Max Verstappen secured a dominant victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, extending his winning streak to two races and narrowing the championship gap. The Red Bull driver led from pole to flag in Baku, delivering a serene performance that contrasted sharply with the chaos behind him.
Oscar Piastri endured a nightmare weekend, crashing out of the race on lap two after a poor start. The McLaren driver admitted to 'silly mistakes' and 'lapses in judgment', ending his 34-race scoring streak. His title rival and teammate Lando Norris could not capitalise, finishing seventh after a difficult qualifying left him struggling to overtake on a track where DRS trains made progress tough.
Piastri's crash came after he made a jump-start, triggering anti-stall and dropping him to last. He then locked up at turn five and speared into the wall, leaving his car in pieces. Despite the setback, Piastri retains a 25-point lead in the championship with seven races remaining, though Norris rued a missed opportunity to close the gap.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has refused to rule Verstappen out of the title fight, noting that the world champion has reduced a 94-point deficit to 69 points. Verstappen's victory, coupled with George Russell's second place and Carlos Sainz's third, highlighted a weekend where McLaren's constructors' title hopes took a hit.
Piastri remained philosophical after the race, saying: 'Qualifying yesterday was what it was. Then Sunday, just more silly mistakes. It was certainly a messy weekend.' He added that he would be more concerned if he were slow, but the errors were 'simple lapses in judgment'.
