Mercedes driver George Russell produced a dominant performance to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on Saturday, cutting team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ championship to 66 points.

Russell started from pole position and led the race from start to finish, holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.196 seconds after two Safety Car periods brought the field back together.

The victory marked Russell’s first Grand Slam in Formula One, having secured pole, led every lap and recorded the fastest lap of the race. It was also his third victory of the 2026 season.

Verstappen finished second, while Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third on his return from injury.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, with Antonelli recovering from 16th on the grid to take fifth after crashing during qualifying.

Antonelli had missed a significant portion of practice because of technical problems before his qualifying accident left him at the back of the field.

The championship leader recovered several positions during the race but also suffered floor damage after contact with Haas driver Oliver Bearman.

The result reduced Antonelli’s advantage over Russell to 66 points with eight rounds remaining in the season.

Russell said the performance came at an important stage of his season after he had struggled to match Antonelli consistently under the new 2026 regulations.

He described the Baku weekend as the most dominant of his Formula One career and said maintaining confidence despite his earlier difficulties had been important.

Sky Sports analyst Jamie Chadwick said Russell had raised his level with the performance, while the remaining races will determine whether he can sustain that form.

The championship now moves into a demanding period, with six races scheduled across seven weeks, beginning with the next round before further races in Singapore, the United States, Mexico and Brazil.