Mercedes arrives in Azerbaijan for the opening round of the first of three triple-headers that close the 2026 Formula 1 season. The team says its recent form, including a strong weekend in Madrid, has not changed its view that several teams can fight at the front on any given weekend. Baku also marks a milestone: the Azerbaijan Grand Prix celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.
Mercedes has published its preview for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the race that opens the first of three triple-headers on the run to the end of the season. Issued from the team’s Brackley base on 22 September, the preview strikes a deliberately cautious note despite two encouraging recent results.
A cautious read on recent form
According to the team, the last two race weekends went well but have not altered its assessment of the competitive picture: several teams are capable of fighting at the very front on any given weekend. Mercedes points out that its strong showing in Madrid was helped by events falling its way during the race, and says it is looking at the situation realistically.
The triple-header format is framed as a test of the whole organisation rather than just the race team. With very little recovery time between events, the team says preparation, reliability and operational execution become even more important — the phases of a season in which a championship position is consolidated or lost, both at the factories and at the track.
Why Baku exposes weaknesses
The Baku City Circuit is described by the team as one of the most unusual venues on the calendar and a demanding one for drivers and cars alike. A competitive lap needs straight-line speed, confidence under braking and a car that copes with the slow corners of the old town section. Recent results guarantee nothing here, the team says: Baku tends to reveal weaknesses very quickly.
From the driver’s side, the long straights make energy management critical, while the layout offers some of the best overtaking opportunities of the year. Going quickly means using every centimetre of the road and running close to the walls — particularly through sector two, where the corners are extremely tight and the barriers are within reach. Carrying speed through that section can make a significant difference over a qualifying lap, but the smallest mistake usually means damage and an early end to the session.
Ten years in Azerbaijan
This year’s race is a milestone: the event marks its tenth anniversary. Formula 1 first visited Baku in 2016 under the European Grand Prix name, and the race has been known as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix since. It hosted a sprint weekend once, in 2023, and moved to a September slot for the first time in 2024 after previously running in April or May.
The circuit is the fourth-longest on this year’s Formula 1 calendar. Its 2.2 km (1.4-mile) start-finish straight makes life awkward for the leader at a restart, because the slipstream leaves them vulnerable into Turn 1. The city’s name, the team notes, derives from the Persian “Bad-kuye” — city of wind — and “Bad-kube”, meaning struck by wind, both references to the strong winds that blow through Baku.
Mercedes’ record at the track
Mercedes has won three times in Baku with three different drivers: Nico Rosberg in 2016, Lewis Hamilton in 2018 and Valtteri Bottas in 2019. George Russell has won there too, taking the Formula 2 sprint race in 2018, while third driver Frederik Vesti scored his first F2 victory in the 2022 Baku sprint. Kimi Antonelli has also been on the podium in Azerbaijan, finishing third in the 2024 Formula 2 feature race.
Facts: Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026
- Venue: Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan
- Status: tenth anniversary of the event; first held in 2016 as the European Grand Prix
- Circuit length ranking: fourth-longest on the 2026 F1 calendar
- Start-finish straight: 2.2 km (1.4 miles)
- Sprint weekends held: one, in 2023
- Mercedes wins: Rosberg (2016), Hamilton (2018), Bottas (2019)
The race opens the first of three triple-headers that bring the 2026 season to a close.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com