Hamilton Rebuilds His Lead as McLaren and VELO Leave Baku Empty-Handed

The momentum had been almost entirely with McLaren and VELO heading into Azerbaijan. Lando Norris had reduced what was once a 56-point deficit to Lewis Hamilton to just five, McLaren had steadily eaten into Ferrari/ZYN's advantage in the Teams' Championship, and Oscar Piastri had qualified third in Baku with Norris fifth, but one chaotic Saturday afternoon changed the picture again.

George Russell won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by just 0.196 seconds from Max Verstappen, surviving two Safety Car periods and a final-lap attack from the Red Bull, while Isack Hadjar completed the podium. Behind them, Charles Leclerc finished fourth and Hamilton sixth, meaning Ferrari/ZYN collected 20 valuable points. McLaren/VELO, by contrast, scored nothing after Norris was eliminated in a multi-car accident and Piastri threw away a potential podium with a late lock-up.

The consequence for our Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship is significant. Hamilton's advantage over Norris has increased from five points to 13, Leclerc has moved to within seven points of Norris, and Ferrari/ZYN have stretched their Teams' Championship lead back out to 72 points.

After several races of relentless McLaren progress, Baku finally belonged to Ferrari and ZYN.

Russell Controls Baku Until the Safety Cars Arrive

Russell had dominated qualifying and initially looked set to do much the same in the race. Starting from pole, the Mercedes driver led from the beginning and gradually opened a substantial advantage, eventually building a lead of around 11 seconds. What looked increasingly like a comfortable victory was transformed on lap 29, however, when Alex Albon crashed and brought out the first Safety Car.

By then, the order behind Russell had changed considerably; Piastri made an excellent start from third and passed Leclerc into Turn 1, putting the McLaren second, while Verstappen worked his way forwards from eighth. Piastri spent much of the first half of the race defending against the Red Bulls and initially succeeded in keeping Verstappen and Hadjar behind him.

The first Safety Car erased Russell's advantage, however, and at the restart Verstappen finally found his way past Piastri. Russell remained in control at the front, but Baku was nowhere near finished.

Norris Gets Caught in the Chaos

Starting fifth, Norris struggled for straight-line speed and didn't have the pace that had carried him to victories in Hungary and the Netherlands or to the podium in Spain. He nevertheless remained in contention for points and spent part of the race defending from Hamilton before a mistake over the kerbs allowed the Ferrari through. A subsequent lock-up dropped Norris further down the order. 

Then, after the first Safety Car restart, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly collided at Turn 1, with Norris caught up in the resulting accident. The McLaren was eliminated on lap 35 and a second Safety Car was required.

Norris left Baku without scoring for the first time during his recent charge towards Hamilton and that alone represented a major opportunity for Ferrari/ZYN and although Hamilton didn't win the race or even reach the podium, simply finishing high enough to make Norris's zero hurt, was enough

Piastri's Podium Chance Disappears

McLaren still had Piastri running near the front, and for much of the afternoon he appeared capable of limiting the damage.

Having taken second from Leclerc at the start and defended impressively against Verstappen and Hadjar, Piastri remained second through his stop under the first Safety Car. Verstappen passed him at the restart, but third place remained a realistic result.

With Hadjar applying pressure at the restart, Piastri initially held the Red Bull back, but on the following lap he defended into Turn 1 and suffered a double lock-up. The McLaren disappeared into the run-off area and the field streamed past.

Piastri later said the lock-up had "certainly took me by surprise", and although he continued, his chance of scoring had effectively disappeared.

He crossed the line outside the points. The initial Formula 1 classification placed him 14th, but Gabriel Bortoleto subsequently received a 10-second penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, promoting Piastri to 13th in the adjusted results, but for McLaren/VELO, it still meant the worst possible outcome: zero points from both cars.

Verstappen Takes Russell to the Line

At the front, the second Safety Car turned Russell's previously comfortable afternoon into a sprint for the finish, with Verstappen was directly behind him and, with the field bunched together, the Mercedes driver no longer had the cushion he had spent the first half of the race building.

