Azerbaijan Grand Prix: session start times for F1 weekend
21st September 2026Formula 1 heads east as the sport moves away from Europe and into Azerbaijan, and here is the session start times for the unusual weekend.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
F1 has officially concluded the European stage of its 2026 championship, with the sport returning to Baku, Azerbaijan this weekend for the first grand prix of an All-Asian triple header, consisting of Azerbaijan, Malaysia (for the Bahrain Grand Prix) and the Singapore Grand Prix.
However, it will be an unusual weekend as the entire event has been brought forward by a day. This comes after the event requested F1 to make adjustments to respect their Remembrance Day, relating to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, more commonly known as the Patriotic War.
The war took place in 2020, with 2,783 Azerbaijani soldiers being killed in the conflict.
As a result of the request, the entire weekend was confirmed to be brought forward, meaning Thursday’s usual media day will take place on Wednesday. Free Practice will be conducted on Thursday, qualifying on Friday and the race on Saturday.
However, its not the only time F1 has raced on Saturdays. More recently, the Las Vegas Grand Prix takes place on a Saturday, at local time, since it joined the calendar. Additionally, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were recently held on a Saturday to respect the tradition of Ramadan.
So, with this move in the schedule, what are the official starting times of the weekend?
Weather report: latest forecast ahead of F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
*** ALL TIMES ARE DISPLAYED IN LOCAL TIME TO THE EVENT ***
Thursday
Free Practice 1 – 12:30
Free Practice 2 – 16:00
Friday
Free Practice 3 – 12:30
Qualifying – 16:00
Saturday
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – 15:00
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
