Formula 1 arrives in Baku with several important changes for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, including an unusual Saturday race, newly resurfaced sections of the street circuit and a different Pirelli tyre selection compared with last season.
After racing at Madring, the championship moves from one street venue to another, but the challenge could hardly be more different. The 6.003-kilometre Baku City Circuit combines 20 corners and the narrow confines of the old city with an exceptionally long flat-out section, creating an unusual compromise between low-speed performance, traction and straight-line efficiency. The characteristics could be particularly significant for Ferrari after the team’s difficult recent run with the SF-26.
2026 Azerbaijan GP schedule moves the race to Saturday
The first major difference concerns the structure of the race weekend. Rather than following Formula 1’s conventional Friday-to-Sunday format, the entire Baku programme has been brought forward by one day, with the Grand Prix taking place on Saturday.
FP1 and FP2 will therefore be held on Thursday, followed by qualifying on Friday and the race on Saturday. The Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time. Fans can find the complete session timetable and broadcast information in the 2026 Azerbaijan GP schedule.
The compressed Thursday-to-Saturday format means teams will begin their track preparations earlier than usual, and the opening practice sessions will carry another point of interest because parts of the circuit have recently been resurfaced.
Fresh asphalt awaits Formula 1 in three areas of Baku
Pirelli has indicated that resurfacing work has been completed in sections around Turns 2, 3 and 4 ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The changes are limited to specific areas rather than representing a complete resurfacing of the Baku City Circuit, and the Italian tyre supplier does not expect them to have a major influence on tyre behaviour.
Nevertheless, track evolution is likely to remain an important factor during Thursday practice. Baku shares one familiar characteristic with many temporary street circuits: grip is relatively low when running begins before increasing rapidly as the cars deposit rubber on the racing line.
The combination of a naturally evolving street surface and newly laid asphalt should therefore give the teams additional information to evaluate during FP1 and FP2. Understanding how grip develops will be important before attention turns to qualifying, particularly on a circuit where track position has historically carried considerable importance.
Pirelli changes compounds for the 2026 Azerbaijan GP
There is also a notable change to the tyre allocation. Pirelli has selected the C3 as the Hard, C4 as the Medium and C5 as the Soft for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
That represents a change from the previous season, when a softer compound range was chosen and the C6 occupied the Soft position. The C6 ultimately went unused during last year’s race.
Baku’s relatively non-abrasive asphalt normally keeps tyre wear and degradation under control, making a one-stop race the most likely strategic scenario. The characteristics of the surface could also allow teams to extend stints on the C5, as seen at recent events such as Monza, while reducing the appeal of the Hard compound for some cars.
Baku’s enormous straight creates a tyre-temperature challenge
Low degradation does not mean tyre management is straightforward in Azerbaijan. One of Baku’s distinctive challenges comes from the long flat-out run between the final corner and Turn 1, where the tyres can lose a significant amount of temperature before the cars reach the next major braking zone.
That temperature loss can make the approach to heavy braking particularly demanding. Cooler tyres offer less grip and can increase the possibility of locking a wheel, especially at the front. The urban environment adds another variable, with shadows from the surrounding buildings helping to limit asphalt temperatures in some areas.
The same circuit characteristics also create a difficult aerodynamic compromise. Cars need strong traction for the repeated acceleration phases out of Baku’s slow corners, but the huge flat-out section rewards low drag and straight-line efficiency. For Ferrari, that balance adds to a weekend already expected to provide an important examination of the SF-26, including the energy-management demands of Baku’s long full-throttle sections.
Charles Leclerc’s Baku qualifying record stands out
The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be the tenth Formula 1 event staged on the streets of Baku when the inaugural 2016 European Grand Prix is included.
For Ferrari, one of the circuit’s most striking statistics belongs to Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque holds the Baku record for pole positions with four, underlining his particularly strong qualifying record around a venue where precision through the narrow old-city section has to be combined with confidence under braking and speed on the long straights.
Race victories tell a different story. Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are the only drivers with multiple Baku wins, having each taken two victories, while Red Bull is the most successful team at the circuit with five wins.
Leclerc’s qualifying history gives Ferrari an encouraging reference point, but the demands of the 2026 weekend will extend far beyond a single flying lap. The new asphalt, revised Pirelli compounds, rapidly evolving grip and extreme straight-line requirements will all have to be understood quickly during Thursday practice before the field moves into qualifying just one day later. The event also arrives at an important stage of Ferrari’s season, with the Scuderia facing questions over how the remaining development of the SF-26 can contribute to its longer-term programme.
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