Why the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held on a Saturday
The 2026 Formula 1 campaign will resume in Azerbaijan with an unusual schedule: the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be contested on Saturday 26 September, rather than Sunday 27 September.
The race was initially scheduled for Sunday, but Formula 1 confirmed in June last year that the change was made âfollowing a request from the Azerbaijan promoter and relevant government stakeholdersâ. The adjustment moves the entire weekend forward by one day and brings the event into line with Azerbaijanâs national day of mourning.
Azerbaijan Remembrance Day is held annually on 27 September. It is dedicated to military personnel and those who died during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, also known as the Patriotic War.
The date has particular significance because the conflict began on 27 September 2020 in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The war lasted 44 days and ended in an Azerbaijan victory, while also triggering anti-government protests in Armenia. According to the Azerbaijan government, 2,783 of its soldiers were killed during the conflict.
With Remembrance Day falling on the Sunday, the 2026 F1 timetable will shift forward: media day will take place on Wednesday, free practice sessions one and two on Thursday, and final practice and qualifying on Friday. The 51-lap grand prix will then run on Saturday.
The change also gives the Baku weekend a distinctive rhythm before the championship moves into its Asian and American flyaway phase. Williams is expected to introduce a B-spec car in Baku, adding another point of interest to the first race after the European leg.
Saturday races are unusual, but not unprecedented
Sunday has become the standard day for a Formula 1 grand prix, but Saturday races have appeared repeatedly across the championshipâs history.
The first world championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, was held on a Saturday. The British event continued on that day each year until 1975, meaning non-Sunday grands prix were once far more common.
The Indianapolis 500 was also technically part of the championship between 1950 and 1960. It traditionally ran on 30 May, although races moved to the following day when that date fell on a Sunday.
The 1985 South African Grand Prix was the final non-Sunday race until Las Vegas returned to the calendar in 2023. Las Vegas has raced on Saturday every year since, while Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also held Saturday grands prix in 2024 because of the start of Ramadan.
Bakuâs 2026 edition will therefore be unusual, but it is far from without precedent.
Simone Scanu
Heâs a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.