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Global Motorsport • Independent Edition
The Paddock Post
Title Decider Edition • Saturday 26 September 2026 • No. 015
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Lead Story • Formula 1
Russell Wins Baku by a Tenth as Antonelli Salvages Fifth From Sixteenth
A Saturday Grand Prix, two Safety Cars, six retirements — and a championship lead that shrank by fifteen points without ever looking in danger.
George Russell took pole by more than eight tenths and held off Max Verstappen by one tenth of a second at the line, with Isack Hadjar third. It is Russell's third win of the season. Kimi Antonelli hit the wall at Turn 1 in qualifying, started 16th, stayed out of the Safety Car chaos that eliminated Norris, Gasly and Colapinto, and came home fifth. Oscar Piastri led for a long spell before a late lock-up dropped him to 14th.
Antonelli 302, Russell 236: a 66-point gap with eight rounds and 200 points left. Next stop is Sepang, where the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix runs on 4 October.
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Also Leading • WRC
Saudi Arabia Is Off. The World Rally Title Will Be Settled in Sardinia Next Week.
Three Toyota drivers, 21 points, one rally — and it is the last Rally Italia Sardegna there will be.
With the championship element of Rally Saudi Arabia cancelled, Rally Italia Sardegna (1-4 October) decides it. Elfyn Evans leads on 230 from Sami Pajari (213) and Oliver Solberg (209), with 35 points available. Evans needs 19 to be champion regardless; Pajari must outscore him by 18 and holds the wins tiebreak; Solberg needs a perfect weekend and help.
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Around the Paddock |
MotoGP • Austria Acosta crashes from the sprint lead, then wins his first Grand Prix Martín won the sprint, was second on Sunday, and leads Márquez by 12 (306 to 294). |
NASCAR • Bristol Logano's 40th win, and a pit-road fight that got the headlines Hocevar wrecked Blaney and the two traded punches. Larson leads the Chase by one point from Hamlin. |
WEC • Fuji Rain washes out qualifying and hands Alpine a front-row lockout Grid set from practice; the No. 36 Alpine starts on pole. Six hours from 11:00 local Sunday. |
Formula 1 • Baku Red Bull's best afternoon in months: second and third Constructors: Mercedes 538, Ferrari 378, McLaren 306, Red Bull 263. |
IndyCar • Silly season Hauger to Foyt, and Ganassi's post-Dixon line-up takes shape Hauger is confirmed; Lundgaard is reported as Dixon's replacement, not yet announced. |
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F1 Drivers after Baku |
| 1. Kimi Antonelli | 302 |
| 2. George Russell | 236 |
| 3. Lewis Hamilton | 199 |
| 4. Lando Norris | 186 |
| 5. Charles Leclerc | 179 |
| 6. Max Verstappen | 163 |
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Coming Up (all times UTC) |
| WEC 6 Hours of Fuji | Sun 27 Sep, 02:00 |
| NASCAR Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas | Sun 27 Sep, 19:00 |
| WRC Rally Italia Sardegna, SS1 | Thu 1 Oct, 14:05 |
| MotoGP Japanese GP Sprint, Motegi | Sat 3 Oct, 06:00 |
| F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying, Sepang | Sat 3 Oct, 08:00 |
| MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix, Motegi | Sun 4 Oct, 05:00 |
| F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, Sepang | Sun 4 Oct, 07:00 |
| NASCAR South Point 400, Las Vegas | Sun 4 Oct, 21:30 |
| F1 Singapore GP Sprint | Sat 10 Oct, 09:00 |
| F1 Singapore Grand Prix | Sun 11 Oct, 12:00 |
| NASCAR Bank of America 400, Charlotte | Sun 11 Oct, 19:00 |
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Sixty-six points. Eight races. Call it.
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The Paddock Post • F1, MotoGP, IndyCar, WEC, NASCAR & WRC.
Sources: Formula1.com, MotoGP.com, FIA WEC, WRC.com, NASCAR.com, RACER, Crash.net, GPblog, RacingNews365, Speedway Digest & wire reports.
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