[14][15] When responding to questions about the race—and humanitarian concerns over the revival of the European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan given Azerbaijan's human rights record—Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner refused to offer any kind of judgement, pointing out that it was the responsibility of the FIA to monitor the situation and act accordingly;[16] a position supported by Mercedes director Toto Wolff.

[26] Per FIA regulations, the team entered two cars, with Alexander Rossi, their testing and reserve driver, being named as Bianchi's replacement for the event.

[46] Several drivers encountered trouble whilst simulating a qualifying lap, most notably Magnussen, who damaged his suspension after running wide over a kerb; and Hamilton, who spun at the penultimate corner, narrowly avoiding the wall.

After struggling with another engine fault, Pastor Maldonado could only set a time good enough for twentieth, out-qualifying the sole Marussia of Max Chilton.

Williams driver Felipe Massa proved to be a shock elimination, struggling with a fuel flow issue that left him down on power; he was recorded going through the speed trap on the approach to turn 2 some 23 km/h (14 mph) slower than Bottas, the fastest driver through the speed trap, and qualified eighteenth for his first Q1 elimination since the British Grand Prix.

He was followed by the Force Indias of Nico Hülkenberg in twelfth and Sergio Pérez in thirteenth, while Esteban Gutiérrez out-qualified Adrian Sutil to give the Saubers fourteenth and fifteenth.

Daniil Kvyat secured a career-best fifth place in his home Grand Prix, while Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified teammate Vettel for the eleventh time in 2014 with seventh.

Ferrari endured their most difficult qualifying session since the British Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen closely matched, but over two seconds behind Hamilton.

[48] Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg received five-place grid penalties for gearbox changes,[37][50] demoting them to eleventh and seventeenth place respectively.

[48][N 2] At the start of the race, Nico Rosberg attempted to out-brake Lewis Hamilton into turn 2, but locked both of his front wheels, running wide and creating a flat spot on both tyres.

After returning the position to Hamilton, he made a pit stop at the end of the lap, as the flat spots would create a vibration in the car given the high speeds and lateral loading on the tyres.

He immediately changed to the harder Prime compound, with the team switching to a strategy that called for him to do the next fifty-two laps of the race on a single set of tyres.

Behind him, Felipe Massa attempted to replicate his strategy, also making a pit stop on the first lap, but switching to the softer Option compound.

Hamilton was unchallenged throughout the race, ultimately winning by thirteen seconds ahead of Rosberg following his recovery and giving the team their ninth one-two finish of the season.

[51] McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen finished fourth and fifth, giving Mercedes-powered cars the top five places in the final standings.

Magnussen spent the early phase of the race in a strategy battle with Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, which he ultimately won.

After spending most of the weekend struggling with an under-powered and under-performing car, Vettel secured four World Championship points with eighth place.

[51] Felipe Massa's attempt at replicating Rosberg's strategy failed, leaving him outside the points in eleventh place, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg.

[57] Valtteri Bottas's podium finish elevated him from sixth to fourth in the drivers' standings, overtaking Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Marussia faced a similar fate before a last-minute deal with an investor rescued the team, and they returned to the Formula One grid in 2015, albeit registered as a British, rather than Russian competitor.