Azerbaijan Grand Prix Records: Who's Won, Who's Poled, and What Could Fall in 2026

Russell, Mercedes, baku — Photo: © IMAGO

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Records: Who's Won, Who's Poled, and What Could Fall in 2026

Team GPFans

Tuesday 8 September 2026 10:48 Updated: 11:10

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Baku is one of the most mesmerising races on the Formula 1 calendar, where cars are blasting through the old city protected by UNESCO.

The Baku City Circuit first hosted Formula 1 in 2016, when the race was officially called the European Grand Prix. From 2017 onward, it became the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

There were only nine races at this historic location, but they gave us seven different winners, six different pole sitters, and several unprecedented results.

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This year we have an update to the existing Baku record book. Sergio Pérez used to be the only driver to win here more than once, taking victories in 2021 and 2023. Max Verstappen changed that in 2025. His second Baku victory, after his first in 2022, means Pérez and Verstappen now share the record with two wins each. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc owns a qualifying record that nobody even came close to.

No Driver Has Taken Control of Baku Yet

One of the easiest ways to follow the upcoming race is simply to look at who has won there.

- 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

- 2017: Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

- 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

- 2019: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

- 2021: Sergio Pérez, Red Bull

- 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull

- 2023: Sergio Pérez, Red Bull

- 2024: Oscar Piastri, McLaren

- 2025: Max Verstappen, Red Bull

That’s seven individual winners from nine races. Older circuits often have one driver who stands well above the rest in the wins. Lewis Hamilton has eight victories at the Hungaroring and Silverstone, while Verstappen built a similar record at tracks such as the Red Bull Ring, where he won five times.

Baku has never developed that pattern. Nobody has three wins. Nobody has even won consecutive Azerbaijan Grands Prix. And until Verstappen's 2025 victory, Pérez was the only driver with two winning trophies.

Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen Share the Record

Pérez’s first victory in Baku came in 2021. Verstappen had led much of that race before suffering a high-speed tyre failure, while Lewis Hamilton locked up at the restart. Pérez survived the chaos and finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly.

Two years later, he did it again. Pérez beat Verstappen by 2.137 seconds in 2023, becoming the first driver to win twice. For two seasons he held that record.

Verstappen joined him in 2025. His first Baku win came in 2022, when he led a Red Bull one-two win ahead of Pérez. Three years later, Verstappen started from pole and won ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz, creating the tie with Sergio.

Both record holders are still on the grid. Verstappen remains with Red Bull, while Pérez returned to Formula 1 with Cadillac for 2026. Their current situations are very different, with Verstappen sitting sixth in the 2026 Drivers' Championship with 112 points and Pérez on 23rd with zero points in Cadillac's first season.

For Verstappen, a third Baku win is realistic enough to make him one of the favourites in Formula 1 betting for the weekend. For Pérez, simply getting back on the podium would already be a huge result.

Charles Leclerc Owns the Baku Pole Record

Race victories have been spread around. Pole positions have not. Charles Leclerc is Baku's most successful qualifier. He took pole in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, giving him four consecutive poles on one of the most difficult races.

Nobody else has more than one.

The list of Baku pole sitters is:

- 2016: Nico Rosberg

- 2017: Lewis Hamilton

- 2018: Sebastian Vettel

- 2019: Valtteri Bottas

- 2021: Charles Leclerc

- 2022: Charles Leclerc

- 2023: Charles Leclerc

- 2024: Charles Leclerc

- 2025: Max Verstappen

Leclerc's 2024 pole made it four in a row, beating Oscar Piastri by more than 0.3s.

His 2023 performance was even better. Leclerc and Verstappen initially had identical 1:40.445 laps in Q3 before Leclerc sped up to 1:40.203 on his final attempt.

Leclerc enters 2026 with the chance to extend one of the strongest individual Azerbaijan GP records. A fifth pole would put him four clear of every other driver in Baku history.

Considering his 2026 form, that’s quite possible. Leclerc is currently fifth in the championship with 155 points and has already won the British Grand Prix this season.

Leclerc Has Another Baku Record That Has Survived Since 2019

Leclerc also holds the official race lap record at 1:43.009, set in 2019. That number has survived every Azerbaijan Grand Prix since.

This is not the fastest qualifying lap, which would be much quicker. The official circuit lap record comes from the race where one lap is 6.003km, with the Grand Prix running for 51 laps and just over 306km.

In 2026, Formula 1 has moved into a completely new era. Whether the new cars are in a position to beat Leclerc's 2019 time will depend on race conditions, tires, and how aggressively anybody can chase the fastest lap, but it gives the weekend one more old number to target. Seven years is already a long time for a modern F1 lap record.

Only Three Baku Drivers Have Won from the Pole Position

Perhaps the best statistic in the entire Baku record book is the conversion rate from pole. Across the nine Formula 1 races held at the circuit, only three pole sitters won the race:

- Nico Rosberg, 2016

- Valtteri Bottas, 2019

- Max Verstappen, 2025

Rosberg dominated the first Baku race for Mercedes, finishing more than 16 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Bottas then became the second driver to convert pole in 2019, ahead of Mercedes teammate Hamilton by just 1.524 seconds.

