Azerbaijan Grand Prix Takeaways: Imperious Verstappen humbles McLaren
F1 NewsWednesday, 24 September 2025 at 07:30
That was a brilliant Formula 1 event that Baku delivered last weekend, packed with drama, brilliance, flops, uncertainty... and the list goes on.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be present on the F1 calendar for four more years, and that was great news, provided it continues to deliver a show like the one we enjoyed last weekend.
Granted, all the action and drama were delivered in Qualifying; the race on Sunday was a bit calmer, with Oscar Piastri's uncharacteristic brain fade on Lap 1 the only Safety Car-causing incident.
Other than that, Max Verstappen continued to teach his rivals how an F1 car should be driven, while McLaren's misery was amplified, with Ferrari flattering to deceive once again on a weekend that saw the return of Smooth Operator Carlos Sainz with a maiden podium with Williams.
The windy conditions played a major role in the outcome of the weekend in Baku, while rain also delivered a curveball, messing up the grip between Friday and Saturday while threatening Qualifying in Q3.
The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was another one to remember, so let's have a look at it with these new Takeaways.
Super Max
Verstappen arrived in Baku after his win in Monza with questions about his ability to replicate his Italian form at the shores of the Caspian Sea.
The long straights of the Baku City Circuit meant the reigning F1 Champion had a strong chance to deliver a strong performance as long as his RB21 would behave well in the slow, twisty part of the track.
Verstappen had a quiet start to the weekend in Baku and did not feature in the sharp end of the standings in practice, but he was clearly quietly confident about his chances as drivers were making errors trying to get to grips with the windy conditions, which made keeping an F1 car pointing in the right direction a challenge.
Then came qualifying, which was also tricky with wind and rain falling lightly as conditions cooled down and amid the chaos that saw the session Red-flagged a record six times, it was Verstappen who kept it clean as no name, regardless of how big, was unsusceptible to off-track moments and crashes... Ask Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
As I said in my Qualifying report, in the end the cream rises to the top, and that was the case with Max. Wind or no wind, he had his RB21 in check and kept his focus despite interruptions, especially in Q3, and pole was his.
In the race, and with Sainz and Liam Lawson being his challenges into Turn 1, it was clear the race was his to lose, and he delivered a masterful drive, leading all the way to the chequered flag.
Naturally, and after his second consecutive win, there are now questions about whether Red Bull Racing have really turned a corner with their RB21, but it would be smart not to make any conclusions as we head to Singapore, a track where the Milton Keynes squad struggled even in their dominant days.
The Singapore Grand Prix will be the real test of whether Verstappen can carry this momentum till the end of the season, and even if he does, it is probably too late, as 69 points is a gap too big to overcome with seven rounds remaining...
A humbling weekend for McLaren
McLaren had the chance to clinch the 2025 F1 Constructors' Championship in Baku, but a messed-up performance by the team and drivers meant the Papaya celebrations had to wait.
Contrary to Verstappen, Norris showed strong pace in practice, but his weekend was marred with errors, while Piastri was out of sorts from Friday, as both drivers were not able to get on top of their MCL39 around the streets of Baku.
Piastri was the worse of the McLaren pair, obviously, with crashes in Qualifying and at the start of the race, where he was pushing to make up positions after dropping to last due to jumping the start and his car's anti-stall kicking in.
And on a weekend where the usually composed Australian struggled, Norris should've made sure he capitalized on his teammate's poor form, but he did not. He qualified seventh and was nowhere in the race, where he was also the victim of another poor McLaren pit stop.
Alas, McLaren couldn't ask anyone to let Lando by this time to keep things fair, and the Briton was stuck in a DRS train behind Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson to finish seventh, with the gap to Piastri only dropping to 25 points.
It was a bizarre weekend for McLaren, and it will probably not be the case in upcoming races, but with Verstappen smelling blood and on a roll, Norris, Piastri, and their team cannot afford any mistakes.
After all, this is motorsport, and anything could happen.
Williams finally get their Smooth Operator
James Vowles was rightfully proud of his ability to lure Carlos Sainz to Williams after the Spaniard was let go by Ferrari at the end of the 2024 F1 season.
But while much was expected from the Smooth Operator when he joined Williams, his start at Grove was a slow one as he seemed to struggle with his new car, naturally not at the level of the Ferrari he used to drive previously.
As a result, Alex Albon, who is no slouch, has been the better Williams driver so far, with questions raised about Sainz's ability to adapt to his new F1 machinery given his reputation as a smart and analytical driver.
But it finally got together for Sainz and Williams at Baku, and while Albon, despite showing a faster pace, found the barriers in Q1 of Qualifying, Carlos kept it clean and steady, making it into Q3, where he actually showed his worth.
Conditions have cooled down in the final part of qualifying, and light rain was falling, and Sainz, Lawson and Isack Hadjar were the only drivers able to put in a banker lap. All the others who went out on track made mistakes or crashed—Leclerc and Piastri.
Sainz's banker lap was a damn good one and was only beaten by a late scorcher by Verstappen, with Lawson keeping third place.
In the race, Sainz knew he was not going to be able to take the fight to Verstappen, so he picked his fight well and decided to focus on finishing on the podium, and while he would've loved to keep second place, his Williams was no match for the Mercedes of George Russell, who drove a solid race despite being ill all weekend.
Regardless, third place was a great result for the Sainz and Williams, one they earned on merit on a day when the likes of Ferrari and McLaren simply did not deliver.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Quick Hits
- Another time, Ferrari show early promise in a race weekend but then fail to finish the job. Lewis Hamilton was fastest in FP2 but then qualified 12th after another mess or miscommunication with the pit wall regarding tyres in Q2.
Leclerc was even worse, crashing in Q3 while hopelessly chasing a fifth consecutive pole position in Baku. Both Red Cars lacked the pace in the Grand Prix, with Hamilton finishing eighth and Leclerc ninth.
In a weekend where Hamilton was hailing a breakthrough in his brake setup and feel, much more was expected, and with Sainz, the driver Ferrari fired last season, taking his first podium with his new midfield team, the Fred Vasseur and Co. have a lot to ponder over the coming days. - While Mercedes delivered an okay performance in Baku, with Russell delivering as usual, it was Kimi Antonelli who seemed to redeem himself.
While he had a shaky start to Qualifying, almost being eliminated in Q1 after failing to post a lap due to errors, he got his act together and progressed to Q3 and even outqualified his teammate.
The Italian's race was solid, as he finished fourth. - A great performance for Lawson, outqualifying and outracing Hadjar on a weekend where all the talk was about the latter's promotion to Red Bull Racing.
The Kiwi may have lost out to Antonelli, but his defense from the ever-improving Tsunoda was admirable. - There was a lot of talk about Tsunoda's improvement in Baku. Yes, he made Q3 but was one second off Verstappen's pole time and could not pass a Racing Bull in the race.
His explanation on F1 TV after the race that he did not take risks with Lawson to not allow Norris to pass and benefit Red Bull Racing and Verstappen in the Championship was laughable.
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