F1 Azerbaijan GP 2026: Schedule, IST Timings, Live Streaming And What's At Stake At Baku For Kimi Antonelli

After all that build-up to a seemingly impossible track at the Spanish Grand Prix that ended in a very uneventful race, all eyes are on street circuit at Baku to make the fight interesting. The Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026 returns to the Baku City Circuit with a scheduling twist that has already caught many off guard. In case you missed it, race day will be on Saturday, September 26, not the usual Sunday. Here's the full F1 Azerbaijan GP 2026 schedule, IST timings, where to stream it in India, and exactly what's riding on this weekend for Kimi Antonelli and the rest of the grid.

F1 Azerbaijan GP 2026 Schedule And Indian Timings

Don't forget to switch the days on your alarms this weekend, as practice opens on Thursday, September 24, with Practice 1 at 2:00 PM IST and Practice 2 at 5:30 PM IST. Practice 3 follows on Friday, September 25, at 2:00 PM IST, before qualifying gets underway at 5:30 PM IST. The Grand Prix itself takes place on Saturday, September 26, with lights out at 4:30 PM IST, or 3:00 PM local time in Baku.

This will mark the ninth running of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the tenth Formula 1 race held at Baku overall, dating back to the circuit’s 2016 debut under the European Grand Prix wing.

F1 Azerbaijan GP 2026 Live Streaming: Where To Watch In India

As usual, FanCode holds exclusive live broadcast rights for Formula 1 in India through 2028, with the deal covering every practice session, qualifying, sprint, and Grand Prix on both TV and mobile. All five Baku sessions will stream live, with the race going green at 4:30 PM IST on Saturday.

What To Know Before Lights Out

The FIA and Formula 1 announced the switch back in June 2025, moving the race off its original Sunday, September 27 slot at the request of the Azerbaijan promoter and government stakeholders. September 27 is Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan, an annual day honouring those who died in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, also known as the Patriotic War. We discuss more about this below:

The Italian kid is having a sectacular season, breaking records left and right. Antonelli's win in Spain was his eighth this year, and it stretched his lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell to 81 points (that's more than three race wins' worth of cushion). He has now won more races this season alone than Russell has managed across his entire Formula 1 career. 

Russell hasn't stood on top of the podium since the Austrian Grand Prix, but Baku has historically favoured him: he's finished on the podium in three of his four Mercedes appearances there, which makes this weekend his clearest shot yet at clawing back ground.

Between them, Red Bull and Mercedes have won every Azerbaijan Grand Prix except one, the 2024 upset delivered by Piastri. Only two drivers have ever won more than once at the circuit: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, and Verstappen added to that tally with last season's win. 

Ferrari, meanwhile, is still chasing its first Baku victory despite repeatedly showing the fastest car in qualifying. Leclerc started from pole four consecutive times between 2021 and 2024, a Baku record no other driver holds, and converted none of them into a win.

Piastri's 2024 Baku win for McLaren came after a tense fight with Charles Leclerc. He is only the second Australian to win at the circuit (the first was Daniel Ricciardo's 2017 triumph for Red Bull). This made for a monumental win for the driver, and was a chance to redeem himself after the cotroversies and criticisms that followed his maiden F1 win at Hungary earlier that year.

His return trip looks very different this time. He has gone more than twelve months without a race win. Baku 2025 was not really that good for him: two crashes there hit his title campaign at its most fragile point. Sure, the McLarens aren't in a title fight this year (honestly, there is no title fight this year), but can Piastri redeem himself this week?

We'll know on Saturday.