The race starts at 15:00 local time in Baku on Saturday 26 September 2026. Here’s what that means around the world:

Full weekend schedule (UK time)

In the UK, every session is live on Sky Sports F1. If you don’t have a Sky subscription, NOW offers day and monthly passes with no contract, which is the cheapest way to watch a single race. The Sky Sports app also posts free highlights after the race.

In most other countries, the official F1 TV Pro streaming service shows every session live, where it’s available, including onboard cameras and team radio. Our guide to where to watch Formula 1 live in 2026 lists the options country by country.

George Russell produced one of the laps of the season, taking pole with a 1:42.526, a huge 0.837 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri was third, just one-thousandth of a second behind the Ferrari. “It’s been a while, so it definitely feels good. The lap felt really sweet,” Russell said.

Antonelli’s session ended early. He hit the wall at Turn 1 during Q1, and the suspension damage was too severe for Mercedes to repair in time for him to go out again. He starts 16th. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll start at the back after Aston Martin fitted new power unit parts beyond their allowance, with Stroll last on the 22-car grid.

Antonelli arrives in Baku leading the championship by 81 points from Russell, after back-to-back wins at Monza and Madrid. With eight rounds left after this one, he’s in a very strong position, but Friday’s crash gives Russell a real chance to cut the gap.

The maths is simple. A win is worth 25 points. If Russell wins and Antonelli fails to score, the gap drops to 56, still a big lead with eight races left, but no longer a formality. If Antonelli can fight through to the points, as Baku’s safety cars and long straight sometimes allow, he limits the damage. Either way, Russell has his best chance in months to make a statement.

The Baku City Circuit is a street track of about 6 km that runs through Azerbaijan’s capital, combining one of the longest flat-out sections in Formula 1 with a tight, twisting section through the old city. The run along the seafront to Turn 1 is more than 2 km, which makes the slipstream very powerful and overtaking relatively easy by street-circuit standards.

The other extreme is the old-town section, where the track squeezes past the medieval castle walls. It’s barely wide enough for one car, with walls on both sides, and a small mistake there often ends a race. That mix of high speed and zero margin is why Baku has produced so many safety cars and surprise results.

What decides the race

Top speed and slipstream: teams run lower downforce for the long straight, which makes the car harder to handle in the slow corners. Safety cars: they’re common, so a well-timed pit stop can gain several places. Tyres and brakes: heavy braking into Turn 1 and Turn 3 punishes both, and graining can be an issue on the slippery street surface. For more on strategy basics, see our explainers on the undercut and overcut and what a safety car does.

Recent Azerbaijan GP winners

Baku has a history of unpredictable winners, from Ricciardo’s chaotic 2017 victory to Piastri’s win in 2024, when he passed Leclerc and then held him off for the rest of the race. Of the drivers on this year’s front row, neither Russell nor Leclerc has won here, although Leclerc took four consecutive poles at Baku between 2021 and 2024.

Winner: George Russell. An 0.8-second pole margin at Baku is enormous, and the Mercedes has been the fastest car all season. The main threat is the slipstream: starting second, Leclerc could use the tow on the long run to Turn 1 to take the lead at the start.

Podium: Russell, Leclerc, Piastri. The Ferrari and McLaren were separated by a thousandth of a second in qualifying, so the fight for second should be close.

Antonelli: points, but not a podium. The Mercedes is quick enough to move forward from 16th, and a safety car would help, but passing in the old-town section is hard. A finish around sixth to eighth would be a good recovery.

Dark horse: Max Verstappen from eighth. He won here last year, and Baku rewards bravery and top speed.