{"id":2710,"date":"2026-09-24T06:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T09:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=2710"},"modified":"2026-09-24T07:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T10:14:43","slug":"video-sainzs-williams-catches-fire-as-brake-problems-spread-through-baku-fp1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/video-sainzs-williams-catches-fire-as-brake-problems-spread-through-baku-fp1\/","title":{"rendered":"Video: Sainz\u2019s Williams catches fire as brake problems spread through Baku FP1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video class=\"video-js vjs-big-play-centered\" data-gp-vjs=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio-portal.b-cdn.net\/2026\/09\/carlos-sainz-fogo-freios-baku-f1-2026.mp4\"><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sainz suffers Williams brake fire as problems hit four drivers in Baku (Video: iDAZN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Carlos Sainz\u2019s rear brakes caught fire<\/strong> as he returned to the Williams garage during Azerbaijan GP FP1.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Isack Hadjar narrowly avoided the wall after reporting severe pulling under braking.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oscar Piastri and Alex Albon also complained about vibration and inconsistent braking behaviour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carlos Sainz\u2019s Williams suffered a rear-brake fire during first practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as braking problems affected several drivers across the opening session in Baku.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The incident occurred as Sainz returned to the garage during the early stages of FP1. <strong>Flames appeared around the rear brakes of the FW48<\/strong>, but Williams mechanics quickly extinguished the fire and the Spaniard later returned to the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sainz completed the session in 12th place with a 1:46.893, finishing 1.506s behind Mercedes driver George Russell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Team-mate Alex Albon encountered a separate problem and complained about inconsistent braking behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy brakes feel very strange,\u201d Albon said over the radio. \u201cIt\u2019s pulling and it comes in late. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albon placed 13th, immediately behind Sainz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Baku conditions place brakes under pressure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Baku combines a 2.2km flat-out section with several heavy braking zones, including the approaches to Turns 1 and 3. The track temperature had already reached approximately <strong>50\u00b0C at the beginning of FP1<\/strong>, increasing the cooling challenge for teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drivers repeatedly missed braking points throughout the session, although there was no immediate evidence that the problems reported by Williams, Red Bull and McLaren shared a common technical cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issues arrived during an important weekend for Williams. The team introduced lighter chassis and an aerodynamic package in Baku, but Sainz had already warned that the FW48\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/carlos-sainz-criticizes-flawed-concept-and-says-williams-needs-a-new-car-in-f1\/\">fundamental problems require more than a conventional upgrade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Sainz and Albon were able to continue, championship leader Kimi Antonelli\u2019s session ended after a hydraulic failure stopped his Mercedes. Antonelli was then <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/video-antonelli-receives-an-unexpected-extinguisher-shower-after-stopping-in-baku\/\">caught by extinguisher spray during the recovery of his car<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/\">F1<\/a> returns for second practice at <strong>13:00 UK, 08:00 ET and 16:00 local time<\/strong> on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">F1 today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race takes place on Saturday, September 26, because Sunday is Azerbaijan\u2019s Remembrance Day. The entire programme was moved forward, with practice on Thursday and qualifying on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time does the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Azerbaijan GP starts at <strong>12:00 UK, 07:00 ET and 15:00 local time<\/strong> on Saturday. It will run for 51 laps around the 6.003km Baku City Circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can Kimi Antonelli win the 2026 F1 championship in Azerbaijan?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Antonelli arrives in Baku with an <strong>81-point lead over George Russell<\/strong>, making him mathematically capable of securing the championship. To become champion, he must leave Azerbaijan at least <strong>75 points ahead<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happened to Carlos Sainz in Azerbaijan FP1?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rear brakes on Sainz\u2019s Williams caught fire as he returned to the garage. The team extinguished the fire and he later resumed running.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carlos Sainz suffered a rear-brake fire while Hadjar, Piastri and Albon reported alarming braking behaviour during the opening Azerbaijan GP session<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020315771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Sainz suffers Williams brake fire as problems hit four drivers in Baku","42wp_featured_image_credits":"F1 TV","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":59,"location":""}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[517,147,325,62],"42wp_author":[59],"class_list":["post-2710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-azerbaijan-gp","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-f1-2026","tag-williams","42wp_author-fabricio-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2710"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2715,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710\/revisions\/2715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020315771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2710"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=2710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}