Why is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on a Saturday? Start time, schedule, TV channel and FREE live stream

F1 has a Saturday race this weekend as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place around the streets of Baku.

Saturday September 26 stages Round 15 of the 2026 world championship - 24 hours earlier than normal to avoid a clash with the country's Remembrance Day on Sunday.

Mercedes star George Russell will head into the 51-lap race on pole position after a blistering lap in Qualifying on Friday. Closest rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was more than eight tenths away in P2.

It was a miserable session for some of the sport's biggest guns with Lewis Hamilton (P6) and Max Verstappen (P8) way off the pace and championship leader Kimi Antonelli exiting in Q2 after his Mercedes made heavy contact with a wall in Q1.

The final countdown is now on to lights out, and we have all the key schedule and TV information for you.

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2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix schedule and start time

Lights out for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is at 3pm local time later today (Saturday September 26). That is 12pm in the UK, 1pm CEST and 7am Eastern in the US.

Find the race start time converted to your local time zone below:

2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Start Time

Race - Saturday September 26, 2026

How to watch the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix live on TV today

As ever, Sky Sports F1 will broadcast the race live in the UK, with Channel 4 having a highlights package later on Saturday.

Apple TV is the new broadcaster of choice in the US after signing a landmark $750million five-year deal (free trial available for new viewers).

There is also great news with another free option thanks to Azerbaijan free-to-air network Idman TV broadcasting the race locally.

Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Check below to see how to tune in for some major countries:

Where to watch: F1 2026 broadcasters by region

* US F1 fans can make use of a seven-day free trial with Apple TV and watch the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for no extra cost. To sign up to Apple TV, click here.

F1TV Pro also carries coverage of the sport, depending on which territory you are in.

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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