Nobody managed it again until Verstappen in 2025.

At most circuits, seeing the fastest car on Saturday struggle to finish the job on Sunday occasionally happens. In Baku, it is almost normal.

Daniel Ricciardo’s Epic Win

There’s another massive record that happened in Baku. Daniel Ricciardo started 10th in 2017 and won. It remains the lowest starting position for any Baku winner.

This race showed us just how quickly the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could unravel. There were crashes, Safety Cars, a red flag, and the infamous clash between Vettel and Hamilton behind the Safety Car.

Ricciardo emerged ahead of Bottas, while Lance Stroll completed the podium for Williams.

Ricciardo actually qualified 10th, so the starting position wasn’t created by a penalty that dropped a front-running car down. Hamilton had taken pole, while Ricciardo genuinely lined up on the fifth row.

Nobody has come from farther back to win since. That gives 2026 another record to watch out for. A winner from 11th or lower would be the biggest comeback victory Baku has seen. Considering what happened at the previous races, it would hardly be the most surprising Baku statistic.

Red Bull Is Baku's Most Successful Team

The individual winners list is varied, but the constructor numbers look steady. Red Bull has won five of the nine Baku races:

- 2017: Ricciardo

- 2021: Pérez

- 2022: Verstappen

- 2023: Pérez

- 2025: Verstappen

Ferrari's Baku Record Is One of the Strangest

Four consecutive poles would normally suggest at least one victory. Ferrari has none. The team came close with Vettel’s second place in 2016, and in 2018 when he started from pole position only for Hamilton to beat him for the trophy.

Leclerc then turned Ferrari into Baku's dominant qualifying team. However, the results from Saturday didn’t spill over to Sunday’s race. The closest he came to was in 2024.

Leclerc led early before Piastri attacked him after the pit stops. The McLaren driver got through and then spent much of the remaining race defending against the Ferrari, eventually winning by more than 10 seconds.

So, Ferrari arrives in Azerbaijan with a lot to prove.

The timing is also interesting. Now, Ferrari sits second in the Constructors' Championship with 346 points, behind Mercedes on 468 but ahead of McLaren on 287 and Red Bull on 1204. Hamilton and Leclerc are third and fifth in the Drivers' Championship.

Ferrari has already won twice in 2026, with Hamilton in Barcelona and Leclerc at Silverstone. A first Ferrari Baku victory now looks way more realistic than the stats may suggest.

The 2026 Championship Has a Very Different Leader

Baku has spent much of the last few seasons arriving during a Verstappen-led title race. Not this year.

Kimi Antonelli leads the Drivers' Championship with 267 points after winning seven out of 13 races so far.

Antonelli, in 2025, as a rookie, qualified fourth and finished in the same place. His 2026 season has moved to another level. He has already won in China, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monaco, Belgium and Italy. Mercedes leads the teams' standings as well, so a first Antonelli Baku victory would hardly qualify as an upset. It would, however, add an eighth different winning driver to the circuit's short history.

What Azerbaijan GP Records Could Fall in 2026?

There are several. The biggest is the wins record.

Verstappen or Pérez taking victory would make either man the first three-time Baku winner. Verstappen appears to be the far more realistic candidate based on current form, but Pérez being back on the grid at least keeps both record holders interesting to watch.

Leclerc can extend his pole record from four to five. No other driver can get remotely close in a single weekend. He could also finally convert his exceptional qualifying record into Ferrari's first victory at the circuit.

A winner starting below 10th would break Ricciardo's 2017 comeback record. A fourth pole to win would slightly improve Baku's low 33.3% historical conversion rate.

Verstappen could become the first driver to win consecutive Formula 1 races in Baku after his 2025 victory.

Red Bull could take its sixth circuit win and sixth victory in seven events.

And Leclerc's 1:43.009 race lap from 2019 could be erased after seven years. None of those records require an absurd set of circumstances, which could make the 2026 race one of a kind on the calendar.

The Race Is Difficult to Predict

Nine races are not enough to build the kind of statistical history found at Silverstone, Monza or Monaco. Baku is still one of Formula 1's younger venues. Yet its numbers already have a very clear pattern.

Seven drivers have won. Pérez and Verstappen share the record with only two victories each. Leclerc has four poles but no wins. Ricciardo came from 10th. Ferrari has repeatedly had the fastest qualifying car without ever winning. Red Bull has taken five victories, while only one third of Baku's pole drivers have actually finished Sunday in first place.

There’s not even a single outright record holder for Baku wins, with Pérez and Verstappen level on two each. The 2025 race added Verstappen to the top of that list and finally gave us another pole-to-win conversion.

The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix could rewrite several records. At a circuit where Saturday's fastest driver has lost twice as often as he has won, the starting grid will only tell part of the story.

That also makes small details important, such as a badly timed Safety Car or a slow pit stop, which can undo a strong weekend. The long run back toward the finish line also gives drivers more ways to attack than most street circuits.