George Russell wins in Azerbaijan to trim Antonelli's F1 lead as Norris crashes out

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — George Russell held off Max Verstappen for his first Formula 1 win in three months to cut into Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli’s standings lead at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.

Russell started on pole, built a big lead and defended on two safety-car restarts before facing a dramatic late challenge from Verstappen, who charged through the field from eighth to second and nearly chased down Russell on the last straight.

“Every race since the (mid-season) break I have gone from strength to strength and I feel more like myself again,” Russell said. He cut Antonelli's 81-point lead to 66.

A last-lap crash by Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas forced Russell and Verstappen to slow and the Dutch driver hunted down Russell right after that, closing fast as the finish line approached.

Verstappen ultimately was less than two-tenths of a second behind as he remains winless this year for the first time since his rookie 2015 season.

“I lost the boost, I had no power. Thought he was going to get us,” a relieved Russell said after securing his third win of the season.

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar was third on his return from a wrist fracture which had been causing him pain earlier in the week. “I am completely satisfied even if it is a bit numb,” he said.

On a miserable day for McLaren, defending champion Lando Norris was taken out in a crash started by Franco Colapinto before Oscar Piastri went off-track defending third place and ended up 14th.

Antonelli started 16th after a qualifying crash but ended up fifth as he limited the damage to his title lead, swerving to avoid a three-car crash ahead of him and later overtaking Lewis Hamilton.

The Italian had a lucky day as he benefited from a string of mistakes from drivers ahead, without being swept up in their incidents.

Antonelli swerved to avoid a three-car crash which took out Norris, caused by Alpine’s Colapinto plowing into his own teammate Pierre Gasly.

McLaren’s day got even worse when Piastri locked up his wheels while in third and defending from Hadjar. The Australian went off track and dropped all the way to 15th, helping out Antonelli in the process.

Ferrari lacked the pace to mount a serious challenge with Charles Leclerc fading to fourth from second on the grid, and Hamilton sixth.

Arvid Lindblad was seventh for Racing Bulls after he tipped his teammate Liam Lawson into a spin while reacting to the crash caused by Colapinto.

“I love getting taken out by my teammate, that’s pretty sick,” Lawson said.

Esteban Ocon was eighth for Haas, which appears to set to drop him for 2027, with teammate Oliver Bearman ninth and Carlos Sainz, Jr. 10th for Williams.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain celebrates after winning the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix auto race, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain celebrates after winning the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix auto race, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain crosses the finish line during the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix auto race, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Andrej Isakovic/Pool via AP)

Alpine driver Franco Colapinto of Argentina, center, crashes with McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, left, and Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand during the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix auto race, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix auto race, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

SHENZHEN, China (AP) — Elina Svitolina slammed her racket on the court to celebrate earning Ukraine a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup final for the first time Saturday.

The seventh-ranked Svitolina had plenty of emotions running through her mind after she beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 to seal a 2-0 victory over two-time defending champion Italy in the semifinals of the women’s tennis team event.

There was a semifinal match that Svitolina lost to Paolini in last year’s competition. And Svitolina has been one of Ukraine’s highest-profile athletes raising her political voice about Russia’s invasion of her country.

“Just a really special moment for us, for Ukraine,” Svitolina said. “We are going through difficult times back home — all the people. It’s just unbelievable to get for the first time in a final.”

At this stage last year, Svitolina was a set and 4-2 up before Paolini came back to beat her.

“It was a really tough loss for me last year here,” Svitolina said. “So I really had to be focused and really step up my game.”

Paolini was on a 10-match winning streak in the competition.

Earlier, Anhelina Kalinina had put Ukraine ahead 1-0 by beating Tyra Caterina Grant 6-3, 6-4 in Grant’s competition debut.

In Sunday’s final, Ukraine will face Czechia, which is led by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova and No. 1 doubles player Katerina Siniakova.

Czechia beat Spain 2-0 in their semifinal Friday and also shut out Britain 2-0 in the quarterfinals.

Ukraine beat Belgium 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

Against Belgium, Svitolina had lost in singles to 217th-ranked Greet Minnen before Kalinina and Lyudmyla Kichenok won a decisive doubles match.

“I was very upset after the first day against Belgium. ... I felt like I didn’t play at my best,” Svitolina said. “I really tried to use this chance, get better with my game, with my performance. Thanks to the team that they really supported me in this way. We practiced, we worked on few things. ... Such an historical moment for Ukraine.”

Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, stands second all time with 11 titles in the competition previously called Fed Cup. The United States, which did not qualify for the finals, has won a record 18 titles.

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates with the Ukraine flag after defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy during the semifinal match of the Billie Jean King Cup in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates winning her match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine raises her racquet to celebrate after defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates winning her match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates winning her match against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the Billie Jean King Cup women's singles semifinal between Ukraine and Italy, in Shenzhen, China, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)