The 2026 Formula 1 season continues this weekend as Baku hosts Round 15 on the calendar, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Free Practice 1 and 2 will take place on Thursday, September 24, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying on Friday, September 25, and the Grand Prix itself on Saturday, September 26.<\/p>\n
Vital statistics<\/p>\n
First Grand Prix \u2013 2017 (2016 as the European Grand Prix)
\nTrack Length \u2013 6.003km
\nLap record \u2013 1m 43.009s, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2019
\nMost pole positions \u2013 Charles Leclerc (4)
\nMost wins \u2013 Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen (2)
\nTrivia \u2013 At its narrowest point (the Turn 8\/9 \u2018Old Town\u2019 complex), the circuit is just 7.6 metres wide
\nPole run to Turn 1 braking point \u2013 111 metres (shortest on the calendar)
\nOvertakes completed in 2025 \u2013 55
\nSafety Car probability \u2013 67%*
\nVirtual Safety Car probability \u2013 50%*
\nPit stop time loss \u2013 19.27 seconds (including 2.5s stationary)<\/p>\n
*From the previous six races in Azerbaijan<\/p>\n
The driver\u2019s verdict<\/p>\n
Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: A long lap \u2013 there\u2019s so much to put together in Baku, with lengthy straights and big braking zones in the first sector, before a winding second sector and a tough third sector.<\/p>\n
Braking for Turn 1 is tricky; the corner comes quickly after the start-finish line, but it somehow seems to take such a long time to get there from the final turn. With some slipstream, whether you luck into it or orchestrate it, you can gain a huge amount of time.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s something to watch for in Qualifying, but out-laps are also important; the track surface isn\u2019t so abrasive, so with a slow out-lap you could fail to warm up the tyres and lock up into Turn 1.<\/p>\n
The notorious castle section in the middle of the track is narrow and a place where accidents can easily happen, but the trickiest corner is probably Turn 15, where you\u2019re accelerating towards the end of the lap.<\/p>\n
Turn 15 is an unsighted left-hander in which you\u2019re braking slightly to the right, then you\u2019ve got to slow it down and not get into the run-off area, and avoid the looming walls in the process.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s all about the braking and, like at any street circuit, there\u2019s plenty of time to be gained if you can carry sufficient speed out of the apex \u2013 just don\u2019t get greedy with the apex and clout the wall.<\/p>\n
Tyre and strategy insight<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the city streets that make up the circuit have been resurfaced,\u201d reads Pirelli\u2019s weekend preview for the event, for which the compounds available will be the C3 (as the hard), C4 (as the medium) and C5 (as the soft).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work has affected sections of Turns 2, 3 and 4. The new asphalt, limited to specific areas, should not influence tyre behaviour which, as is often the case on street circuits, will initially be affected by rather low grip levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrack evolution over the course of the weekend is instead expected to be significant, thanks to the progressive build-up of rubber on the surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe asphalt, which is relatively smooth and not very abrasive, should result in very low levels of wear and degradation, making a one-stop race the most likely scenario. The C5 could prove capable of delivering particularly long stints, as seen recently at Monza, a circuit that shares some characteristics with Baku. By contrast, the hard compound could be overlooked by many teams in the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome graining may occur, particularly during the opening sessions when grip levels are still low, but it is not expected to be a decisive factor in terms of performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most interesting tyre-related aspects will be temperature management. The very long full-throttle section linking the final corner to the first promotes tyre cooling, aided by developments in wheel rim design. This phenomenon could increase the risk of lock-ups under heavy braking, particularly on the front axle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmbient temperatures could also help keep tyre overheating under control. Despite the generally warm climate, the buildings lining the circuit create numerous shaded areas, limiting any rise in track temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Current form<\/p>\n
Kimi Antonelli<\/a> has long been at the top of the drivers\u2019 standings<\/a> \u2013 and the Mercedes<\/a> racer arrives into Round 15 of the championship with an even stronger lead, his advantage over closest challenger George Russell<\/a> now standing at 81 points.<\/p>\n The Italian also appears to hold the momentum in terms of wins, having scored back-to-back victories across the recent double header of Italy and Spain. Can he claim another triumph in Baku and extend his lead further?<\/p>\n McLaren<\/a>\u2019s Lando Norris<\/a> took two consecutive wins himself not so long ago in Hungary and the Netherlands \u2013 but the reigning World Champion lost out on a potential third victory of the campaign in Madrid when the timing of a Virtual Safety Car did not go in his favour.<\/p>\n Despite this, the Briton admitted that there were \u201conly positives\u201d to take from the weekend given the pace of the MCL40. It will be fascinating to see if Norris and the papaya squad can carry that promise forward to Baku.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Ferrari<\/a> experienced mixed fortunes in Madrid after a brake issue forced Lewis Hamilton<\/a> to retire while Charles Leclerc<\/a> had a good run to fourth. Max Verstappen<\/a>, meanwhile, extracted everything from the Red Bull<\/a> to claim his second consecutive podium finish \u2013 but how will each team fare this weekend?<\/p>\n In the midfield battle, Alpine<\/a> closed the gap to Racing Bulls<\/a> last time out as they fight for P5 in the Teams\u2019 Championship<\/a>, Audi<\/a> added to their tally with a point for Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> as they chase Haas<\/a> for P7, while ninth-placed Williams<\/a> will be hoping that their much-anticipated Baku upgrade package helps them to take a step forward.<\/p>\n Iconic moment<\/p>\n Azerbaijan has played host to some action-packed, drama-filled races since the country arrived on the F1 calendar 10 years ago, with the high-speed Baku venue and its fearsome concrete walls catching out plenty of drivers.<\/p>\n But one moment that remains in the memory for another reason is Daniel Ricciardo<\/a>\u2019s incredible overtaking display during the 2017 encounter, the highlight of which was a three-car pass down the main straight and into Turn 1.<\/p>\n Running behind Renault\u2019s Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> and the Williams<\/a> cars of Felipe Massa<\/a> and Lance Stroll<\/a>, the Australian used the slipstream to perfection before slamming on the brakes at the last moment and somehow keeping it out of the wall.<\/p>\n Watch Ricciardo\u2019s stunning move in the video player below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 Formula 1 season continues this weekend as Baku hosts Round 15 on the calendar, the Azerbaijan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":906480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-906479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}