Formula One Preview: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
After taking a weekend off from racing, Formula One returns with round 15 of the World Championship. This weekend, the drivers will take a tour around the city of Baku, Azerbaijan, in what is one of the only street circuits currently on the sport’s calendar.
Circuit Guide
The Baku City Circuit is one of the most exciting tracks on the calendar, especially for a street circuit. It has an unpredictable and versatile nature, with a good mixture of long straights, tight corners and technical sections that leave little room for error.
The 6.003km layout combines the wide, high-speed roads along Baku’s waterfront with the narrow streets of the historic Icheri Sheher old town, creating a circuit that demands a compromise between low drag and sufficient downforce.
The first sector features some of the track’s biggest braking zones, beginning with the long run towards Turn 1. Drivers arrive at the opening corner at very high speed before braking heavily for the 90-degree left-hander, making it one of the key overtaking opportunities of the lap. Turns 2 and 3 provide another pair of slow corners, with drivers needing to maximise their exits before accelerating towards Turn 4 and the technical section.
The second sector changes the track dramatically, The track winds through the narrow streets of the old city, with Turns 8, 9 and 10 forming the famous castle section. Drivers must squeeze their way through the narrow uphill corner, measuring at just 7.6 meters wide at its tightest. Drivers then emerge from the castle section into the faster Turns 13, 14 and 15, before tackling the tricky braking zone after the latter corner.
Rounding out the circuit in the final sector, Turn 16 leads drivers back towards the front of the Caspian Sea, before the circuit opens up into a long, high-speed run through Turns 17 to 20 and onto the start-finish straight.
Considering this is the first race in Baku following 2026’s upgraded power-unit and energy-management regulations, the potential for superclipping on the back straight is something to keep an eye on. Baku’s long, full throttle sections put significant demand on the cars’ electrical energy reserves. If a driver exhausts their available deployment before reaching the end of the straight, their straight-line speed can begin to drop, potentially leaving them vulnerable to a car behind.
It will be crucial for drivers to carefully harvest energy through the slower corners and heavy braking zones before deciding where to deploy it, particularly with the long straight providing such a significant opportunity to gain or lose time.
Weekend Format
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend will follow the standard race weekend format, meaning there is no sprint race in Baku. However, the entire weekend has been shifted forward by a day, meaning the race will take place on Saturday, with FP1 and FP2 scheduled for Thursday, and FP3 and qualifying on Friday.
The reason for the change is due to this Sunday, 27 September, being Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan. As it is a national day of mourning, the Grand Prix has moved forward to Saturday to respect this.
Weather Forecast
Baku is typically warm in late September, with the temperature expected to be in the mid-20s Celsius. It is expected to be dry all weekend too, which should make things more straightforward in terms or tyre strategy.
Major Talking Points
Isack Hadjar's return: For the past three races, Isack Hadjar has been unable to compete after sustaining a wrist injury during the summer break. This has seen Liam Lawson step into the Red Bull seat, with Yuki Tsunoda filling in for Lawson at Racing Bulls.
Lawson made the most of his unexpected return to the senior Red Bull team, scoring points in two of the three races with the team and gaining some valuable experience alongside Verstappen. Now that Hadjar has fully recovered, he will move back to RB, bringing an end to his temporary stint at Red Bull.
After weeks of recovery, Hadjar is set to return to action this weekend. Whether there will be any ring rust when he gets back into the cockpit will be something to watch, particularly at a circuit as demanding as Baku. The track’s combination of long high-speed sections, narrow corners and heavy braking will immediately test Hadjar’s performance and the physical demands of the circuit may indicate how comfortable he is following injury.
McLaren's resurgence: After a difficult start to the 2026 season, McLaren have begun to find their form at the right time. The team has taken three pole positions and two wins across the last four rounds, with Norris emerging as a consistent threat at the front of the grid.
Their recent improvement has moved them back into the fight at the front, but now the team will look to prove that the resurgence can be sustained. Considering there are only seven rounds left following Azerbaijan, every result is much more important as the title enters its final stages.
McLaren are introducing upgrades this weekend and have predicted the race to be a four-way battle for victory between the front running teams. Whether their upgrades will provide them with the extra performance needed to maintain their comeback and challenge for victory will be a key talking point throughout this weekend.
Ferrari's struggle: Ferrari head into Azerbaijan looking to turn around their difficult run of form after struggling to match the pace of their rivals in recent races. The past two races have seen Ferrari DNF twice, leaving the team with plenty of ground to make up at the sharp end of the championship.
Ferrari could use Azerbaijan as an opportunity to rediscover some of the performance that saw them challenge at the front earlier this season. With the championship battle becoming increasingly tight, lacklustre results from Ferrari will see Mercedes run away and make an even bigger gap to the lead.
