The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix proved to be a weekend of drama and shock results. Max Verstappen took a second dominant win in a row, while Williams and Carlos Sainz secured a fan-favourite podium, and championship leaders McLaren endured their lowest-scoring weekend of the season.<\/p>\n
The track action delivered yet again round the beautiful streets of Baku, but aside from the dramatics on-track, the city played host to numerous notable moments \u2013 from furry paddock stars stealing the spotlight to heartwarming driver camaraderie \u2013 that once again proved the magic of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Feline favourites in the paddock<\/p>\n
While Grand Prix weekends are most notably graced by famous faces from music, film, and sport, it was a rather more unexpected star that captured the spotlight in Baku. A group of stray cats made themselves at home in the paddock, quickly becoming unlikely celebrities over the weekend.<\/p>\n
At first, staff tried to usher them out for safety reasons \u2013 but the four-legged visitors had already charmed the teams, drivers, and fans. One particularly lucky kitten even ended up with a makeshift paddock pass, perfectly nicknamed \u2018Furrari\u2019. The story spread so quickly that it reached all the way back to the UK, where Alex Albon<\/a>\u2019s mum took to Instagram to jokingly plead for the feline to be brought home to join the ever-growing Albon family of pets.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s hope to see these special guests star again in 2026!<\/p>\n Piastri\u2019s front row seat of the Grand Prix<\/p>\n Championship leader Oscar Piastri<\/a> had a weekend to forget in Baku<\/a>, on the very circuit he had produced a stunning win in 2024. After a frustrating crash in Q3 on Saturday, things went from bad to worse on Sunday, as he jumped the start at lights out, then went into anti-stall as the field came past him, before locking up and crashing into the barriers at Turn 5 on the first lap.<\/p>\n But after climbing out of the car, he didn\u2019t vanish \u2013 he is a racing fan after all. Instead, Piastri was spotted just on the other side of the barriers, sat back watching the rest of the race on a marshal\u2019s phone, feet up, in a surprisingly calm posture. From there he had a good view of some of the mid-race incidents, including the dramatic contact between Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto<\/a> which left the Thai driver with a 10-second penalty.<\/p>\n When it was time to head back to the paddock, the quirks of a city circuit meant there was no easy lift home. Piastri had to make the walk back through the streets of Baku, turning an otherwise frustrating day into an impromptu photo shoot as fans and photographers captured the unusual sight of a driver strolling through the city in full race kit.<\/p>\n Bromances aplenty for Sainz<\/p>\n During an unforgettable weekend for Carlos Sainz<\/a> in Baku, where his fantastic pace and tactical brilliance brought Williams their first podium in a full-distance race since 2017<\/a>, the drivers showed their love for the ‘Smooth Operator’.<\/p>\n After securing a brilliantly unexpected front-row start after Saturday\u2019s Qualifying, Sainz was joined by old Toro Rosso team mate Max Verstappen and his Red Bull crew to celebrate the achievement, proving that friendships in Formula 1 often outlast team colours.<\/p>\n That love carried through to Sunday\u2019s race, when Sainz converted his front-row start into a long-awaited podium for the team. Team mate Alex Albon \u2013 despite a challenging race of his own \u2013 was front and centre in the celebrations, while Team Principal James Vowles looked every bit the proud parent at Williams\u2019 first podium under his management.<\/p>\n The congratulatory messages didn\u2019t stop there: ex-team mate Charles Leclerc<\/a> used his team radio to tell Sainz he\u2019d \u201cdone a good job,\u201d whilst a number of the other drivers congratulated the Spaniard in interviews and social media posts.<\/p>\n