Unstoppable Russell saves grand slam from pursuer Verstappen with DHL Fastest Lap

George Russell reigned supreme at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In qualifying, he claimed pole position by an almost incredible eight-tenths of a second - the third-largest margin in dry conditions this decade.

Russell pulled away from the field at the start of the Grand Prix. By lap 31, he had built a lead of more than ten seconds over his closest pursuer, Oscar Piastri. However, a safety car deployment triggered by a crash involving Alex Albon closed the gap again. At the restart, Max Verstappen in his equally blistering Red Bull overtook the McLaren and set off in pursuit of Russell.

The two matched each other for pace right through to the checkered flag. Russell couldn't afford to make a single mistake, as Verstappen never trailed more than a second behind. On lap 49, Russell set the DHL Fastest Lap with a time of 1:44.916 minutes.

Although he developed a problem with his turbo on the final lap, Russell narrowly held on for victory, crossing the finish line just ahead of Verstappen. The gap of only 0.196 seconds between first and second makes this the closest winning margin in 24 years. It was also Russell's first ever grand slam (pole position, fastest lap, holding the lead from start to finish and victory).

Afterwards, the Mercedes man spoke in glowing terms of the duel with his favorite rival: "That final stint was the most fun I've ever had in an F1 race. I could feel him breathing down my neck. Suddenly it was like a qualifying lap, one after another. The pace was so high, we were pulling a second per lap on the field. It's unheard of." In the world championship standings, Russell is now just 66 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.