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What time is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix? Starting grid, how to watch and weather forecast today

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Cite

Flood, G. (2026, September 26). What time is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix? Starting grid, how to watch and weather forecast today. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/formula-one/azerbaijan-grand-prix-start-time-grid-how-to-watch-today-b1298458.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-26 · by George Flood

Quick Summary

The article provides details about the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix taking place on Saturday, September 26 at the Baku City Circuit. George Russell secured pole position after Antonelli's crash, followed by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri in second and third respectively. The race starts at 12pm BST (3pm local time) and can be watched live on Sky Sports in the UK. Weather forecast predicts a warm and sunny day with temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius and no expected rainfall.
Written by AI on 2026-09-26, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Kimi Antonelli surprisingly crashed out during qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, hitting the wall at the first corner and damaging his car's suspension, placing him 16th on the grid. His teammate George Russell secured pole position, despite Antonelli leading the Formula 1 standings by 81 points after 14 rounds.

Russell expressed confidence in his car's performance around the Baku City Circuit but acknowledged that Antonelli remains a threat due to previous performances from behind the starting grid. The race is set for Saturday, September 26, at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan, with temperatures expected to be warm and sunny. Apple TV offers a seven-day free trial to watch the race live streaming exclusively in the United States. Mercedes’ George Russell will start first ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri from McLaren starts third. The longest straight on the F1 calendar at Baku City Circuit highlights the importance of straight-line speed for this event. Despite Antonelli's poor qualifying position, he remains the championship leader and a contender for victory. Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr., Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Arvid Lindblad, Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, and others will also compete. The race is an early one for U.S. viewers starting at 7 a.m. ET on September 26. Despite the large point deficit, Russell aims to narrow it with a strong performance in Baku.

Written for “Azerbaijan Grand Prix” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Sports · 12 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 33 claims Outlet record 69/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 64/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The first article describes a practice session where Antonelli stopped due to a hydraulic leak, while the second article refers to a qualifying session where Antonelli crashed out of qualifying.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 61/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles refer to different stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and describe distinct incidents involving Antonelli's performance.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 36 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles refer to the same qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Article A describes the outcome of the session and Russell's pole position, whereas Article B focuses on live updates and Piastri starting third.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles describe a race in Azerbaijan involving Russell and Piastri, ARTICLE A focuses on qualifying results and pole position, while ARTICLE B discusses the actual race outcome.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
10
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
12
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7849 article(s) · 64 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 64 correction(s)

Who wrote this

George Flood
113 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Carrick is expected to be given the chance to turn things around at United and remains at the helm for another difficult-looking game away at Chelsea in Saturday’s lunchtime Premier League kick-off.
🔮 The 16-year-old sensation will now serve a three-match suspension after Arsenal’s appeal against his red card was dismissed by the Football Association (FA) on Thursday, meaning he will definitely not play any part against Liverpool as Arteta faces problems out wide.
🔮 When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
🔮 We will know soon enough.” Potential return date: Unknown, pending further assessment Emi Martinez Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper was hurt during a sickening accidental clash of heads that occurred during the second half of last weekend’s hard-fought 2-0 win at Everton.
🔮 Arsenal could reportedly be without Bukayo Saka for up to eight weeks with a quadriceps injury suffered against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, while the Everton game came too soon for fellow winger Christos Tzolis, who has been out for three weeks with a hamstring problem picked up while playing for Greece in the Nations League.
🔮 Joao Pedro is expected to undergo a scan on Sunday, after which a fuller picture will emerge in terms of how much time he is set to miss.
🔮 Both teams are building some momentum after stuttering starts to the season, though the Blues will have to cope with the shock absence of Joao Pedro through injury as Geovany Quenda makes his first start for the club along with Mike Penders.
🔮 Another win today would make it a record-breaking seventh in a row against their north London foes.
🔮 Though the club insist it is business as usual and that Carrick will remain in charge for Sunday’s home fixture against Bournemouth in the Premier League, there have been multiple reports that replacement candidates are already being sounded out.
🔮 Chelsea and Liverpool have received a new message in the race for Alex Scott, while Manchester United could overhaul their defensive options as they go back in for Lewis Hall, Adrien Truffert and Jarrad Branthwaite.
Also by George Flood
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 113 articles by George Flood →

Topics

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku Ferrari McLaren the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Subjects

Baku GPE · 3× Ferrari ORG · 3× McLaren ORG · 3× Alpine NORP · 2× Antonelli PERSON · 2× Azerbaijan GPE · 2× Charles Leclerc PERSON · 2× Mercedes ORG · 2× Oscar Piastri PERSON · 2× Red Bull ORG · 2×

Narrative

Russell took full advantage of that uncharacteristic mistake from the Italian, dominating thereafter to comfortably clinch pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. But he must turn that lead role into just a third victory of the season on the western shores of the Caspian Sea if he is to keep alive his hopes of still taking the title fight to runaway leader Antonelli with only nine races left to go this term.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 Saturday is set to be another warm and sunny day in Baku, where there will be only a moderate breeze and a high temperature of around 25 degrees.

Claims (10 extracted, 0 hedged)

That is after Antonelli surprisingly crashed out by hitting the wall in a rare error during the first session of qualifying on Friday, leaving him down in 16th position on the starting grid this weekend. asserted
Antonelli → crash → grid
Russell took full advantage of that uncharacteristic mistake from the Italian, dominating thereafter to comfortably clinch pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. But he must turn that lead role into just a third victory of the season on the western shores of the Caspian Sea if he is to keep alive his hopes of still taking the title fight to runaway leader Antonelli with only nine races left to go this term. asserted
races → take → Antonelli
The 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place today on Saturday, September 26 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan. asserted
Prix → take → Baku
The race is due to start at 12pm BST, which 3pm local time in Baku. asserted
race → start → Baku
That is to avoid a clash with Remembrance Day in Azerbaijan, which takes place on Sunday (September 27). asserted
which → avoid → Sunday
In the UK, the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is available to watch live on Sky Sports. asserted
Prix → watch → Sports
The main build-up starts at 11am BST on Saturday, with the race itself from 12pm. asserted
up → start → pm
Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the action live online through the Sky Go app. asserted
subscribers → catch → app
Saturday is set to be another warm and sunny day in Baku, where there will be only a moderate breeze and a high temperature of around 25 degrees. asserted
Saturday → set → degrees
There looks to be no chance of any rain playing a role in what is always an entertaining spectacle regardless. asserted
what → look → role
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