MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Why Sainz wasn’t able to hold off Russell for P2 in Baku
Carlos Sainz netted Williams’ first podium since 2021 at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with P3. But what stopped him holding off Mercedes’ George Russell for P2?
Max Verstappen’s start-to-finish domination of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix rendered everyone else bit players – and the lack of incident once Oscar Piastri had brought out the Safety Car by crashing on the opening lap meant there was nothing which threatened to spoil Verstappen’s perfect day.
The main point of interest became whether Carlos Sainz could hold onto the second place he’d put himself in by brilliantly qualifying the Williams in that position, but with several faster cars behind him.
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