Race weekend · 2026

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Circuit

Baku City Circuit

Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
Length: 6.003 km
Corners: 20

Track guide

Session schedule (UTC)

Free Practice 1
Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:30:00 UTC
Free Practice 2 ↓
Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 UTC
Free Practice 3
Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:30:00 UTC
Qualifying ↓
Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:00:00 UTC
Race ↓
Sat, 26 Sep 2026 11:00:00 UTC

Free practice

Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 as red flag halts FP2 action in Baku

Full report →

Pos	Driver	Team	Best time
P1	George Russell	Mercedes	1:43.347
P2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:43.899
P3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:44.174
P4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:44.473
P5	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:44.665
P6	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:44.831
P7	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:44.843
P8	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:44.857
P9	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:44.868
P10	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:45.290

Unofficial: compiled from session timing reports (these times are not in the official results feed). Session pace is indicative, not predictive.

Russell's clean Thursday sweep masks a tightening midfield; Verstappen's FP3 statement before Friday's qualifying reckoning

Full report →

George Russell dominated Thursday at Baku, topping both FP1 and FP2 for Mercedes by commanding margins. Max Verstappen ended Russell's perfect record with an FP3 victory, setting up a three-way qualifying battle between...

Race result· provisional

Pos	Driver	Team	Pts	Status
P1	George Russell	Mercedes	25	Finished
P2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	18	Finished
P3	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	15	Finished
P4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	12	Finished
P5	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	10	Finished
P6	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	8	Finished
P7	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	6	Finished
P8	Esteban Ocon	Haas	4	Finished
P9	Oliver Bearman	Haas	2	Finished
P10	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1	Finished
P11	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	0	Finished
P12	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	0	Finished
P13	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	0	Finished
P14	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	0	Finished
P15	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	0	Finished
P16	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	0	Retired

Provisional order from live timing (OpenF1), before stewards' checks. The official Jolpica-F1 (Ergast) classification replaces it once confirmed.

Pit stops

Driver	Stops	Fastest stop
Valtteri Bottas	2	15.093s (fastest)
George Russell	2	15.102s
Oscar Piastri	2	15.143s
Max Verstappen	2	15.212s
Isack Hadjar	2	15.214s
Gabriel Bortoleto	2	15.275s
Nico Hulkenberg	2	15.306s
Sergio Perez	2	15.381s
Charles Leclerc	2	15.546s
Carlos Sainz	3	15.989s
Arvid Lindblad	2	16.042s
Esteban Ocon	2	16.161s
Oliver Bearman	2	16.312s
Kimi Antonelli	2	16.390s
Lewis Hamilton	2	16.512s
colapinto	1	20.725s
gasly	1	20.737s
norris	1	20.801s
Liam Lawson	2	21.718s

Pit-stop timings via the Jolpica-F1 (Ergast) API. "Fastest stop" is each driver's quickest stationary time.

Qualifying result

Pos	Driver	Team	Best time	Gap
P1	George Russell	Mercedes	1:42.526	pole
P2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:43.363	+0.837
P3	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:43.364	+0.838
P4	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	1:43.500	+0.974
P5	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:43.672	+1.146
P6	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:43.858	+1.332
P7	Pierre Gasly	Alpine F1 Team	1:44.047	+1.521
P8	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:44.081	+1.555
P9	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:44.566	+2.040
P10	Franco Colapinto	Alpine F1 Team	1:44.963	+2.437
P11	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:44.775	+2.249
P12	Liam Lawson	RB F1 Team	1:44.860	+2.334
P13	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:45.001	+2.475
P14	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:45.016	+2.490
P15	Arvid Lindblad	RB F1 Team	1:45.106	+2.580
P16	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:45.504	+2.978
P17	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:45.799	+3.273
P18	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	1:45.920	+3.394
P19	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:46.593	+4.067
P20	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac F1 Team	1:46.658	+4.132
P21	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:47.337	+4.811
P22	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac F1 Team	1:48.290	+5.764

Gap is to pole. Times are each driver's session best (Q3 for the top 10, then Q2, then Q1), so a Q2 lap can read quicker than a red-flag-compromised Q3 lap. Official classification via the Jolpica-F1 (Ergast) API.

Strategy & analysis

Baku City Circuit circuit guide

Layout, lap record, corners, pit lane characteristics.

Baku Strategy Guide: One-Stop Baseline, Tyre Cooling Challenges, and Safety Car Leverage

Pirelli brings C3 Hard, C4 Medium, and C5 Soft to Baku. Low asphalt abrasion points to a one-stop race built around Medi...

Russell Holds On as Safety Car Chaos Reshapes Baku

George Russell survived two safety car periods and a fierce final-lap challenge from Max Verstappen to claim his third w...

Russell claims emphatic Baku pole; Antonelli's crash and Sainz's penalty reshape the grid

George Russell took pole position by 0.837 seconds over Charles Leclerc, with Oscar Piastri third and Isack Hadjar fourt...

How the safety car changes F1 strategy

A safety car or virtual safety car slows the whole field, which slashes the time a pit stop costs because rivals are als...

Slipstream (tow) in F1