The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on Saturday, September 26, a day earlier than usual. The race begins at 12pm BST (3pm local time) in Baku, with organisers moving it from Sunday to avoid a clash with Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan, which falls on September 27.
The national day of mourning, established in 2020, remembers the soldiers who died in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Qualifying drama in Baku
Qualifying on the streets of Baku on Friday was eventful, with runaway F1 world championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashing out during the first session. The Italian holds a commanding 81-point lead at the top of the Drivers' Standings after back-to-back victories at Monza and in Madrid earlier this month, his seventh and eighth wins of the season from 14 races.
Antonelli, the overwhelming favourite to clinch a maiden F1 world title at age 20, will start down in 16th on the grid at the Baku City Circuit after hitting the wall during Q1. Mercedes team-mate George Russell took pole position with a dominant display.
Grid positions and title implications
Russell needs to make the most of pole if he is to have any hope of stopping Antonelli's procession and setting up a late-season title battle. He will be aware that Antonelli recently won from 19th on the grid in remarkable fashion at the Italian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc starts second for Ferrari, with Oscar Piastri third for McLaren and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar fourth, ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen begins in eighth, behind Pierre Gasly but ahead of Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto, who complete the top 10.
