F1 in Azerbaijan: That was almost a close-run thing

Formula 1 raced on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, this past weekend. Although the race predates Liberty’s acquisition of the sport by a few months, it’s a rather good microcosm of the sport as it exists today. The track is a real challenge; it takes place on dusty city streets lined with concrete walls and through a medieval fortress gate, followed by a 1.4-mile (2.2 km) flat-out blast to the finish line, with gusts of wind from the Caspian Sea a block away. It’s interesting to look at, with Baku’s mix of modern and classical architecture sharing the stage with a massive hospitality and pit lane complex. And since it wouldn’t be F1 without some controversy, this year the race was held a day earlier than normal after F1 switched up its schedule to avoid clashing with Azerbaijan’s celebration of its recent war with Armenia—it’s almost as if Bernie Ecclestone had never left.

The proximity of the walls leaves very little margin for error at the speeds F1 cars go around Baku. Last year, qualifying was interrupted by no less than six red flags after crashes. This year was much less dramatic, unless you were championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The 20-year-old sophomore misjudged how much front grip he had going into turn 1, found more than expected, and clipped the corner of the wall with his left front tire. It happened in the first of the three knock-out qualifying sessions, and while Antonelli had already banked a time good enough to proceed to the next session, the damage to his car meant he would take no further part and start the race from 16th.

A few weeks ago, at Monza, penalties for a power unit change saw Antonelli start the race from even further back (19th), which he followed a day later with a spectacular drive through the field to take the win away from his teammate George Russell. But there was some luck involved then; two standing starts (the second following Leclerc’s big crash on lap 2) allowed him to pass a lot of cars quickly, for one thing. In Baku he would have a much tougher task.

I bet he needed that! George Russell celebrating after winning the Grand Prix.

Credit: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

By contrast his beleaguered teammate George Russell had the kind of weekend he probably expected to have a lot of in 2026, as the established driver in the team with the season’s best car. He was comfortably faster than anyone else on Friday in qualifying, setting pole by nearly a second from Charles Leclerc (who’s something of a Baku one-lap specialist, even if he’s never converted any of his four pole positions there into a win).

Come the race, Russell led from start to finish, putting in the kind of performance we haven’t seen from him since the first race of the year when people were calling him the title favorite. But it was almost a close-run thing at the very end; a turbocharger failure in the final laps allowed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to close to within two-tenths of a second by the checkered flag. Red Bull’s V6 engine is the most powerful in the field, and both cars placed highly—Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar returned to the car for the first time since the summer break after injuring his hand, then out-qualified his four-time world champion teammate, following him home in the race for third place.

Leclerc couldn’t hold onto any of the podium positions but did bring his car home in fourth. Next was Antonelli in the second Mercedes who was unhappy with his recovery drive, describing his performance like that of “a grandmother.” Lewis Hamilton was an anonymous sixth in the other Ferrari. The engine upgrade that the red cars introduced at Monza was not the panacea it was hoped for, and any realistic title hopes have evaporated. Instead, the court intrigue that is a fixture of Ferrari with the exception of the Todt/Brawn/Schumacher years is revving up. Those unhappy with the performance of the team under Fred Vasseur’s leadership appear to be lobbying for him to be replaced with Christian Horner, who ran Red Bull until being let go last year after the team slumped.

Isack Hadjar (left) is Max Verstappen’s (right) best teammate in quite some time.

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

How fast?

McLaren had a very hard weekend. The McLaren is hamstrung by shorter gearing that, while aiding acceleration in slow corners, blunts its top speed relative to rivals. In the old days, teams would simply bring appropriate sets of gears to each track, but in 2026 you have to declare all eight ratios (plus the final drive) before the start of the year, with only one change allowed all season. Consequently, the McLaren was the second-slowest car in a straight line.

Speaking of straight line speeds, they were a lot lower down that massive straight than the cars last year. As we have discussed ad nauseam, the 2026 hybrid power units can only store enough energy in their batteries for around 11–12 seconds of full power from the electric motor that provides almost half the cars’ 1,005 hp (750 kW) power output. When this battery runs out, it’s just down to the V6 until there’s another chance to recharge it.

