Having uncharacteristically crashed out of qualifying on Saturday, Piastri remarkably repeated his error on the opening lap in Baku to present Norris with a huge opportunity to reduce what had been a 31-point gap between the pair.
Norris was ultimately only able to add six points to his tally as a combination of losing early positions and a slow pit stop limited him to finishing where he started in seventh.
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Verstappen calmly controlled the race from pole position to secure his second successive victory and underline Red Bull’s improvement since the summer break.
The Dutchman reduced his championship deficit to Piastri to 69 points, but his hopes of securing a fifth successive drivers’ title remain extremely faint with just seven rounds of the season remaining.
George Russell overcame the illness that had troubled him throughout the weekend to come from fifth on the grid to take second, while Carlos Sainz drove superbly to hold off the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli to claim Williams’ first podium since 2021.
Liam Lawson continued Racing Bulls’ strong form by holding off Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda for fifth, with Norris stuck behind the pair at the chequered flag.
Lewis Hamilton recovered from 12th on the grid to finish a place ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in eighth, while Isack Hadjar secured an additional point for Racing Bulls.
McLaren’s worst weekend of the season in terms of points scored saw them miss out on the opportunity to break Red Bull’s 2023 record for the earliest Constructors’ Championship triumph, but only a huge underperformance in Singapore in two weeks’ time will prevent them from sealing the title.
More to follow…
The 2025 Formula 1 title fight continues under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix on October 3-5, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
