All you need to know about Azerbaijan Grand Prix as F1 battle heats up in Baku
Things are getting tight at the top of the F1 standings as the drivers race in Baku at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend.
Max Verstappen was as dominant as expected at the start of the season, but things have drastically changed in recent races with McLaren hunting the struggling Red Bulls down.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have managed to cut the deficit, albeit with some team order troubles, and the gap between the two rivals is now only eight.
In the driver’s standings, Verstappen still leads Norris but things are mightily close and it has set up a thrilling end to the season.
Charles Leclerc, who is coming off the back of a win in Italy, is also in contention, with a win for Ferrari, Norris or Verstappen potentially proving pivotal for their title chances.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Date and start time
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend is taking from Friday, September 13 through to Sunday, September 15.
All of the action will take place at the Baku City Circuit.
Practice 1 got underway at 10:30am UK time on Friday, with Practice Two happening later that day at around 2pm.
On Saturday, Practice Three starts at 9:30am before qualifying gets going at 1pm.
The race is expected to start at around 12pm on Sunday.
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Azerbaijan Grand Prix: How to follow
The race weekend will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1.
Sky Sports customers can live stream this via the app using their mobile, tablet or computer devices.
You can also purchase a Sky Sports Day Pass from NowTV for £14.99.
talkSPORT will also have live updates throughout the race from Jon Jackson.
To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
Listen via the talkSPORT app here, or on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: What has been said?
Oliver Bearman will be racing for Haas this weekend as he replaces Kevin Magnussen who has been handed a one-race ban for reaching 12 penalty points.
Speaking about the opportunity to race in Azerbaijan, Bearman said: “It’s definitely more of a challenge stepping in to race as a reserve driver, with limited prep-time and so on.
“But I’m in the fortunate position of having done it earlier in the year with Ferrari, so I can at least call on that experience.
“I’ve also had four FP1 sessions with Haas in the VF-24 already this season, so undoubtedly that will also prove to be valuable in tackling the full race weekend in Baku.
“The team is in good form at the moment and I’ll do my best to be prepared with the time we have available.
“The aim is to get out there and have a solid weekend in Azerbaijan.”
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Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Drivers’ standings
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 303
- Lando Norris, McLaren – 241
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 217
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 197
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 184
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 164
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull – 143
- George Russell, Mercedes – 128
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 50
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 24
- Nico Hulkenberg, Haas – 22
- Yuki Tsunoda, RB – 22
- Daniel Ricciardo, RB – 12
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 8
- Oliver Bearman, Ferrari – 6
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 6
- Alexander Albon, Williams – 6
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 5
- Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber – 0
- Logan Sargent, Williams – 0
- Franco Colapinto, Williams – 0
- Valtteri Bottas, Kick Sauber – 0