George Russell endured a difficult start to the Baku weekend with power unit problems that hampered his running in practice. He overcame those well to lead the Mercedes charge in qualifying, placing fifth to team mate Lewis Hamilton’s seventh – prior to the latter taking an engine penalty. Russell spent a chunk of his race dicing with Verstappen, before breaking clear and being in the right place at the right time to grab a podium after the Perez/Sainz clash.
READ MORE: What the teams said – Race day in Azerbaijan
Missing out
Pierre Gasly was close to the top 10 cut after recovering from an engine penalty of his own to finish 12th for Alpine, followed by Hulkenberg, who was unfortunate not to score points, and Verstappen, who spent qualifying and the race battling balance issues after changes sent his set-up “over the edge”.
