Azerbaijan Grand Prix Saturday: 1 rare race, 1 great finish

Dustin Judge
George Russell in his Mercedes, the winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Saturday race, shown at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix Saturday race on Sept. 26 was one of only two F1 races on a Saturday in 2026, and it ended with George Russell holding off Max Verstappen by 0.196 seconds in Baku. The date moved because Sunday, Sept. 27, is Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day.

Why the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Saturday date changed

Sept. 27 is the annual day honoring Azerbaijani military personnel who died in the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The shift followed a request from the Azerbaijan promoter and government stakeholders, according to Crash.net.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix, set for late November, will be the other Saturday race this season, according to RacingNews365. F1 also raced on Saturday in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in 2024 because of Ramadan.

How the Baku race played out

Russell started from pole, 0.837 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in qualifying, and won his third race of the season, per Formula1.com. Verstappen pressed him hard on the final laps and finished second, with Isack Hadjar third.

The 51-lap race had two safety cars, and six drivers retired. A restart incident at Turn 1 took out Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, a clash we covered in our Norris apology story.

What the Saturday result did for the title fight

Leclerc finished fourth and Kimi Antonelli recovered from a qualifying crash to take fifth, according to RaceFans. Russell’s win cut Antonelli’s drivers’ championship lead to 66 points, with Mercedes 160 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings.

F1’s next stop is the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is being held in Malaysia at Sepang. See our look at the Sepang heat forecast for what drivers face. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix Saturday format was a one-off for Baku, but the Las Vegas race will bring another.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Saturday sources: Formula1.com, RaceFans, Crash.net and RacingNews365.

Dustin Judge is the Founder and CEO of Total Apex Media, bringing more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience to the company's growing network of digital publications. He specializes in sports, sports betting, fantasy sports, and digital publishing, with a focus on producing accurate, timely, and engaging content for readers. Dustin oversees editorial strategy, content development, and publishing operations across Total Apex Media while remaining actively involved in sports, betting, and fantasy sports coverage.