2026 Azerbaijan GP weather: 70 km/h gusts could hit Baku qualifying

Ferrari SF-26, power unit, engine, rear wing, 2026 F1

The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weather forecast points to a dry Formula 1 weekend in Baku, but strong winds could become an important factor during Friday qualifying. According to AccuWeather.com, skies should remain partly sunny from Thursday through Saturday, while gusts could reach as high as 70 km/h on Friday afternoon.

Rain is not expected to play a significant role at any stage of the weekend. Instead, the main weather concern will be the wind during qualifying, with conditions expected to become considerably more intense on Friday than on either Thursday or Saturday.

From Madrid to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

After Formula 1’s first-ever visit to the Madrid street circuit, which has become the new home of the Spanish Grand Prix, the championship moves this weekend to the much more familiar Baku City Circuit, another street venue. The action will take place in Azerbaijan, with the now-confirmed programme culminating in the Grand Prix on Saturday. The full timings for every session are available in the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix schedule.

What will the two capital-city Grands Prix have in common? According to data provided by AccuWeather.com, their weather conditions should be broadly similar, although there are some notable differences.

2026 Azerbaijan GP weather: strong winds expected for qualifying

As in Spain, Azerbaijan is expected to enjoy mostly clear conditions, although there should be slightly more cloud cover in Baku. Temperatures will also be lower, with the maximum not expected to exceed 30°C at any point between Thursday and Saturday.

The standout feature of the forecast is the strong wind expected on Friday, when qualifying will take place. Average wind speeds are predicted to reach 32 km/h from the west-southwest, while gusts could climb as high as 70 km/h. Those are by far the strongest gusts forecast across the three days and could make qualifying the most weather-sensitive session of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.

Rain, meanwhile, is effectively absent from the forecast. The probability of precipitation stands at only 1% on Thursday and Friday before dropping to 0% for Saturday’s race.