Why was the Azerbaijan Grand Prix moved to Saturday? Formula 1 schedule shake-up explained

Formula 1 fans tuning in to watch the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as normal on Sunday are going to be bitterly disappointed... they will have missed all the action from Baku.

Indeed, though the usual runners and riders will be pushing for the podium, this is no normal race weekend.

Drivers' Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, those on his tail, including Mercedes teammate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, and the rest of the field will need to adapt to a shake-up of the usual schedule.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on Saturday, rather than Sunday, with practice and qualifying bumped forward to Thursday and Friday as a result. The full race schedule can be found here.

Whether that will impact how things play out around the Baku City Circuit and knock anyone off their game remains to be seen but we do know why the race was moved from its usual slot on Sunday.

Radio Times breaks down why the Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held on a Saturday in 2026.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been moved to Saturday to ensure it doesn't clash with the country's national Remembrance Day, which is held on 27 September every year.

The public holiday – called Azərbaycanda Anım Günü in Azerbaijani – is dedicated to the members of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and others who died in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, which was fought between 27 September and 10 November in 2020.

In a 2026 calendar update last June, F1 and the FIA confirmed that they'd agreed to move this year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Sunday 27 September to Saturday 26 September to "accommodate a national day" after a request from the race's "Azerbaijan promoter and relevant government stakeholders".

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Though Sunday is the traditional day for a Grand Prix, there is precedent for moving races to Saturdays.

Between 1950 and 1983, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was mostly held on a Saturday, to observe Sunday as the Christian day of rest, while the South African Grand Prix was held on a Saturday (18 times), a Friday (once) and a Monday (twice) as it took place on New Year's Day.

In 2024, the Grand Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were moved to Saturdays because of the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix has been held on Saturday evening local time since 2023. That change was made for two reasons – to ensure the Las Vegas Strip was lit up during the race and so European viewers could watch in the usual Sunday morning slot.

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Authors

Ned is a sports writer at RadioTimes.com. He has covered a host of sports from EFL football, international cricket and golf all the way through to bike polo and triathlon.