News Summary
- The Azerbaijan Grand Prix runs Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 September, with the 51-lap race on Saturday rather than the usual Sunday, after the weekend was moved forward a day to accommodate Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day on 27 September.
- Practice starts Thursday, qualifying is Friday, and lights out for the race is 15:00 local time in Baku — 12:00 in the UK and 07:00 on the US East Coast.
- Coverage is split by market: Sky Sports (UK), Apple TV (US), TSN/RDS (Canada), Fox Sports/Kayo (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand) and FanCode (India).
Formula 1 returns from its summer break in Europe to a Baku weekend that looks nothing like the rest of the calendar. Every other 2026 Grand Prix outside Las Vegas runs to the sport’s usual Thursday-to-Sunday rhythm; this one doesn’t.
The change is a scheduling accommodation, not a format experiment. F1 and the FIA agreed to move the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Sunday, 27 September to Saturday, 26 September at the request of the Azerbaijan promoter and government stakeholders, since 27 September is the country’s Remembrance Day — a national day of mourning connected to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. GRANDE PRÊMIO covered the reasoning behind the switch in full when it was confirmed, and the short version is that the entire weekend has simply been brought forward by 24 hours: two practice sessions on Thursday, final practice and qualifying on Friday, and the 51-lap race itself on Saturday afternoon in Baku.
Session times
| Session | Baku (local) | London | US/Canada (ET) | Sydney (AEST) | Auckland (NZST) | India (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP1 — Thu 24 Sep | 12:30 | 09:30 | 04:30 | 18:30 | 20:30 | 14:00 |
| FP2 — Thu 24 Sep | 16:00 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 22:00 | 00:00 (Fri) | 17:30 |
| FP3 — Fri 25 Sep | 12:30 | 09:30 | 04:30 | 18:30 | 20:30 | 14:00 |
| Qualifying — Fri 25 Sep | 16:00 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 22:00 | 00:00 (Sat) | 17:30 |
| Race — Sat 26 Sep | 15:00 | 12:00 | 07:00 | 21:00 | 23:00 | 16:30 |
For fans in the Southern Hemisphere and Asia, that means qualifying lands late Friday night rather than Saturday afternoon as usual, and the race itself is a Saturday-evening watch in Australia and New Zealand rather than the traditional Sunday slot.
Where to watch
In the UK, Sky Sports F1 carries every session live, with Channel 4 airing highlights rather than a live broadcast. In the United States, Apple TV holds exclusive live rights to the full F1 season for 2026, meaning there’s no ESPN or ABC coverage this year — fans will need an Apple TV subscription or its trial period to watch any session live. Canada gets English-language coverage on TSN and French-language coverage on RDS, with TSN+ carrying the streaming feed. In Australia, Fox Sports and Foxtel carry every Grand Prix in 2026, with Kayo Sports as the streaming option. New Zealand viewers can follow the weekend on Sky Sport. In India, FanCode remains the exclusive broadcast partner for every practice, qualifying and race session, under a deal that now runs through 2028.
With the Antonelli–Russell fight at the top of the standings still unresolved and Max Verstappen still chasing his first win of 2026 on a circuit where he already holds the outright victory record, Baku’s compressed, one-day-earlier schedule doesn’t change what’s at stake — just when fans need to tune in for it.
F1 today: FAQ
Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday?
The race takes place on Saturday, September 26, because Sunday is Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day. The entire programme was moved forward, with practice on Thursday and qualifying on Friday.
What time does the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix start?
The Azerbaijan GP starts at 12:00 UK, 07:00 ET and 15:00 local time on Saturday. It will run for 51 laps around the 6.003km Baku City Circuit.
Can Kimi Antonelli win the 2026 F1 championship in Azerbaijan?
Yes. Antonelli arrives in Baku with an 81-point lead over George Russell, making him mathematically capable of securing the championship. To become champion, he must leave Azerbaijan at least 75 points ahead.
Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on a Saturday instead of Sunday?
F1 and the FIA moved the race forward a day at the request of the Azerbaijan promoter and government, because 27 September is the country’s Remembrance Day, a national day of mourning for those killed in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
