{"id":1862,"date":"2026-09-22T07:44:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T07:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betway.co.com\/insider\/?p=1862"},"modified":"2026-09-22T07:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T07:44:23","slug":"formula-1-russell-hunting-azerbaijan-gp-win-to-close-the-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betway.co.bw\/insider\/formula-1-russell-hunting-azerbaijan-gp-win-to-close-the-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Formula 1 – Russell Hunting Azerbaijan GP Win To Close The Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Image source: Alamy Stock Photo<\/em><\/p>\n

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2026 Formula 1 World Championship<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\nAzerbaijan Grand Prix<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\nRound 15<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\nBaku City Circuit<\/span><\/p>\n


\nBaku, Azerbaijan<\/span><\/p>\n


\nSaturday 26 September<\/span><\/p>\n

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George Russell needs an Azerbaijan Grand Prix<\/a> win in Baku if he is to close the 81-point gap on championship leader Kimi Antonelli.<\/p>\n

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Most recent race<\/p>\n

The Mercedes driver finished fifth in the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid on 13 September after starting sixth.<\/p>\n

Russell stayed in the points but could not match winner Kimi Antonelli or Max Verstappen as Mercedes left Madrid with a solid, if unspectacular, result.<\/p>\n

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Formula One ambitions<\/p>\n

Having won two races this season, Russell sits second in the Drivers\u2019 Championship with 211 points after 14 races.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old winner trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli (292) and holds a 20-point margin over Lewis Hamilton in third, with Lando Norris close behind on 186.<\/p>\n

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Why Russell could win at the Azerbaijan GP<\/p>\n

Russell, who has a strong recent record in Baku\u2014finishing second in 2025 and third in both 2022 and 2024\u2014is now targeting his maiden win.<\/p>\n

The 2014 BRDC Formula 4 Championship winner has the pace to profit if Safety Cars or the long Baku straight shuffle the order.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Quotes<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt has been a more positive couple of races even though the result was far from great today. But it\u2019s kind of the story of the season,” Russell said ahead of the 2026\u00a0Azerbaijan Grand Prix.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“I just need to focus on the performance, keep trying to help the team.\u00a0It is going to be an intense run to the end of the season. I\u2019m looking forward to getting back to the factory, working with the team.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“And getting ready for the first of three triple-headers.\u00a0My pace today, particularly on the Hard tyre, felt good so we can be encouraged by that as we head to Baku.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix results<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\nWinner: Max Verstappen \u2013 Red Bull
\nRunner-Up: George Russell \u2013 Mercedes
\nThird-Place: Carlos Sainz \u2013 Williams<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Alamy Stock Photo     2026 Formula 1 World Championship Azerbaijan Grand Prix Round 15 Baku City Circuit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-other-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nFormula 1 - Russell Hunting Azerbaijan GP Win To Close The Gap - Betway Botswana Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"George Russell needs an Azerbaijan Grand Prix win in Baku if he is to close the 81-point gap on championship leader Kimi Antonelli.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.betway.co.bw\/insider\/formula-1-russell-hunting-azerbaijan-gp-win-to-close-the-gap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Formula 1 - 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