Formula One heads to Baku this weekend after Kimi Antonelli made it two wins in two with victory in Madrid.
Our power rankings measure who will arrive in Azerbaijan in the best shape. We take into account recent form, raw speed, how much each driver extracts from their car, momentum, and how well their strengths might suit the street circuit.
The 6km track in Baku has one of the longest flat-out sections of the season, but also some of its tightest corners around the old city. Boasting F1’s longest full-throttle section, the 6km track will show how these new cars fare.
After Monza and Madring, here are our top 10 rankings and predictions for the race in Baku.
10 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Form: Monza P5; Madrid P8. Championship: P7
Piastri continues to slide down our rankings. He’s been consistently outqualified by teammate Lando Norris and had a torrid time in Madrid. A mistake in Q3 saw him qualify in P7, and a first-lap contact with Russell then damaged his front wing and cost him downforce for the rest of the race. Piastri only managed a P8 finish in a car capable of winning the race.
The Australian noted that when it came to Baku, he has had a love-hate relationship with the circuit. Can he recover?
9 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
Form: Monza P8; Madrid P9 Championship: P11
Lindblad has now managed 10 Q3 appearances in 14 races and he continues to score points in his rookie season. Finishing P8 in Monza and P9 in Madrid, the 19-year-old British driver has now scored points at nine of the past 10 race weekends. It’s impressive from the youngster.
8. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
Form: Monza P14; Madrid P6 Championship: P9
Lawson signed off his Red Bull stint with his strongest result during the few weeks he occupied the seat after Isack Hadjar suffered a wrist injury.
Monza proved frustrating as he served an engine penalty but he qualified eighth in Madrid and finished P6, producing one of the few overtakes on a circuit criticised for being boring due to the difficulty in passing. Team principal Laurent Mekies described the Kiwi's three-race spell as “very strong”.
7. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
Form: Monza P9; Madrid P7 Championship: P12
“It's probably my best race weekend in terms of execution this year, I maximised everything in qualifying and did what I had to do today,” said Colapinto of last weekend at Madring.
In Monza, he started seventh, powered his way to fourth, but was unlucky as he lost the rear of his car at Turn 5, but still ended up in ninth, scoring two valuable points. In Madrid, the Argentine qualified five places ahead of Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and finished seventh. Colapinto is having a good season buoyed by the pace of the Alpine.
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Form: Monza DNF; Madrid P4 Championship: P5
Leclerc needed a better race after his costly Monza crash and was forced to go without the latest ADUO 2 power unit in qualifying in Madrid, impacting the results.
He qualified P5 and in the race, Ferrari stretched his opening stint in the hope that a safety car would allow him to pit with less time lost. That briefly put him into the lead, but the safety car never came. Once the Monegasque finally stopped, he recovered to fourth and kept Russell behind in the closing laps.
It remains to be seen whether he takes an engine penalty at Baku as that will impact his race.
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
Form: Monza P6; Madrid DNF Championship: P3
The results hide some of Hamilton’s recent speed, and he’s admitted he hopes he and the team can “hold on to second’ in the constructors’ championship.
He recovered to sixth after a difficult start at Monza, then looked genuinely quick in Madrid. Unfortunately for him, his race lasted only six laps. Hamilton made a superb start and challenged at the front before a brake problem forced him out. Baku brings fresh optimism.
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
Form: Monza P2; Madrid P5 Championship: P2
In what can only be described as the strongest car on the grid, Russell has underdelivered and Madrid was perhaps his weakest weekend in quite some time.
The problem is the Briton had almost conceded the fight for the championship as early as the fifth race in Canada when he despondently noted that the 43-point gap in the table was too much. “I mean, right now it's his to lose.” The gap is now 81 points and not even Toto Wolff has any idea where the problems lie.
In Madrid, his pace faded as the weekend went on, while the extra stop left him fifth in the race. But he did finish second in Monza. Baku has always been a lucky circuit for him, where he has finished on the podium three times in the last four years.
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Form: Monza P3; Madrid P2 Championship: P6
Verstappen continues to extract more from the Red Bull. He secured third at Monza and followed it up with another excellent performance in Madrid. In Spain, the Dutchman started third and was immediately in the fight at the front, eventually taking second after the virtual safety car swung the race in his favour.
Norris chased him down ferociously in the closing laps, but Verstappen held on. He now heads to Baku with back-to-back podiums.
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
Form: Monza P4; Madrid P3 Championship: P4
Even Antonelli felt Norris should have won in Madrid. Not only did Norris produce what he called one of the finest qualifying laps of his career, he beat Antonelli to pole.
In the race, he led and was unlucky when the VSC was deployed just after he passed the pit entrance. A slow seven-second stop compounded the issue and dropped him to fifth. Norris fought back to third and finished less than a second behind Verstappen. It should have been three wins in four races.
Antonelli wins at Monza – in pictures
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Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli celebrates his historic win at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. AFP -
Kimi Antonelli celebrates with his Mercedes team after winning his home race in Italy. Getty Images -
Kimi Antonelli celebrates victory on the podium at Monza. Getty Images -
Italian fans surround the podium after Kimi Antonelli's win. Getty Images -
Second-placed George Russell, left, race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli, second right, next to Max Verstappen who was third. EPA -
Kimi Antonelli after becoming the first home winner of the Italian GP in 60 years. Getty Images -
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli wins the Italian GP. EPA -
Charles Leclerc's Ferrari after hitting the barriers at Monza. Getty Images -
Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton clash at start of race. Getty Images -
Alpine's Pierre Gasly leads at the beginning of the Italian GP after starting in pole. AFP
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
Form: Monza P1; Madrid P1 Championship: P1
Antonelli followed his momentous Monza comeback with another win in Madrid and now leads the championship by 81 points.
This one came with some luck. Norris had the faster car last Sunday and the timing of the VSC handed Antonelli a cheap pit stop.
Still, being in a position to capitalise is crucial. Antonelli qualified just 0.011 seconds from pole and kept himself in contention until the race swung his way. Eight victories from 14 races make his place at the top difficult to challenge.
Baku podium prediction
1 Kimi Antonelli: Mercedes were superb at Monza, and Baku’s flat-out sections should help the Italian and his team secure another win.
2 Lando Norris: On pure driving form, Norris could easily be No 1 and the significant aerodynamic upgrade set to be introduced could make for a spicy challenge at the top of the grid.
3 Max Verstappen: Baku should play to his strengths. Five podiums in his last seven races, Verstappen is targeting even more and he’s in his best form of the season, but is the car quick enough to challenge at the top?
