Azerbaijan Grand Prix result: George Russell holds off Max Verstappen for victory in Baku

On the restart, six laps later, Verstappen passed Piastri in the first corner to take second place.

But the race was almost immediately put back under surveillance after a first-corner pileup caused by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who hit teammate Pierre Gasly, who in turn hit Norris.

Behind them, the two Racing Bulls also came together, with Arvid Lindblad tipping Liam Lawson into a spin, provoking a sarcastic response from the New Zealander on the radio.

That put Verstappen on Russell’s tail for another restart, but the Briton handled the situation with composure, accelerating early and taking the Dutchman somewhat by surprise.

He failed to shake Verstappen, who was always around 0.5 seconds behind but never close enough to attempt to pass at the first corner, the only significant overtaking spot.

There was one last chance for Verstappen on the final lap.

Valtteri Bottas crashed his Cadillac at Turn 15, and after backing out of yellow flags, Russell lost his turbo, costing him an electric boost.

Verstappen closed in and there were just 0.196 seconds between them when they crossed the line, the closest green flag finish since the 2002 United States Grand Prix.

Russell has now finished on the podium in three of four races since the summer break.

When asked what had changed for him since then, he said: “I think it’s just having more experience with this new riding style that I’ve adopted and with every race since the break I feel like I’m getting stronger and stronger. I feel like myself again.”