Notably, F1 did not show us any speed or battery state-of-charge information for any of the cars while they were on the main straight. Previously, F1’s president and CEO, Stefano Domenicali, had told The Race that “no one is interested in how you drive your car” and that “the people are interested if you’re overtaking or not,” but that’s an inconsistent stance when those on-screen displays showing state of charge and the car’s speed are being used for other sections of the track.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri actually looked set for a good day, something the Australian driver could use. He started third and passed Leclerc in the opening laps to take second, where he stayed until lap 35 and a safety car restart, when he got jumped by Verstappen. In the next lap, being harassed by Hadjar into turn 1, Piastri unlocked both front tires under braking and had to take to the escape road. It was an uncharacteristic mistake and one that took him far out of the 10 point paying positions; he finished in 14th.

You can practically hear the sad trombone as Oscar Piastri walks back to his garage after the race.

Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

The ugly side of fandom

The other McLaren of reigning champion Lando Norris had things go much worse. Out-qualified by Piastri, he fell back in the race from fifth down to ninth before his day was ended for him by Franco Colapinto, who lost control of his Alpine at the lap 35 safety car restart and barreled into not just Norris but his own teammate Pierre Gasly as well. Like Piastri, Colapinto made an uncharacteristic mistake, and Norris apologized for his heated comments immediately after the race where he called for Colapinto to receive a race ban.

But it was a very costly mistake. Both Gasly and Colapinto were in the top 10 and set to score, and double-points finishes are rare for midfield teams like Alpine.

Taking out yourself and your teammate from a result is practically a cardinal sin in F1, particularly if your team boss is Flavio Briatore. And Colapinto was already on thin ice following legions of online abuse directed by his Argentine fans toward any driver who gets in his way. Briatore had already threatened to prevent Colapinto from taking part in anymore interviews or media appearances if his fans couldn’t control themselves after they sent death threats to Gasly following the Spanish Grand Prix. After Baku, the torrent of hate has at least been predictable.

Sadly, this is of a pattern. Two years ago, Augustin Canapino’s fellow Argentine was benched and later fired after his fans sent death threats to another driver who beat Canapino in a race. That time, Canapino refused to condemn the actions of his fans; perhaps Colapinto, much earlier in his career, will be more circumspect.

Since it needs to be said, such behavior is never appropriate: This is a sport, chill out and enjoy it. Don’t threaten to kill people over it.

Franco Colapinto took out the McLaren of Lando Norris as well as his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly (not pictured).

Credit: Jayce Illman/Getty Images

They need a GLP-1 sponsor

Let’s end things on a happier note: Williams got its new chassis. The year 2026 was meant to be a huge one for the team, which stopped work on its 2025 car early last year to focus all its efforts on this year’s rule change. Last year’s fifth place in the championship was to be William’s new baseline, according to boss James Vowles. But this year has been a disaster. Even with all that lead time, the car wasn’t ready for preseason testing, a setback that has followed it all year. Worse yet, it was massively overweight, by as much as 70 lbs (32 kg), among other problems that have plagued it.

Cutting that weight meant making new chassis, something with plenty of lead time. Those were finally ready for Baku, meaning Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz now have cars that aren’t just at F1’s 765 kg weight limit but are actually below that, allowing them to be ballasted for handling. Both Albon and Sainz made it through the first of the three qualifying rounds, and Sainz made it all the way to Q3 and ninth on the grid, which translated to 10th place and the final point at the end of the race.

OK, it wasn’t a perfect weekend: Albon got caught out on lap 29 by a gust of wind that exacerbated the Williams’ tendency to lift a front tire under braking and buried his car in the wall, causing the safety car period that led to all the drama when it ended on lap 35. But given the torrid year the team has had so far, Baku represents real progress.

Sponsored by semaglutide, perhaps.

Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

F1 resumes in two weeks for its night race in Singapore.

Jonathan is the Automotive Editor at Ars Technica. He has a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology. In 2014 he decided to indulge his lifelong passion for the car by leaving the National Human Genome Research Institute and launching Ars Technica's automotive coverage. He lives in Washington, DC.