Russell held the lead at the restart, but Verstappen remained close throughout the closing laps. Russell even clipped the wall during the fight and then lost his Boost on the final lap, giving Verstappen one final opportunity.

The two charged towards the chequered flag almost together but Russell held on by 0.196 seconds, taking his third Grand Prix victory of 2026. Verstappen finished second, with Hadjar third to complete a double Red Bull podium.

Antonelli, meanwhile, produced an impressive recovery from 16th after his qualifying accident. He worked his way back through the field to finish fifth, immediately behind Leclerc and ahead of Hamilton, limiting the damage Russell could inflict on his lead in the actual Formula 1 World Championship.

Ferrari and ZYN Take the Points McLaren Leave Behind

Leclerc couldn't convert his front-row start into a podium, but fourth became an extremely useful result once McLaren's afternoon unravelled and with Hamilton having a quieter race, fourth and sixth might have represented a relatively modest afternoon for Ferrari.

In the context of the Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship, it was still very useful for Ferrari/ZYN and with Leclerc collecting 12 points and Hamilton another eight, while Norris and Piastri scored zero, that produces a substantial swing in both of our championship battles.

Nicotine Pouch Drivers' Championship after Azerbaijan

Hamilton therefore leaves Azerbaijan with a 13-point lead over Norris, up from just five before the race but perhaps more interestingly, this is no longer simply Hamilton versus Norris. Leclerc is now only seven points behind Norris and 20 behind Hamilton, bringing the second Ferrari firmly back into contention and we have the three leading sponsored drivers are separated by just 20 points.

Ferrari/ZYN Reverse the Trend

The Teams' Championship tells an equally important story.

Nicotine Pouch Teams' Championship after Azerbaijan

Ferrari/ZYN led McLaren/VELO by 90 points after Belgium, but successive strong weekends for McLaren reduced that advantage to 87 after Hungary, 75 after the Netherlands, 59 after Italy and then just 52 after Spain.

Baku has abruptly reversed that trajectory and Ferrari's 20 points combined with McLaren's zero means the gap has jumped back to 72 points.  It doesn't undo everything McLaren achieved during its remarkable run from Hungary through Madrid, but it does give Ferrari some breathing room again.

Bottas Crashes Late as Cadillac/77 Remain on Zero

There was little relief further down the order for Cadillac/77 and although Sergio Perez made it to the finish, he could only manage 14th in the adjusted classification, while Bottas's race ended against the barriers late on. 

That means Cadillac/77 remain on zero points in our championship and although Baku's unpredictability might have offered some hope of finally breaking into the top ten, particularly once six cars failed to finish, but it wasn't to be.

Baku Changes the Championship Again

For several races, the story of the Nicotine Pouch Formula 1 Championship had been one of McLaren and VELO closing in with Norris transforming a 56-point deficit before Hungary into just five points after Spain, while McLaren had reduced Ferrari/ZYN's enormous Teams' Championship advantage almost race by race.

Although Hamilton didn't produce one of his spectacular performances, Baku finally stopped that charge and sixth was enough to increase his championship lead because Norris failed to finish. Leclerc's fourth simultaneously brought him closer to both leading drivers, while Piastri's mistake ensured McLaren couldn't salvage anything from a race in which he had spent much of the afternoon in podium contention.

The result leaves us with an intriguing three-driver picture: Hamilton on 199, Norris on 186 and Leclerc on 179.

Ferrari/ZYN also have both of their drivers contributing consistently to a Teams' Championship in which their advantage has returned to 72 points, while McLaren/VELO have been reminded how quickly momentum can disappear in Formula 1.

George Russell may have won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, narrowly beating Verstappen after one of the closest finishes of the season, but in our alternative championship the biggest winner was Ferrari/ZYN.

McLaren had spent four races turning up the pressure. In Baku, Ferrari finally pushed back.