Why is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday?
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place this weekend as a hectic 2026 Formula 1 season continues.
Qualifying on the streets of Baku on Friday afternoon was typically eventful, with runaway F1 world championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashing out in shock fashion during the first session.
The Italian boasts a commanding 81-point lead at the summit of the Drivers’ Standings after back-to-back victories on home soil at Monza and in Madrid earlier this month, his seventh and eighth wins respectively this term from 14 races.
However, Antonelli - long since the overwhelming favourite to clinch a maiden F1 world title aged just 20 - will start down in 16th on the grid at the picturesque Baku City Circuit after hitting the wall during Q1 in an uncharacteristic error, with Mercedes team-mate George Russell storming to pole position instead with a dominant display.
Russell seriously needs to make that count though if he is to have any hope of stopping the Antonelli procession and reeling him in to set up a late-season title battle, though will be only too aware that his fellow Silver Arrows star recently won from 19th on the grid in remarkable fashion at the Italian Grand Prix.
Closing out the front row in Azerbaijan is the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with Oscar Piastri starting in third for McLaren and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar fourth, in front of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Max Verstappen begins in eighth place, behind Pierre Gasly but ahead of Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto, who complete the top 10.
Why is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday?
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix - an unpredictable highlight of the annual F1 calendar since debuting in 2017 - is particularly notable this year for taking place a day earlier than usual.
F1 races are usually always held on Sundays, with practice sessions straddling across Friday and Saturday, and then qualifying and any sprint races occurring on Saturday.
However, that is not the case in 2026 in Baku, where practice was held on Thursday and Friday, before qualifying took centre stage on Friday.
The race itself is scheduled to begin at 12pm BST - 3pm local time - on Saturday, September 26.
That is due to race organisers seeking to avoid a clash with Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan, which takes place on September 27.
Established in 2020, the national day of mourning is held to remember the soldiers who died in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.