Why the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be held on a non-standard day
The 15th stage of the Formula 1 championship this season will be held in Baku from Thursday, September 24, to Saturday, September 26, and not from Friday to Sunday, as is usually the case in the “royal races”. Why - in the material "RBC Sport"
The Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, the 15th stage of the Formula 1 championship, this season will be held from September 24 to 26.
Grand Prix races are usually held on Sundays, but in Baku, as an exception, the stage will be held on different dates: from the first free races on Thursday to the race on Saturday.
Such an unusual shift is associated with the request of the Grand Prix organizers. On September 27, Azerbaijan celebrates Remembrance Day, the day of the beginning of the Second Karabakh War in 2020. As this year's public holiday coincides with Sunday, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has agreed to move the race to Saturday.
Formula 1 Grand Prix races are rarely held outside of Sunday, although there have been precedents. For example, the 2024 Saudi Grand Prix took place on Saturday as Ramadan began the next day. This also forced the previous race to be postponed to Saturday (in Bahrain), as F1 regulations require a seven-day interval between stages.
Some Grand Prix are held on Saturdays intentionally. Since the return of the Las Vegas Grand Prix to the calendar in 2023, the race has been held on Saturday night, allowing European viewers to watch it early on Sunday morning, taking into account the time difference. In addition, until 1975, the British Grand Prix was also held on Saturday due to the laws in force then in the country restricting the holding of events on Sundays.
