2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Review

Key takeaways

• George Russell delivered his best weekend of the season, topping every practice and qualifying session (a so-called "grand slam") and beating Charles Leclerc by eight tenths in qualifying, the biggest dry-weather gap since 2006. He led every lap and closed the championship gap to Kimi Antonelli to 66 points, though the hosts note he'd still need roughly eight points per race over the remaining eight Grands Prix to catch up.
• Kimi Antonelli's title lead took a hit from a self-inflicted qualifying error, and the hosts frame this as a test of experience: Russell has clearly "workshopped" his driving style to adapt to the 2026 regs, while Antonelli, still a rookie, lacks the deep well of experience to reset after mistakes like this one or his earlier practice crash where he kept driving with visible suspension damage.
• Red Bull's handling of Isaac Hadjar sparked real controversy: after Hadjar outqualified Verstappen (P4 to P8) and Red Bull publicly blamed an "engine issue" for Max's shortfall, Hadjar was told to let Max by, then repeatedly proved faster on track and even radioed asking if Max had a problem. He attempted a legitimate move on Max at Turn 1 before being told to hold position, and still salvaged a podium in his first race back from a wrist injury—right after signing a contract extension.
• The race's most consequential incident was Franco Colapinto's late-braking dive on a safety car restart, which took out both Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris; Colapinto received only a 10-second penalty, which Norris said afterward was insufficient and argued incidents like it should carry a one-race ban. The hosts agree, comparing it to Grosjean's 2012 Spa crash and calling it worse given it wiped out both points-scoring Alpines.
• The race exposed a broader problem with low-degradation street circuits: with tires barely wearing, drivers had almost no strategic incentive to build a gap or pit early, since a near-inevitable safety car (which arrived via Alex Albon's odd, slow-speed crash into the wall) neutralizes any tire advantage. The hosts argue this makes the case for a street-specific tire compound or downforce cap so races aren't only saved by crashes.
• Aston Martin's much-hyped upgrade produced a double DNF, with the team running behind the Cadillacs all weekend; Fernando Alonso stuck his car in the wall while running 20th of 22. The hosts speculate his exit may be inevitable, joking that his suspiciously good mood after a qualifying mistake could be a signal he's already mentally checked out.

Notable moments

• "That was legitimately... didn't play that quite right"; the hosts debating whether Hadjar regrets not pushing harder for the win when Red Bull left the door open.
• Hadjar's radio message essentially declining to take the position from Verstappen, likened by the hosts to "offering a British person the last roast potato."
• Liam Lawson's deadpan radio line after clipping his own teammate Lindblad: "Love making contact with my teammate. That's sick."
• The play-by-play breakdown of Colapinto's crash, with the hosts speculating he looked "distracted on the wheel" and comparing it to texting and driving before he plowed into Gasly and Norris.
• Lando Norris's post-race comment that drivers causing incidents like Colapinto's should face a one-race ban.
• The hosts' bit about Aston Martin: Bottas running 30 seconds behind Sergio Perez's Cadillac, with the joke that "Bottas is like, this is my fight" against Alonso for last place.
• A dry aside about the debate over why a double-waved yellow flag (rather than a virtual safety car) was used after Albon's crash, with Bottas essentially left "as the sacrificial lamb" sitting exposed near the barrier.

Time saved: 1 hour, 3 minutes.