, in what was only his second Q3 appearance in the last 10 Grands Prix.
It was Williams’ first front row since George Russell in Belgium 2021 and the first time Sainz has ever outqualified a team mate in Azerbaijan.
His performance on Sunday was vintage Sainz, managing his tyres and pace supremely throughout to take Williams’ first podium in a full-length race since Lance Stroll at the same track back in 2017.
A haul of points near doubled his tally for the year (he scored 15 to add to his collection of 16) to vault him six places up the championship to 12th and strengthen Williams’ grip on P5 in the standings.
Loser: Alex Albon
While Sainz sparkled, his Williams team mate Alex Albon had a rare off weekend.
In Qualifying, he clipped the inside wall at the apex of Turn 1, breaking the front suspension and forcing him out of Q1 for the third time this season.
The Thai racer made up ground in the race, albeit slowly, but an erroneous move on Franco Colapinto tipped the Alpine into a spin and earned Albon a 10-second time penalty.
That dropped him from 11th on the road to 13th in the classification for only his second non-score in the last six races.
Winner: Liam Lawson
This was without doubt Liam Lawson’s best weekend in Formula 1 – and it came at the perfect time as he battles to convince Red Bull to retain him for next season.
The New Zealander delivered under pressure to take the best grid slot of his career with third.
He then produced a composed drive on race day to take a career-best fifth, ending a run of two races without a point.
The healthy score also helped Racing Bulls push up into sixth in the Teams’ Championship at the expense of Aston Martin.
Losers: Ferrari
The weekend offered so much promise for Ferrari after a very strong Friday that saw Lewis Hamilton lead a 1-2 in Free Practice 2, and tell the media afterwards that he was finally getting comfortable and confident on the brakes with his new team.
However, he failed to make it into Q3 – not helped in part by team mate Charles Leclerc crashing to bring out the yellow flags and force him to abort his first lap on the second run – and could only recover to eighth from 12th.
Leclerc’s run of four straight poles in Baku came to an end courtesy of his Qualifying crash – with the Monegasque at a loss to explain why he wasn’t anywhere near as comfortable on a track where he’s been mighty all of his career.
His race wasn’t anything to write home about – with boss Fred Vasseur confirming he had an engine issue that cost him at least a couple of tenths a lap – as he crossed the line ninth, with Ferrari dropping behind Mercedes into third in the Teams’ Championship.
Winner: George Russell
Considering George Russell had a respiratory virus that was so uncomfortable he didn’t attend the track on Thursday’s media day and was excused by doctors from attending his media duties on Friday and Saturday so he could rest, second on Sunday afternoon was a remarkable effort.
The Briton gave himself a shot at the podium with fifth on the grid, and while he lost a place to Yuki Tsunoda at the start, he recovered that and more as supreme pace and great strategy opened the door for an overcut on Sainz that gave him second.
It was his seventh podium finish of the season, third podium in four years in Baku and Mercedes’ best finish in Azerbaijan since 2019 as they moved up to P2 in the Teams’ standings.
Loser: McLaren
McLaren arrived in Baku in great shape to defend their Teams’ Championship crown with seven Grands Prix remaining – but they suffered one of their most uncompetitive weekends of the year.
They managed a best Qualifying position of seventh through Norris, with Piastri in ninth after his Q3 shunt. After Piastri then crashed on Lap 1, their hopes rested on Norris – but he didn’t have the pace to move forward and finished where he started.
That was McLaren’s lowest points haul since the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and means the papaya team must now wait until at least Singapore to clinch the championship.
Winner: Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli arrived in Baku with the word “underwhelming” ringing in his ear following Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s assessment of his performance last time out in Italy.
The Italian could have crumbled under the pressure – but instead responded in the way the Silver Arrows hoped he would with an assured performance from the first lap of practice to P4 at the flag.
Antonelli outqualified his team mate Russell in Grand Prix Qualifying for only the second time this season, and took his biggest haul of points since a podium in Canada back in June.
Losers: Haas
Haas were looking quick after Friday, with Ollie Bearman’s good form in Baku continuing with an eye-catching fifth in second practice.
But an error in Qualifying saw Bearman hit the wall and left him starting the race in 15th. His team mate Esteban Ocon had it even tougher as he started last after getting disqualified from P18 for a rear wing infringement.
Neither car could make progress in the race, meaning a second race without points as Williams and Racing Bulls stretched away in fifth and sixth respectively in the Teams’ standings.
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda
The pressure on Yuki Tsunoda’s shoulders has been growing steadily in recent weeks, with the Red Bull driver’s future at the team uncertain, especially in light of strong performances from Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
But he finally got a clean weekend together in Baku. On Saturday, he secured his first top-six grid slot in what would be his 15th Grand Prix start for Red Bull.
Fine work in Friday practice cured some of the problems he’s suffered generating race pace – and he proved that on Sunday by securing the first top-eight finish for the second Red Bull driver since Austin 2024.
It was Tsunoda’s best finish of the season, and gives him something to work with heading to Singapore.
