Significantly altered Baku start time for 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP

The 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place a full 24 hours ahead of the normal schedule, with the race planned for Saturday, September 26th, instead of the usual Sunday.

Organisers made the request of F1 to move the race forwards to 15:00 local time, 12:00 BST on Saturday as to not clash with the Azeri Day of Remembrance, which takes place annually on September 27th.

The national day of mourning honours the nearly 3,000 Azeri troops killed in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As such, F1 will race on a Saturday in Baku, with practice and qualifying also moved forward to Thursday, and Friday, respectively.

It is the first of two Saturday races in the 2026 season with Las Vegas being the other, where the race starts on Saturday night local time, translating into an early start on the traditional Sunday in Europe.

Check out the significantly altered start time for this weekend's 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku below, with the time automatically adjusted to your time zone!