The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held on Saturday, September 26, rather than the usual Sunday, because September 27 is Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day. The change shifts the weekend forward: the first two F1 practice sessions are scheduled for Thursday, September 24, final practice and qualifying for Friday, and the race for Saturday at noon UK time. Baku begins a flyaway triple-header, with Malaysia and Singapore next. The circuit combines a long, high-speed main straight—where cars can exceed 200mph—with a tight section through the old city, including the season’s narrowest track passage. Sky Sports reports warm, dry conditions are expected, with highs in the mid-20s. Its preview also says Kimi Antonelli leads the championship by 81 points after consecutive wins in Monza and Madrid, with eight rounds scheduled after Baku.

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Lewis Hamilton denies claims he is pushing Ferrari to replace key staff

Lewis Hamilton has denied reports in Italian media that he asked Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur to replace members of the team’s trackside staff. In an Instagram post on Thursday, ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Hamilton said he had never requested anyone on his team be replaced and praised the work and commitment of those around him. The denial follows a difficult spell for Ferrari and public scrutiny after the Italian Grand Prix, where Hamilton had called for clearer rules of engagement following a first-lap clash with Charles Leclerc. Hamilton said the team would continue working together. His comments address the staffing reports directly, while leaving his previously expressed concerns about on-track operations in view.

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STORY 3

WEEKEND STORY OBJECT

2026 Italian GP Debrief

Official website of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team involved in the most exciting car championship in the world.

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STORY 4

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A red flag stopped the race on lap 3.

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DATA STATUSSynchronizing viewCached context first · detailed sections stream next

CURRENT LEAD

Kimi Antonelli won after starting P19 for Mercedes, with George Russell second and Max Verstappen third.

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HOW AI SEES THE RACE FROM PURE DATA

Kimi Antonelli won after starting P19 for Mercedes, with George Russell second and Max Verstappen third. At the start, Pierre Gasly retained the lead, while Lewis Hamilton moved from P4 to P11 and Max Verstappen moved from P5 to P4. Max Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc for P3 on lap 2. Franco Colapinto overtook Max Verstappen for P3 on lap 6. On lap 23, George Russell became the race leader ahead of Kimi Antonelli. Around lap 28, Kimi Antonelli pitted during the VSC, moving from P2 to P5; Max Verstappen pitted during the VSC, moving from P3 to P6. Oscar Piastri overtook Max Verstappen for P3 on lap 42. Lando Norris passed Oscar Piastri for P4 after sustained late-race pressure. Kimi Antonelli overtook George Russell for P1 on lap 50.

RACE TIMELINE

Latest first

12 key points

L53

Finish: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1:51:15.281. Podium: P1 Kimi Antonelli 1:51:15.281; P2 George Russell +3.857; P3 Max Verstappen +14.718

OBSERVED · HIGH confidence · importance 100

L50

Kimi Antonelli overtook George Russell for P1 on lap 50

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 94

L50

Lap 50 at 14:50:06 UTC: Kimi Antonelli became the next reconstructed leader after George Russell; a provider-recorded position exchange involving the pair was recorded nearby; its cause is not classified

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 86

L43

Lando Norris repeatedly closed on Oscar Piastri late in the race: recorded close-following periods within 1.5s totaled 13m 27s, including 11m 29s within 1.0s; minimum recorded interval 0.019s. A provider-recorded position exchange near the battle window shows Lando Norris gaining the position from Oscar Piastri; the mechanism of that exchange is not classified

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 94

L42

Oscar Piastri overtook Max Verstappen for P3 on lap 42

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 94

L28

During the VSC, Kimi Antonelli (P2, lap 28), Max Verstappen (P3, lap 28) pitted while George Russell (P1) stayed out through the neutralization and for at least three minutes afterward; Kimi Antonelli later won while deployment leader George Russell was on the opposite side of the split

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 100

L23

Lap 23 at 14:10:17 UTC: George Russell became the next reconstructed leader after Kimi Antonelli; a provider-recorded position exchange involving the pair was recorded nearby; its cause is not classified

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 86

L15

Lap 15 at 13:59:09 UTC: George Russell became the next reconstructed leader after Max Verstappen; a provider-recorded position exchange involving the pair was recorded nearby; its cause is not classified

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 86

Franco COLAPINTO overtook Max Verstappen for P3 on lap 6

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 94

Max Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc for P3 on lap 2

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 94

Lap 2 at 13:05:07 UTC: George Russell became the next reconstructed leader after Pierre Gasly; a provider-recorded position exchange involving the pair was recorded nearby; its cause is not classified

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 86

Start: Pierre Gasly retained the lead through the first reconstructed post-start state. Top-five changes: Lewis Hamilton P4->P11; Max Verstappen P5->P4; Oscar Piastri P6->P5.

