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Key events
Lap 10/51: Kimi Antonelli speeds past Esteban Ocon is now P13. Meanwhile, Verstappen – who has been rapid so far – is heard complaining his medium compound tyres are not very good on the Red Bull radio.
We expect a one-stop strategy from pretty much everyone in this race, by the way.
Lance Stroll is out. He parks up with a car issue and is DNF. That’s an 11th DNF of the season for the Aston Martin driver.
Lap 8/51: The next task for Verstappen will be to close on Piastri. The Australian hasn’t been able to trouble Russell yet; with the Mercedes happily out in front.
As for Antonelli? He has gained a couple of places, but is still down in 14th. A win from here would be astonishing.
Hadjar has allowed Verstappen to overtake him, too, so the Dutchman has gained an incredible five places on his qualifying position; he started P8 and is now third.
A podium surely beckons for him given how much speed he’s got. He may have his eyes on a bigger prize.
Lap 6/51: Verstappen has absolutely stormed beyond Leclerc into fourth. What have Red Bull been doing to their cars in the past 24 hours? They look so much faster today than they did in qualifying.
“These Red Bulls could be a bit of a problem,” Piastri is told by an engineer on the McLaren team radio. Yep, they look quick.
Lap 4/51: Hadjar attempts another move, but cannot get around Leclerc, who had the pace to see off the Red Bull … well, only for a time. Hadjar eventually gets his man! The Red Bull is into third, behind Piastri and Russell.
His teammate Verstappen seems to have a bit of pace, too.
Lap 3/51: Most of the drivers at the front of the race have chosen soft tyres, other than Russell, Norris and Verstappen, who are on mediums. Hadjar has regained his P4 spot from Norris, and Verstappen has now gone beyond the Brit, but there’s a lot of jostling for places at the moment, positions changing all the time.
Norris overtook Hadjar on the straight going into the second lap, a great move by the McLaren. Verstappen sneaks inside Hamilton so climbs into P6, with Hamilton caught off guard, there.
Lap 2/51: Russell leads, then, followed by Piastri, then it’s Leclerc, Norris, then Hadjar.
Antonelli is down in 17th, so has actually lost a place, rather than working his way up the field. Plenty of racing to do, of course, and that’s the first lap done.
The first corner is upon us very quickly at Baku, and it’s Piastri who squeezes ahead of Leclerc to take second spot and Norris is up into third, too. A good start for the McLarens as Russell steers clear of trouble to remain in first.
Lights out
… and away we goooooo!!!
51 laps to come. Let’s see what happens on the all-important first turn.
According to said broadcaster, the winds have dropped in Baku and we’re set for rather favourable racing conditions on a track that, although twisty, can lend itself to overtaking well. It’s always a gorgeous setting in Baku with the 6km-long track right in the heart of the old city.
Some good views and pictures to be had.
Swedish House Mafia is now blaring out on the track, as Russell gets on his Mercedes scooter to head for the track and shares a few – and I mean only a few – words with Sky Sports.
If you want the vibe following at home, go for it:
Fair play, the Azerbaijan anthem is an absolute banger. And it has just been terrifically performed on track.
If you remember, last year, before lights out, George Russell and Lando Norris were seen giggling as a group of local children belted the anthem out with plenty of passion.
We’re about to get the anthems and all the pre-race pomp and ceremony. The drivers and teams are making their on-track adjustments before it all starts.
Lando Norris hasn’t been a particularly happy bunny this season. He described McLaren’s lack of pace as “pretty pants” in the lead-up to this Grand Prix, and fifth on the grid to start the race reflects that mediocre performance by the reigning world champion.
With Piastri qualifying third, can Norris rein in his teammate and finish on the podium this weekend? It would seem doubtful, in truth.
Whether races take place in the Middle East towards the end of the season, or not, could affect this season’s F1 world championship. Kimi Antonelli leads his Mercedes teammate George Russell by 81 points with nine meetings remaining, as it stands. If that number was reduced the Italian could close it out even sooner than might be expected.
Formula One is pressing ahead with its original plan to finish the season with races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, although a contingency is understood to be in place to host a final round in Imola if the volatile situation means both meetings have to be cancelled.
“I personally want to go. I love going to the Middle East,” said Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. “From what I have read, things seem OK out there, but I don’t have all the information and I don’t know what the risk levels are. I trust in Stefano [Domenicali, F1’s chief executive] to make the right decision for the sport. And I do hope we get to go there.”
“Today’s a big opportunity,” says Antonelli, speaking to the broadcasters. “The car is very quick, so hopefully we can gain a lot of places.”
The 20-year-old is a confident young man.
Is there any chance Kimi Antonelli can win this race from way back on the grid? Well, at Monza he came back from 19th to take victory and Baku, with its long straights, has similarly generous opportunities for overtaking. But he cannot afford to be caught in incidents in the midfield.
“Race smart in the early stages tomorrow and I am sure he has the pace to climb his way back up the field,” said the Mercedes deputy team principal, Bradley Lord.
His teammate, George Russell, said: “You can’t discount Kimi. You know, started 19th in Monza and now he’s in 16th, so, yeah, he should be leading by a few laps early this time.” He added: “He’s been flawless this season. It’s the first mistake he’s made in a qualifying or race this whole year.”
Reminder of qualifying positions
Here’s how the grid looks at the start of the race:
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Russell (Mercedes)
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Leclerc (Ferrari)
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Piastri (McLaren)
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Hadjar (Red Bull)
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Norris (McLaren)
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Hamilton (Ferrari)
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Gasly (Alpine)
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Verstappen (Red Bull)
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Sainz (Williams)
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Colapinto (Alpine)
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Bearman (Haas)
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Lawson (Racing Bulls)
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Albon (Williams)
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Ocon (Haas)
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Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
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Antonelli (Mercedes)
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Bortoleto (Audi)
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Hulkenberg (Audi)
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Alonso (Aston Martin)
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Perez (Cadillac)
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Stroll (Aston Martin)
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Bottas (Cadillac)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – with a rare Saturday race day for us all to enjoy. The big story from qualifying yesterday was runaway World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashing out, meaning he will start today’s race 16th on the grid, handing the initiative to his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who claimed pole position.
Antonelli said his crash was “stupid” but also “a good way to come back to earth” after a stunning few weeks for the young Italian driver, who won the Italian and Spanish Grands Prix to take his tally to eight race wins so far this season.
Second fastest in qualifying in Baku was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc second, with Oscar Piastri third.
The race gets under way at 3pm local time in Azerbaijan, which translated to midday UK time. We’ll bring you all the relevant buildup, followed by lap-by-lap updates, well near enough anyway. Can Antonelli pull off the improbable in Baku, can Russell close the gap to the championship leader, or can one of the Ferraris or McLarens make an impact? Let’s find out.
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