Promoters of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix used the slogan “expect the unexpected”, and this certainly turned out to be true. With shock podiums and championships getting even tighter, Baku definitely delivered. Today, we will recount three of the best storylines from the 2025 race.
Magical Podium for Sainz
Carlos Sainz crossed the finish line in third place, loudly proclaiming on the radio that it was the best podium of his career. Sainz came into the race weekend on a 6-race-long streak of finishing outside of the points, yet on Sunday, he was standing on the podium. Sainz said, “It tastes even better than [my] first-ever podium,” showing that being the underdog makes success that bit sweeter. James Vowles praised the Spaniard, calling the podium “a real foundation to build on.”
Piastri Pummels the Wall
Championship leader Oscar Piastri certainly had a rough beginning of the race – a jump start, then triggering the anti-stall on his McLaren, leaving him dead last. When everyone thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Australian crashed into the Turn 5 barrier while desperately running wide in an attempt to make up some places. This ended his race on the first lap, an uncharacteristic mistake for the usually calm-under-pressure McLaren driver. Baku also marks the end of Piastri’s 34-race-long streak of points scoring. With Singapore looming, every mistake will echo into the heated title fight between these two McLaren drivers.
Verstappen Makes it a Double
After a sixth career ‘grand slam’ (pole position, fastest lap, every lap led, and, of course, the win), the Dutchman now trails Oscar Piastri by only 69 points. 2 race wins in a row are enough to make any team, even dominant McLaren, quake in their boots – Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal, confirmed during the weekend that Max Verstappen should not be discounted in the World Drivers’ Championship battle. So with Singapore around the corner, we’ll see what Verstappen can pull out of the bag this time.
