Max Verstappen wins in Baku as Piastri crashes out, Sainz hails podium as career best

BAKU: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen cruised to a dominant Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory while Oscar Piastri crashed on the opening lap and had his Formula One lead over McLaren teammate Lando Norris slashed to 25 points.

McLaren had hoped to secure their 10th Formula One constructors’ title, and second in a row, on Sunday with a record seven rounds remaining but must now wait until Singapore on October 5 after their lowest scoring weekend of the season.

George Russell finished second for Mercedes, who moved up to second place and 333 points behind McLaren with 346 still to be won, and Carlos Sainz third for Williams’s first podium finish since 2021.

Norris started and finished seventh in what will rank as a missed opportunity, with six points gained on his rival but his chances of more scuppered by a slow 4.1-second pitstop for the second successive race.

VERSTAPPEN WINS SECOND RACE IN A ROW

The win was Verstappen’s second in a row and he led every lap from pole to flag, also setting the fastest lap for a “Grand Slam” that revived his slim title hopes with the reigning champion now 69 points behind Piastri.

He took the chequered flag 14.609 seconds clear of Russell, after being more than 32 seconds clear before taking his pitstop.

“I think this weekend has been incredible for us,” said Verstappen after his 67th career win, fourth of the season and second in Baku after a 2022 victory. “For us to win here again is just fantastic.

“We had clean air all the time and you could then look after your tires. And yeah, it was pretty straightforward.”

Russell, recovering from sickness and starting fifth on the grid, was happy to see a rough weekend finish strongly while Sainz — voted driver of the day — was the happiest man