Max Verstappen was untouchable in Baku, cruising to a lights-to-flag victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while title leader Oscar Piastri’s race ended in the barriers on the very first lap. The Dutchman finished more than 14 seconds clear of George Russell, with Carlos Sainz sneaking his first podium for Williams in third.
Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed out on the rostrum, settling for fourth, while Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda bagged career-best results in fifth and sixth. Lando Norris could do no better than seventh, trimming just six points off Piastri’s lead, which now stands at 25. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc endured another tough afternoon, limping home ninth behind Lewis Hamilton.
But if the race was a story of frustration for some, the trip home brought its own comedy. Thanks to a storm that diverted flights to Nice, Leclerc and Sainz found themselves stranded in Italy after the Grand Prix. Their solution? Rent a van and drive back to their homes in Monaco together.
The Monegasque posted a video of the unlikely road trip, joking: “After a very difficult weekend in Baku, I thought it couldn’t get any worse.” From the passenger seat, Sainz — still glowing after his podium — laughed: “We’re in the middle of Italy… we rented a van and now we’re halfway to Monaco, about a two hour drive but we will make it in an hour and a half.” To which Leclerc replied with a sensibly shocked “no!”
So while Verstappen dominated on track, the biggest smiles of the weekend may have belonged to two former Ferrari teammates, turning a diverted flight into a buddy comedy on wheels.
