The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 September 2026 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was the fifteenth round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship.
George Russell (Mercedes) took pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), while championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified sixteenth after damaging his suspension in the opening part of qualifying after hitting a wall. Russell won the race ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar (both Red Bull), with a winning margin of 0.196 seconds. It was his third victory of the season and the eighth of his Formula One career. Having also led every lap and set the fastest lap, he achieved his first Grand Slam.
The race featured two safety car periods, the first following an accident for Alexander Albon (Williams) and the second after a collision involving Franco Colapinto, his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris (McLaren) at the restart. Antonelli recovered to fifth, but his championship lead over Russell was reduced from 81 to 66 points.
Background The event was held at the Baku City Circuit in Baku for the tenth time in the circuit's history, having previously held one edition of the European Grand Prix in , across the weekend of 24–26 September. The Grand Prix was the fifteenth round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the ninth running of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 27 September but was moved forward by one day to accommodate Remembrance Day, following a request from the promoter and relevant government stakeholders.
Championship standings before the race Going into the weekend, Kimi Antonelli led the Drivers' Championship with 292 points, 81 points ahead of teammate George Russell in second and 101 ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third. Mercedes, with 503 points, led the Constructors' Championship from Ferrari and McLaren, who were second and third with 358 and 306 points, respectively.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), who injured his wrist before the Dutch Grand Prix, returned for this event. His seat for the last three Grands Prix had been filled by Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), with Red Bull reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda replacing Lawson.
Tyre choices
Tyre supplier Pirelli selected its C3, C4, and C5 compounds—the softest in its range—for the event, designating them as hard, medium, and soft, respectively.
Practice Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 24 September 2026, at 12:30 local time (UTC+4), and was topped by George Russell (Mercedes) ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 16:00 local time, and was topped by Russell ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli and Verstappen. A red flag was observed due to Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) hitting the barriers at turn 8. The third free practice session was held on 25 September 2026, at 12:30 local time, and was topped by Verstappen ahead of Russell and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari).
Qualifying Qualifying was held on 25 September 2026, and was scheduled to start at 16:00 local time (UTC+4), before being delayed to 16:04. The session determined the starting grid order for the race.
Qualifying report During Q1, the opening part of qualifying, Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) struck the inside wall at turn 1, damaging his suspension. The damage could not be repaired in time for him to continue. Although his earlier lap was sufficient to advance to Q2, he took no further part in the session and qualified sixteenth. Max Verstappen reported that his Red Bull was bottoming out, compromising its braking. George Russell (Mercedes) finished Q1 fastest with a time of 1:43.615, ahead of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar (both Red Bull). The Audi drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg were eliminated, together with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (both Aston Martin) and Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas (both Cadillac).
Fifteen drivers participated in Q2. Russell again set the early pace, while Pierre Gasly benefited from a tow from his Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto. Errors compromised Arvid Lindblad's attempts to progress. Russell improved to 1:43.462 to finish ahead of Verstappen, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren). Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) and Colapinto secured the last two places in Q3. Oliver Bearman (Haas) missed the cut by 0.092 seconds and qualified eleventh, ahead of Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Alexander Albon (Williams), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and the absent Antonelli.
Lando Norris and then Piastri (both McLaren) held provisional pole during the opening Q3 runs, with Piastri benefiting from a slipstream. Russell subsequently moved ahead and improved again on his final attempt. Norris locked up on his last lap and could not improve. Russell's pole time of 1:42.526 was 0.837 seconds faster than Leclerc's, while Piastri missed second place by 0.001 seconds. Hadjar qualified fourth, followed by Norris, Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Gasly, Verstappen, Sainz and Colapinto. This was Russell's fifth pole position of the season.
Four grid penalties altered the starting order. Sainz was demoted from ninth to fourteenth for failing to slow for yellow flags. Pérez received a three-place penalty for impeding Piastri, but remained twentieth after the other penalties were applied. Alonso and Stroll received penalties of 30 and 20 places, respectively, for using additional power-unit elements and occupied the back row, with Bottas promoted to nineteenth.
