F1 Azerbaijan GP is on a Saturday in 2026, here's why
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 Formula 1 campaign is reaching its end with 14 of the currently scheduled 23 rounds now complete after last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli took the chequered flag in Madrid on Sunday, which marked an end to the European leg of the calendar, with Azerbaijan up next before a series of Asian and American flyaway races.
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But the Baku contest is taking place on a Saturday in 2026, so why is this the case?
Why is the 2026 Azerbaijan GP on a Saturday?
The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place on Saturday 26 September - a week later than its 2025 date - despite initially being scheduled for Sunday 27. A tweak was made in June last year “following a request from the Azerbaijan promoter and relevant government stakeholders” according to an F1 statement at the time.
This is because Azerbaijan Remembrance Day occurs annually on 27 September as the Euro-Asian country goes into a day of mourning. The people of Azerbaijan dedicate their thoughts to military personnel and those who died during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, otherwise known as The Patriotic War.
But it’s only a recent occurrence, because the war broke out on 27 September 2020 in the Nagorno-Karabakh region that is disputed between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in an Azerbaijan victory, igniting anti-government protests in Armenia.
According to the Azerbaijan government, 2,783 of its soldiers were killed during the conflict. So, with Azerbaijan Remembrance Day on Sunday 27 September, the whole F1 weekend will shift a day forwards - meaning media day is on the Wednesday, FP1 and FP2 on the Thursday, FP3 and qualifying on the Friday and the 51-lap grand prix itself on the Saturday.
Is it common for an F1 race to be held on a Saturday?
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, MercedesAlthough it is common for F1 to host its grands prix on a Sunday, there have been several occasions in which a race has been held on a different day. In fact, every day of the week has actually hosted one and it started with the 1950 British Grand Prix which was held at Silverstone on a Saturday.
The British Grand Prix continued to be held on a Saturday each year until 1975 meaning, back then, a non-Sunday race was actually quite common. Particularly when the Indianapolis 500 was technically on the calendar between 1950 and 1960, because it was traditionally held on 30 May - except for when that date fell on a Sunday. In those situations, cars would race around The Brickyard on the following day.
But as the seasons went by, it just became the norm for grands prix to be held on a Sunday and the 1985 South African Grand Prix - hosted on a Saturday - was the final non-Sunday race until Las Vegas returned to the calendar in 2023.
The American city has hosted its race on a Saturday each year since, while 2024 also saw Bahrain and Saudi Arabia host their grands prix on a Saturday due to the start of Ramadan.
F1 2026 drivers' standings before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Pos. Driver Points 12922211319141865167614571208719591041113112271318141015716617518319320121 22 23
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