BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Max Verstappen cruised to victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday as championship leader Oscar Piastri’s first-lap crash allowed Lando Norris to trim his points advantage.
Verstappen was in control from start to finish after taking pole position in a chaotic qualifying session Saturday and had a vast lead by the time he made his only pit stop.
“The car was working really well,” Verstappen said. “It was pretty straightforward. Of course, it’s not easy around here, very windy today.”
George Russell was second for Mercedes after battling illness through the week and Carlos Sainz, Jr. was third for Williams’ first podium finish in four years.
“Best podium in my career,” Sainz told the team.
Verstappen made it back-to-back wins for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix of June 2024 as McLaren’s dominance this season came under threat for the second race in a row.
Norris was seventh as he missed the chance to fully exploit Piastri’s error and slash the Australian’s lead in the title fight, which drops from 31 points to 25, the value of a race win.
Piastri nearly stalled on the grid and dropped to the back of the field, before sliding into the barrier as he tried to recover places. The Australian crashed for the second day running in Baku after also hitting the barrier in qualifying.
McLaren could have secured the constructors’ title Sunday with seven races to go, but will now have to wait until at least the next race in Singapore in two weeks’ time. It was McLaren’s worst combined performance of an otherwise dominant season.
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