Formula 1 will break with its traditional Sunday race schedule at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the 2026 race taking place on Saturday, September 26. The change has been made to avoid a clash with Azerbaijan’s national holiday on September 27, meaning every F1 session in Baku has been brought forward by one day.
The Formula 1 paddock will return to Azerbaijan next weekend for the 15th round of the 2026 season, but fans expecting the usual Sunday afternoon race will have to adjust their plans.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held on Saturday, September 26, rather than Sunday. The unusual scheduling is directly linked to a national holiday in Azerbaijan.
National holiday forces F1 schedule change
September 27 is observed in Azerbaijan as a national day of remembrance for those who died during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, which began on September 27, 2020, and ended with a ceasefire on November 10 of the same year.
To avoid holding the country’s Formula 1 event on the national holiday, Azerbaijan’s race organisers and relevant government authorities requested that the Grand Prix be moved forward by one day.
The FIA confirmed the change in the 2026 calendar announcement.
“We can confirm that, at the request of the local organizers and relevant government bodies, the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be moved from Sunday to Saturday to take into account a national holiday,” the governing body stated.
The change applies to the entire Formula 1 weekend rather than just the race itself.
All F1 sessions brought forward
As a result, the usual Thursday media activities in Baku will instead take place on Wednesday, September 23.
Track action begins on Thursday, September 24, with the first two practice sessions. FP1 is scheduled for 10:30 AM, followed by FP2 at 2:00 PM.
Friday will then feature the final practice session and qualifying. FP3 gets underway at 10:30 AM, with qualifying following at 2:00 PM.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix itself will take place on Saturday, September 26, with the race scheduled to start at 1:00 PM German time.
For viewers in the UK, that means a 12:00 PM start.
Baku has hosted F1 since 2016
The unusual weekend timetable does not represent a permanent change to Formula 1’s traditional race-day format. It is a specific adjustment made for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Formula 1 has raced at the Baku City Circuit since 2016, with the Azerbaijani capital becoming one of the championship’s regular venues.
The street circuit is known for its combination of tight corners and extremely long full-throttle sections, creating one of the more distinctive layouts on the F1 calendar.
This year’s event will therefore require teams, drivers and fans to adapt to a compressed schedule, with qualifying on Friday and the championship race arriving one day earlier than usual.
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