DERIVED · HIGH confidence · importance 68

CURRENT LEAD · INTELLIGENCE LOADINGSynchronizing dataLoading the stored race lead and timeline…

RACE ORDER · FINAL

Classification

FULL ORDER

POSDRIVERGAPINTTYREPTS

ANTKimi Antonelli · Mercedes

LEADER—

—

+252

RUSGeorge Russell · Mercedes

+3.857—

—

+183

VERMax Verstappen · Red Bull Racing

+14.718—

—

+154

NORLando Norris · McLaren

+19.056—

—

+125

PIAOscar Piastri · McLaren

+19.253—

—

+106

HAMLewis Hamilton · Ferrari

+24.655—

—

+8 7

GASPierre Gasly · Alpine

+27.351—

—

+6 8

LINArvid LINDBLAD · Racing Bulls

+45.136—

—

+4 9

COLFranco COLAPINTO · Alpine

+47.353—

—

+2 10

TSUYuki Tsunoda · Racing Bulls

+58.187—

—

+1 11

BORGabriel BORTOLETO · Audi

+1:05.187—

—

HULNico Hulkenberg · Audi

+1:06.187—

—

SAICarlos Sainz · Williams

+1:14.117—

—

LAWLiam Lawson · Red Bull Racing

+1:15.609—

—

BEAOliver BEARMAN · Haas F1 Team

+1:18.958—

—

OCOEsteban Ocon · Haas F1 Team

+6.591—

—

ALBAlexander Albon · Williams

+20.268—

—

PERSergio Perez · Cadillac

+1:13.372—

—

BOTValtteri Bottas · Cadillac

+12.880—

—

STRLance Stroll · Aston Martin

——

—

ALOFernando Alonso · Aston Martin

——

—

LECCharles Leclerc · Ferrari

——

—

RACE DATA

Race state

POSITION · TIMING · STRATEGY · EVENTS

RACE DISTANCE53 laps

CLASSIFIED22 drivers

OVERTAKES334

PIT STOPS30

POSITION TRACE

How the front fight evolved

Top 5 finishers · real session positions

ANTRUSVERNORPIA

RACE DATA · INTELLIGENCE LOADINGSynchronizing dataLoading position, timing, strategy and event layers…

RACE STORIES

Weekend story objects

27 linked stories · 4 per pageREPLAY RACE →

STORY 1

WEEKEND STORY OBJECT

Azerbaijan GP 2026: Saturday race, dates, schedule, Baku weather, UK start time and how to watch or stream F1 live on Sky Sports

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STORY 2

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Lewis Hamilton denies claims he is pushing Ferrari to replace key staff

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2026 Italian GP Debrief

Official website of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team involved in the most exciting car championship in the world.

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STORY 4

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A red flag stopped the race on lap 3.

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RACE INTELLIGENCE

What the stored race state is telling us

Stored intelligence · tap for evidence

NEUTRALIZATION SWING

Around lap 28, Kimi Antonelli pitted during the VSC, moving from P2 to P5; Max Verstappen pitted during the VSC, moving from P3 to P6.

Max Verstappen · Kimi Antonelli · George Russell

L28IMPORTANCE 100

VIEW EVIDENCE

EPISTEMICDERIVED

CONFIDENCEHIGH

SOURCES3

STRUCTURED EVIDENCERACE_NEUTRALIZATION_WINDOW · NEUTRALIZATION_STRATEGY_SPLIT · TURNING_POINT

OPEN MAX VERSTAPPEN RACE PAGE →OPEN KIMI ANTONELLI RACE PAGE →OPEN GEORGE RUSSELL RACE PAGE →

Overtake

Kimi Antonelli overtook George Russell for P1 on lap 50.

Kimi Antonelli · George Russell

L50IMPORTANCE 94

VIEW EVIDENCE

EPISTEMICDERIVED

CONFIDENCEHIGH

SOURCES1

STRUCTURED EVIDENCEON_TRACK_OVERTAKE

OPEN KIMI ANTONELLI RACE PAGE →OPEN GEORGE RUSSELL RACE PAGE →

OVERTAKE

Oscar Piastri overtook Max Verstappen for P3 on lap 42.

Max Verstappen · Oscar Piastri

L42IMPORTANCE 94

VIEW EVIDENCE

EPISTEMICDERIVED

CONFIDENCEHIGH

SOURCES1

STRUCTURED EVIDENCEON_TRACK_OVERTAKE

OPEN MAX VERSTAPPEN RACE PAGE →OPEN OSCAR PIASTRI RACE PAGE →

DRIVER ARCS

Each driver’s race, from grid to finish

Expand the arc · open the race-specific driver page

P1ANTKimi AntonelliVictory from P19—

RACE ARCKimi Antonelli won from P19. Kimi Antonelli moved from P2 to P5 around the VSC pit sequence on lap 28.

MEDIUM confidence · evidence-backed race arc

STARTP19

FINISHP1

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P2RUSGeorge RussellPass for P1 on lap 23—

RACE ARCGeorge Russell finished P2, where the race started. George Russell overtook Kimi Antonelli for P1 on lap 23.

MEDIUM confidence · evidence-backed race arc

STARTP2

FINISHP2

RACE INTELLIGENCE · INTELLIGENCE LOADINGSynchronizing dataLoading stored race narrative, key events and driver arcs…