{
  "id": 10015887,
  "title": "Why Max Verstappen says 0.196s Baku finish-line gap to George Russell is slightly misleading",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/why-max-verstappen-says-0-196s-baku-finish-line-gap-to-george-russell",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-26T16:08:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motorsport.com",
    "slug": "motorsport-com",
    "url": "https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-max-verstappen-says-0196s-baku-finish-line-gap-to-george-russell-is-slightly-misleading/10859357/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen. Russell, driving for Mercedes, started from pole position and built an 11-second lead before safety cars allowed Verstappen to close the gap. According to Gulf News, Verstappen chased Russell all the way home, coming close enough on the final lap for a last lunge on Turn 15, but Russell held him off.\n\nThe race was marked by two mid-race crashes, including one involving Alex Albon, which brought out the safety car and allowed the field to close up. At the restart, another incident occurred involving Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris. Isack Hadjar finished third in the other Red Bull, with Charles Leclerc fourth for Ferrari.\n\nVerstappen, a four-time world champion, was philosophical about his near-miss, saying \"The final lap George lost boost and I got close, but it was not enough.\" Russell, meanwhile, said \"That was a fast last lap. He was touching... After those yellows (flags) I lost the boost. I thought he was going to get me.\" The win trimmed teammate Kimi Antonelli's lead in the drivers' championship to 66 points, with Antonelli finishing fifth.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}