How the team responds this weekend will be interesting to watch, with both drivers needing a strong performance this weekend to re-establish themselves as regular contenders at the front of the field.
Williams' long-awaited upgrade: Williams' 2026 season has been extremely underwhelming before it even began. After missing the pre-season Shakedown in Barcelona and then hitting the testing with a car 30kg overweight, the team have just not been able to find their way this year.
In Azerbaijan, they are bringing a significant upgrade package as they look to, very slightly, pull back from their difficult season. Sitting towards the back of the Constructors’ Championship standings, but not too far off Audi and Haas up ahead, the upgrades could potentially put Williams in a position to catch up with the midfield.
Williams’ 2026 season is beyond saving at this point, but these upgrades, which have been in the pipeline for some time, are crucial to the team’s overall progress going forward.
Past Azerbaijan Grands Prix
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is one of the more recent additions to the F1 calendar. The first time F1 held a race in Azerbaijan was in 2016, albeit the race was titled the European Grand Prix. Held at the same Baku City Circuit used today, Nico Rosberg took victory from pole position, with Sebastian Vettel finishing second and Sergio Pérez taking third for Force India.
The following year, the race was renamed to the inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which saw Daniel Ricciardo take victory for Red Bull after starting tenth in what was one of the most chaotic races in recent F1 history.
Ricciardo recovered from a pitstop after picking up debris to take the lead, whilst the race also featured a dramatic clash between championship rivals Vettel and Hamilton during a Safety Car period. Lance Stroll ultimately finished third for Williams, only being denied second place by Valtteri Bottas’ last-gasp overtake to the chequered flag.
That race set the tone for what was to become one of the most unpredictable events on the F1 calendar. Some of the best wins, qualifying sessions and general racing moments have happened on the streets of Baku, with the circuit repeatedly producing unlikely podiums, unexpected results and moments that have had an impact on the championship.
Last year was no exception, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix providing another major twist in the title battle. Oscar Piastri arrived in Baku as the championship leader, but his race unravelled almost immediately. After jumping the start and ultimately triggering the anti-stall system, Piastri dropped down the field before crashing on the opening lap and retiring from the race.
His early exit in the race gave Norris the opportunity to claw back in the championship fight. This meant that Norris was able to begin closing the points gap at the top of the standings and eventually go on to win the World Championship.
Additionally, 2025 saw Williams on the podium as Carlos Sainz secured his first podium finish for the team after an impressive qualifying result of second. Sainz maintained a strong position throughout the race to finish in third behind Verstappen and Russell, another example of Baku delivering results we don’t typically see any other weekend.
Drivers to Watch
Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson: As previously mentioned, Hadjar has been cleared to take part in this weekend’s Grand Prix after missing the past three races due to sustaining a wrist injury. Those three races in Zandvoort, Monza and Madrid saw Lawson step into Hadjar’s place, scoring 14 points for Red Bull.
Hadjar will now have the chance to pick up where he left off before his injury as he returns to an RB22 in search of its first win of the season. Before the summer break, Hadjar had a run of top-six finishes, placing him firmly in the mix of front runners and proving his consistency as a points scorer. His return will therefore be one to closely watch as he looks to regain his rhythm and continue the form he showed before his absence.
For Lawson, returning to RB gives him the chance to build on the confidence gained in his three-race stint at Red Bull. It may not have been the most perfect three races, but it was a run that proved better than any of his previous Red Bull appearances.
Lawson's consistency this season has been exceptional and it would not be out of the question for him to challenge for a standout result in Baku. After all, Sainz proved with his podium for Williams last year that opportunities can arise for drivers running outside of the traditional front-running teams.
Lando Norris: Norris has been on a roll recently. The reigning F1 World Champion took back-to-back victories in Hungary and Zandvoort, and took pole position at the Madring. In Madrid, Norris had the pace all race, but had an unfortunate pitstop which ultimately lost him the race win.
Despite missing out in Madrid, Norris arrives in Azerbaijan with momentum to add to his recent run of strong results. With the championship battle coming to its latter stages, Norris will do everything he can to keep the pressure on Mercedes and Ferrari at the front of the field.
Kimi Antonelli: Like every race this season, Antonelli is a driver to keep an eye on. In only his second F1 season, the 20-year-old continues to impress with his lead in the Drivers; Championship. Antonelli has consistently been able to extract the best results from the W17, putting himself in a position that wouldn’t have been expected before the season began.
He arrives in Baku coming off a win at the Madring, where he converted a second place start into his latest win of the season. The Mercedes will look to add another win and 25 points to his tally to maintain his place at the top of the standings.
Session Times (BST)
Practice 1: Thursday 09:30 - 10:30
Practice 2: Thursday 13:00 - 14:00
Practice 3: Friday 09:30 - 10:30
Qualifying: Friday 13:00 - 14:00
Race: Saturday 14:00 - 16:00
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