BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 30. The Formula 1 World Championship returned to Europe—to the Red Bull Ring track in Spielberg (Austria)—after the North American round, the Baku City Circuit (BCC) Operations Company told Trend.
The teams rolled in with their bags packed full of technical upgrades, and McLaren seemed to be walking on sunshine right from the get-go in the first training sessions.
"Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took the front row in qualifying, while Ferrari's upgrades allowed Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to be in second place. The biggest surprises came from Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber). With the sixth and eighth times, respectively, they achieved the best results of their careers.
The start of the race was delayed: Carlos Sainz's (Williams) car caught fire on the warm-up lap. After the delay, the race resumed, but already at the third turn, Mercedes debutant Andrea Kimi Antonelli collided with Max Verstappen—both were out of the race.
The rest of the race was under the control of McLaren. Despite a tense battle, Norris kept Piastri behind and took his third victory of the season and the seventh in his career. Piastri finished second, providing the team with a fourth double podium this year.
Charles Leclerc was third (Ferrari), for whom this is already the fourth podium of the season. But Lewis Hamilton still can’t get into the top three with Ferrari. George Russell took fifth place. Liam Lawson finished sixth—the best result of his career. He was ahead of Fernando Alonso, who held off the attacks of his protégé Bortoleto. The Brazilian scored points for the first time in his career. The top ten was closed by Nico Hulkenberg (9th) and Esteban Ocon (10th).
For the first time in 77 races, Red Bull was left without points.
In the personal standings, Piastri’s advantage over Norris has decreased to 15 points. Verstappen is already 61 points behind the leader. In the Constructors’ Cup, McLaren retains the lead, and Ferrari is ahead of Mercedes by just one point.
The next round will be held at the legendary Silverstone track—the birthplace of Formula 1," the company added.
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