BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – SEPTEMBER 13: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on September 13, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
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Formula 1 heads to the streets of Baku this weekend for the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, running from September 19 to 21.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull proved dominant last time out at Monza, having converted pole position into a stunning victory on Sunday – winning the race in a record-breaking time of 1:13:24.325 (the fastest race in F1 history) and at a record-breaking speed of 250.706 km/h (155.791 mph).
This win has strengthened the Dutchman’s third position in the drivers’ standings but he still has a bit of a gap to close with McLaren teammates and title rivals Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
As for McLaren, the Monza race was not without drama as it stirred up controversy surrounding late team orders. The Woking squad opted to pit third-place Piastri before second-place Norris, who later suffered a slow pit stop.
Norris’ botched pit stop cost him P2 as he emerged behind his teammate on the track, but McLaren were quick in instructing their drivers to swap places on lap 49 of 53, much to Piastri’s chagrin, although he then complied with the order.
Norris crossed the finish line in second ahead of Piastri, shrinking the gap between them in the standings to just 31 with eight races remaining in the season.
MONZA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 07: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing Second placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren Third placed Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren and Pierre Wache, Technical Director of Oracle Red Bull Racing on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 07, 2025 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
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Now heading to Baku for the first of a series of flyaway races, the title battle between the McLaren duo is set to take centre stage once again. Both drivers will be looking to grab as many points as possible in their quest for a maiden drivers’ championship.
McLaren is also on the brink of securing their second consecutive championship, now sitting pretty at the top of the constructors’ standings with 617 points and needing just a one-two finish – or to outscore Ferrari by nine points – in Baku to clinch the title.
But since Baku presents one of F1’s most challenging tests with its tight and twisting corners that punish the smallest of mistakes, the McLaren pair will need to keep their wits about them to bring home the team’s first trophy of the season in what has been such a stellar year for them.
F1 Baku City Circuit Stats
- First Grand Prix: 2016
- Circuit Length: 6.003km (3.730 miles)
- Race Distance: 306.049km (190.170 miles)
- Number of Laps: 51
- Number of Turns: 20
- Lap Record: 1:43.009 – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (2019)
- Most Wins (Driver): Sergio Perez (2)
- Most Wins (Constructor): Red Bull (4)
- Most Pole Positions (Driver): Charles Leclerc (4)
- Most Pole Positions (Constructor): Ferrari (5)
F1 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Schedule
Round 17 of the season in Baku kicks off with Free Practice 1 (FP1) on Friday, September 19, at 12:30 p.m. local time, followed by Free Practice 2 (FP2) later in the day at 4 p.m.
On Saturday, September 20, drivers will climb into their cars for the final practice run (FP3) at 12:30 p.m. before they fight for grid positions in qualifying at 4 p.m.
The 51-lap race will get underway at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 21.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: Free Practice 1 Start Times
All below start times are on Friday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time: 12:30 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 4:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 3:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 1:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 2:30 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 9:30 a.m.
- Central European Time (CEST): 10:30 a.m.
- Australia (AEST): 6:30 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 4:30 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 6 p.m.
- Brazil (GMT-3): 5:30 a.m.
- Saudi Arabia: 11:30 a.m.
- Japan Standard Time (JST): 5:30 p.m.
- Indian Standard Time (IST): 2 p.m.
- China Standard Time (CST): 4:30 p.m.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: Free Practice 2 Start Times
All below start times are on Friday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time: 4 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 8 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 7 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 5 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 6 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 1 p.m.
- Central European Time (CEST): 2 p.m.
- Australia (AEST): 10 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 8 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 9:30 p.m.
- Brazil (GMT-3): 9 a.m.
- Saudi Arabia: 3 p.m.
- Japan Standard Time (JST): 9 p.m.
- Indian Standard Time (IST): 5:30 p.m.
- China Standard Time (CST): 8 p.m.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: Free Practice 3 Start Times
All below start times are on Saturday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time: 12:30 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 4:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 3:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 1:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 2:30 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 9:30 a.m.
