The Formula 1 edit

Hello everyone and welcome to the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix! We have quite an exciting lineup for this race! Max Verstappen starts from pole position followed by the Smooth Operator Carlos Sainz! It’s quite a feat for the Spanish driver who hasn’t scored such a good starting position since he left Ferrari! Another surprising driver behind Sainz in third is Racing Bulls very own Liam Lawson! Having been promoted to Red Bull at the beginning of the year and then demoted back to Racing Bulls only a few races in, this must be a little “I told you so” moment for Lawson for being able to bring a junior Red Bull car to the second row!

the race

(The drivers are listed based off of how they finished, starting with 1st down to last, then followed by everything involving that driver during the Grand Prix)

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)— Had a good start and held onto first. Maintained first for the entire 51 laps and took home the victory! This is the second race weekend in row that Max has stood upon the top step and heard his national anthem blaring on the speakers!
2. George Russell (Mercedes)—Antonelli got a little pushy in lap 5, resulting in Kimi overtaking him for P4, then Tsunoda was able to get around the inside and take P5 from Russell. Got DRS in lap 10 to pass Tsunoda for 5th. Russell showed McLaren what a pit stop should look like! In lap 40, the now P2 driver went in for a fresh set of tires and came out ahead of third, Carlos Sainz! Finished 2nd! With Piastri crashing, George is now the only driver in 2025 who has finished every race on the calendar!
3. Carlos Sainz (Willliams)—Secured his first ‘Smooth Operation’ with Williams and took home third! The new sticker edition to his helmet, Sparkles the Unicorn, definitely had something to do with this success!
4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)—Drove aggressively against Russell in lap 5 and took P4 from him, sending his teammate into panic mode. Made a super smooth pass in lap 22 to claim P9 from Liam Lawson. Antonelli may need to claim the title of ‘Junior Smooth Operator’ with the way he’s driving! Finished 4th!
5. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)—Lost P9 to Antonelli in lap 22. After pitting, the Kiwi Received DRS in lap 29 to pass his Red Bull replacement, Yuki Tsunoda, for 5th! Finished 5th, his best ever position finish in his F1 career!
6. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)—Got around the inside of Russell and took P5 from him. Lost 5th to Russell in lap 10 when the Brit gained DRS. Lost 5th to Lawson in lap 39. Finished 6th, his best position of the season.
7. Lando Norris (McLaren)— Lost 6th to Leclerc in lap 5. Passed Hadjar for 8th in lap 6. Pitted in lap 38 and had yet another horrible stop! Just like in Monza, the McLaren pit crew is struggling! His stop ended up being 4.1 seconds, which doesn’t seem like that much time but in the world of F1, it is! Overtook Leclerc for 7th in lap 41. Finished in 7th and lowered his gap to the leader of the WDC and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, by 6 points.
8. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)—Passed Hadjar for 9th in lap 8. Finished 8th.
9. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)— Overtook Norris for 6th in lap 5. Lost 7th to Norris in lap 41. Finished 9th.
10. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)—Lost 8th to Norris in lap 6. Lost 9th to Hamilton in lap 8. Finished 10th.
11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)— Started in 13th and finished 11th.
12. Oliver Bearman (Haas)—Started in 15th and ended P12!
13. Alexander Albon (Williams)—Made contact with the back of Colapinto’s pink car in lap 17, sending the Argentinian into the wall, Colapinto fortunately recovered. A 10 second penalty was issued. Started P20 and ended P13! Quite the drive despite a penalty!
14. Esteban Ocon (Haas)—Collided with Hulkenberg in the start of the race, so he had to pit. Secured P14.
15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)— Started the race from P11 and ended in 15th.
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)—Collided with Ocon in the first lap, which resulted in Ocon having to pit. Started in 17th and ended P16.
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)—Started in P14 and ended 17th.
18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)— Started 19th and ended 1 position better, P18.
19. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)—Williams driver Alex Albon ran into the back of his car, sending him into the barrier. There was little damage so he was able to continue his race and not join Piastri on the sidelines. Started P16 and ended P19.
20. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) (DNF)—Moved before the lights went out, causing a faulty stop. He had a terrible start and was dead last before hitting the wall, DNF for the Aussie before the first lap even ended!

Oscar Piastri, despite not finishing this Grand Prix, still has the lead of WDC over his teammate by 25 points! McLaren now has a total of 623 points for the Constructors’ Championship followed by Mercedes with 290 points and Ferrari in third with 286 points! Next on the calendar, Singapore! Famous for being a street circuit and a night Grand Prix, the action in Marina Bay is sure to be dramatic!