Max Verstappen claimed the F1 world championship lead with victory in Monaco last time out and holds a four-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton as the title fight continues to intensify in 2021.
F1 sticks to street circuits moving on to the Azerbaijan GP at the Baku City Circuit, marking the track’s return to the F1 calendar after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It presents another slight unknown for all the teams – along with a first grand prix at the Baku track for Nicholas Latifi, Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and Yuki Tsunoda – which has hosted a total of four F1 races so far.
The first-ever F1 race in Baku was run under the European GP race name, won by Nico Rosberg for Mercedes in 2016, before Daniel Ricciardo won the inaugural Azerbaijan GP for Red Bull in 2017, with Mercedes dominating thereafter as Hamilton secured victory in 2018 and Valtteri Bottas claimed the win in 2019.
2021 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP session timings
F1 will continue to run its revised weekend schedule for 2021, with shorter practice sessions on Friday. Two free practice sessions lasting 60 minutes each (rather than the previous 90-minute sessions) are followed by an additional practice session also running for one hour on Saturday morning.
The Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout-style qualifying format is also being retained on Saturday afternoon to decide the grid for the Azerbaijan GP on Sunday.
F1 has also ditched starting races at 10 minutes past the hour mark for the 2021 season, with all races starting at the top of the hour.
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images
Friday 4th June 2021
Free Practice 1: 09:30am-10:30am BST (12:30pm-1:30pm local)
Free Practice 2: 1:00pm-2:00pm BST (4:00pm-5:00pm local)
Saturday 5th June 2021
Free Practice 3: 10:00am-11:00am BST (1:00pm-2:00pm local)
Qualifying: 1:00pm-2:00pm BST (4:00pm-5:00pm local)
Sunday 6th May 2021
Race: 1:00pm BST (4:00pm local)
How can I watch the Azerbaijan GP?
Channel: Sky Sports F1 HD
Channel numbers – Sky: 406
Channel numbers – Virgin Media: 506 (Sky Sports F1 HD)
Sky Sports has live and exclusive broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom with the build-up to the F1 race starting from 11:30am ahead of lights out at 1:00pm.
When can I watch the highlights?
· Channel: Channel 4
· Start time: Saturday qualifying 5:30pm, Sunday race 5:30pm
Channel 4 has the rights to show Azerbaijan GP highlights of qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG W10 leads the pack at the start of the race
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images
Will it be on the radio?
Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2021 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra stations.
Coverage of the Azerbaijan GP will start at 1:00pm BST on BBC Radio 5 Live, available on both DAB radio and the BBC Sounds app.
Will there be fans at the Azerbaijan GP?
Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the Azerbaijan GP will be closed to spectators for the entire race weekend.
Weather forecast for the Azerbaijan GP
Baku is set for largely sunny conditions throughout the race weekend, with a minimal chance of rain. Across the weekend highs of 26 degrees Celsius are predicted – around six degrees warmer than the hottest conditions at the Monaco GP.