- Central European Time (CEST): 10:30 a.m.
- Australia (AEST): 6:30 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 4:30 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 6 p.m.
- Brazil (GMT-3): 5:30 a.m.
- Saudi Arabia: 11:30 a.m.
- Japan Standard Time (JST): 5:30 p.m.
- Indian Standard Time (IST): 2 p.m.
- China Standard Time (CST): 4:30 p.m.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: Qualifying Start Times
All below start times are on Saturday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time: 4 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 8 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 7 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 5 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 6 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 1 p.m.
- Central European Time (CEST): 2 p.m.
- Australia (AEST): 10 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 8 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 9:30 p.m.
- Brazil (GMT-3): 9 a.m.
- Saudi Arabia: 3 p.m.
- Japan Standard Time (JST): 9 p.m.
- Indian Standard Time (IST): 5:30 p.m.
- China Standard Time (CST): 8 p.m.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025: Race Start Times
All below start times are on Sunday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time: 3 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 7 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 6 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 4 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 5 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 12 p.m.
- Central European Time (CEST): 1 p.m.
- Australia (AEST): 9 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 7 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 8:30 p.m.
- Brazil (GMT-3): 8 a.m.
- Saudi Arabia: 2 p.m.
- Japan Standard Time (JST): 8 p.m.
- Indian Standard Time (IST): 4:30 p.m.
- China Standard Time (CST): 7 p.m.
How To Watch 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Fans in the United States can catch the live action across ESPN platforms. ESPNU will broadcast Free Practice 1 (FP1) and Free Practice 2 (FP2), while ESPN2 will stream Free Practice 3 (FP3) and qualifying. Sunday’s race can be watched on ESPN, with Spanish coverage available throughout the weekend on ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes.
Meanwhile viewers in the United Kingdom can tune in to Sky Sports for extensive coverage of the weekend.
In select regions, F1 TV Pro subscribers can tune in for live coverage on any device, along with the opportunity to catch up on full session replays and highlights afterwards.
Below is the broadcast information for some key territories:
- United States: ESPN
- United Kingdom: Sky Sports
- Italy: Sky Italia
- Netherlands: Viaplay TV
- Belgium: RTBF, Play Sports
- Australia: Fox Sports, Foxtel, Kayo
- Japan: Fuji TV, DAZN
- Austria: Servus TV, ORF
- Canada: RDS, RDS 2, TSN, Noovo
- China: Tencent
- New Zealand: Sky NZ
- Spain: DAZN
- Germany: Sky Deutschland, RTL
- France: Canal+
- Portugal: DAZN
- Mexico: Fox Sports Mexico, Televisa
- Singapore: beIN SPORTS
- Brazil: Bandeirantes, Bandsports
- Middle East and Turkey: beIN SPORTS
- Latin America: ESPN
- Africa: SuperSport
Highlights from each day of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend will be available on F1’s YouTube channel.
F1 Drivers’ Standings Ahead Of The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren): 324 points
- Lando Norris (McLaren): 293 points
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing): 230 points
- George Russell (Mercedes): 194 points
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 163 points
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): 117 points
- Alexander Albon (Williams): 70 points
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): 66 points
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls): 38 points
- Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber): 37 points
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): 32 points
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): 30 points
- Esteban Ocon (Haas): 28 points
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine): 20 points
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls): 20 points
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber): 18 points
- Oliver Bearman (Haas): 16 points
- Carlos Sainz (Williams): 16 points
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing): 12 points
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine): 0 points
F1 Constructors’ Standings Ahead Of The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- McLaren: 617 points
- Ferrari: 280 points
- Mercedes: 260 points
- Red Bull Racing: 239 points
- Williams: 86 points
- Aston Martin: 62 points
- Racing Bulls: 61 points
- Kick Sauber: 55 points
- Haas: 44 points
- Alpine: 20 points