Qualifying classification DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3163 George Russell Mercedes 1:43.615 1:43.462 1:42.5261216 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:44.360 1:43.780 1:43.3632381 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:45.014 1:43.814 1:43.364346 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 1:44.161 1:43.880 1:43.500451 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:44.571 1:44.020 1:43.6725644 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:44.260 1:44.037 1:43.8586710 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1:44.489 1:44.106 1:44.047783 Max Verstappen 1:44.041 1:43.706 1:44.0818955 Carlos Sainz Jr. Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:45.104 1:44.629 1:44.566141043 Alpine-Mercedes 1:45.106 1:44.683 1:44.96391187 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1:45.228 1:44.775N/A101230 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:45.535 1:44.860N/A111323 Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:45.031 1:45.001N/A121431 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1:45.039 1:45.016N/A131541 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:45.381 1:45.106N/A151612 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:45.504No timeN/A16175 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:45.799N/AN/A171827 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:45.920N/AN/A181914 Fernando Alonso 1:46.593N/AN/A212011 Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari 1:46.658N/AN/A202118 Lance Stroll 1:47.337N/AN/A222277 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1:48.290N/AN/A19107% time: 1:50.868Source: Notes – Carlos Sainz Jr. received a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags in Q3. – Fernando Alonso received a 30-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. – Sergio Pérez received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in Q1. – Lance Stroll received a 20-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.
Race The race was held on 26 September 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+4), and was run for 51 laps.
Race report Start and opening stint
George Russell (Mercedes) started on the medium-compound tyres, as did Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and the sixteenth-placed Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes). Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) chose soft tyres. Russell retained the lead at the start, while Piastri passed Leclerc for second and Lando Norris (McLaren) moved ahead of Hadjar. Verstappen gained places on Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Hamilton during the opening exchanges. Antonelli initially dropped to seventeenth, while Russell completed the opening lap as the leader of the race.
Hadjar recovered fourth from Norris and then passed Leclerc, with Verstappen also overtaking both drivers. Red Bull instructed Hadjar to allow Verstappen through into third, after which Piastri held off the two Red Bulls while Russell extended his lead. Verstappen subsequently reported difficulties with his medium tyres, while Hadjar indicated that he had more pace on softs. The team retained their order rather than allowing Hadjar back ahead. Team principal Laurent Mekies later explained that Red Bull considered this its best opportunity to challenge Piastri and Russell, anticipating a safety car that would allow Verstappen to switch to soft tyres.
Antonelli gradually recovered through the midfield, passing Oliver Bearman (Haas) to enter the top ten on lap 17. Norris lost a position to Hamilton after a braking error. Both Aston Martin drivers retired before the safety car periods: Lance Stroll was instructed to stop with a water-pressure problem, and Fernando Alonso subsequently returned to the pits to retire.
First safety car and pit stops Russell made light contact with the wall at turn 15 around half distance and asked Mercedes to check his tyre pressures, but continued in the lead. Later, Norris locked up at turn 1 and used the run-off area, allowing Gasly and Antonelli to pass. Alexander Albon (Williams) then crashed into the barriers, prompting the first safety car period. The intervention removed Russell's advantage of approximately eleven seconds over Piastri. Antonelli, who had reached eighth but was about 35 seconds behind the leader, was also brought back into contention with the cars ahead.
The leading drivers made their pit stops during the safety car period. Russell and Verstappen changed to soft tyres, while Piastri, Hadjar, Leclerc and Hamilton fitted mediums. Gasly, Antonelli, Norris and Franco Colapinto (Alpine) also switched to softs. Russell retained the lead ahead of Piastri, Verstappen and Hadjar. Gasly, Antonelli and Norris had pitted before the leading group came in on the following circuit. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams), who had stopped before the safety car was deployed, lost out relative to those able to make their stops during the neutralisation.
Restarts and further incidents Racing resumed on lap 36, with Russell retaining the lead and Verstappen passing Piastri for second. Further back, Colapinto locked up while approaching turn 1 on the inside of Gasly and struck his teammate, whose car then collided with Norris. Gasly and Norris stopped at the scene, while Colapinto also retired with collision damage. The incident brought out the safety car again. In a separate collision behind them, Arvid Lindblad made contact with his Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson, spinning Lawson around. Both continued, and Lindblad received no penalty. Antonelli also sustained floor damage in contact with Bearman at the restart.
The second restart took place on lap 39. Russell remained ahead of Verstappen, with Piastri and Hadjar next. On lap 40, Piastri locked up at turn 1 while defending from Hadjar, ran into the escape road and dropped from third to fifteenth. His mistake promoted Hadjar into the podium positions and moved Leclerc, Hamilton and Antonelli up behind him. Antonelli subsequently passed Hamilton for fifth and closed on Leclerc, but was unable to take fourth before the finish.
Finish and aftermath