Azerbaijan 2026 GP preview
Weekend schedule
All timezonesTimes shown in circuit-local time (GMT+4).
- FP1Thu12:30
- FP2Thu16:00
- FP3Fri12:30
- QualifyingFri16:00
- RaceSat15:00
A forecast appears here once the weekend is inside the forecast window.
The circuit
Full circuit guide →Baku City Circuit · 6.003 km · 20 corners · anticlockwise
335.7 km/h
Top speed (2022–now)
Alexander Albon, 2023
All time 366.1 km/h, Bottas ’16
Recent form at this circuit
Last winners
- 2026George Russell · Mercedes
- 2025Max Verstappen · Red Bull
- 2024Oscar Piastri · McLaren
Last pole times
- 2026George Russell · Mercedes · 1:42.526
- 2025Max Verstappen · Red Bull · 1:41.117
- 2024Charles Leclerc · Ferrari · 1:41.365
Historic moments
2021 · A blowout, then the wrong brake setting
Max Verstappen's left-rear tyre exploded on the main straight with five laps left while he was comfortably leading. The red flag set up a two-lap sprint to the flag with Lewis Hamilton handed the win on a plate - and Hamilton hit the wrong brake setting into Turn 1, sailed straight down the escape road and finished 15th. Sergio Pérez won his first race for Red Bull.
2018 · Red Bull's teammates take each other out
Battling for track position without team orders, Daniel Ricciardo rear-ended teammate Max Verstappen on lap 40, eliminating both Red Bulls from a race the team had been expected to challenge for. Lewis Hamilton inherited a chaotic win, with Sergio Pérez taking a shock Force India podium.
What makes it different
- The run from the final corner to Turn 1 is about 2.2 km flat out - the longest full-throttle stretch in Formula 1, and the reason low-downforce gambles keep paying off here.
- The castle section at Turns 8–9 narrows to roughly 7.6 m, the tightest point on any current F1 track; there is no room to pass and barely room to correct.
- The castle section runs directly alongside the 11th-12th century fortress walls of Baku's Old City, which UNESCO listed as Azerbaijan's first World Heritage Site in 2000.
This grid’s history here
| Driver | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | 2 wins · 2025, 2022 | 2 podiums · 2025, 2022 | 1 pole · 2025 |
| Sergio Pérez | 2 wins · 2023, 2021 | 2 podiums · 2023, 2021 | — |
| George Russell | 1 win · 2026 | 1 podium · 2026 | 1 pole · 2026 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 win · 2019 | 1 podium · 2019 | 1 pole · 2019 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 1 win · 2018 | 1 podium · 2018 | 1 pole · 2017 |
| Oscar Piastri | 1 win · 2024 | 1 podium · 2024 | — |
| Charles Leclerc | — | — | 4 poles · 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 |
Milestone watch
Max Verstappen has won here twice.
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