Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying – Start time, how to watch, channel
Formula 1 travels to Baku this weekend for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Here's how you can watch qualifying in your country.
Valtteri Bottas led a Mercedes front row lockout on F1's last visit to Baku in 2019, and even managed to convert that pole position into a fine victory ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton.
However, it was Red Bull which set the pace in Friday practice as the championship returned to Azerbaijan after two years, with Sergio Perez leading a 1-2 for the energy drinks giant ahead of teammate Max Verstappen.
Hamilton ended up more than seven tenths off the pace in seventh, with Bottas another tenth adrift in 10th.
Coming into Baku, Charles Leclerc had played down Ferrari's chances, saying he expects the Prancing Horse to go "back to reality" after its starring performance in Monaco. But contrary to his expectations, both Leclerc and Carlos Sainz looked strong on Friday, becoming the main challengers to the Red Bull duo.
What time does qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix start?
Qualifying will begin at Baku at 16:00 local time (+4 GMT). The three-part session will last approximately one hour.
- Date: Saturday, June 5, 2021
- Start time: 12:00 GMT / 13:00 BST / 14:00 CEST / 14:00 SAT / 15:00 EAT / 08:00 ET / 05:00 PT / 22:00 AEST / 21:00 JST / 17:30 IST
Can’t find your country or region in the list? Check the schedule page for the broadcast times in your local timezone.
2021 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix session timings in different timezones
| Session | GMT | BST | CEST | ET | PT | AEST | JST | IST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP1 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 04:30 | 01:30 | 18:30 | 17:30 | 14:00 |
| FP2 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 22:00 | 21:00 | 17:30 |
| FP3 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 05:00 | 02:00 | 19:00 | 18:00 | 14:30 |
| Qualifying | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 22:00 | 21:00 | 17:30 |
| Race | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 22:00 | 21:00 | 17:30 |
How can I watch qualifying?
Formula 1 is broadcast live in nearly every country around the world.
Europe:
- Austria - Servus TV / ORF
- Belgium - RTBF
- Denmark - TV3 / TV3 Sport / Viasat
- Finland - MTV
- France - Canal+
- Germany - Sky
- Hungary - M4
- Italy - Sky
- Netherlands - Ziggo
- Poland - Eleven Sports
- Portugal - Eleven Sports
- Spain - Movistar / DAZN
- Sweden - Viasat
- Switzerland - SRF / RSI / RTS
- UK - Sky Sports F1
Americas:
- USA - ESPN
- Canada - RDS / TSN / Discovery Velocity
- Latin America - Fox Sports / ESPN
Asia:
- China - CCTV / Tencent / Guangdong TV
- India - Star Sports
- Japan - Fuji Television
- Russia - Match TV
- Turkey - S Sport
- Rest of Asia - Fox Sports
Oceania:
- Australia - Fox Sports / Network 10
- New Zealand - Spark Sports
Africa:
- Africa - SuperSport
Can I stream qualifying?
Viewers from selected countries can subscribe to F1 TV to stream qualifying on a device of their choice. Some local broadcasters such as Sky TV (UK), Movistar (Spain), Disney+ Hotstar (India) also offer their own on-demand service.
Live commentary
Motorsport.com will bring the latest updates from Baku throughout the weekend, including live commentary during qualifying on Saturday.
FP1 results:
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 1'43.184 | |
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 1'43.227 | 0.043 |
| 3 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | Ferrari | 1'43.521 | 0.337 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |  | Red Bull | 1'43.630 | 0.446 |
| 5 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | McLaren | 1'43.732 | 0.548 |
| 6 |  Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | 1'43.757 | 0.573 |
| 7 |  Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | 1'43.893 | 0.709 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 1'43.996 | 0.812 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |  | Alpine | 1'44.777 | 1.593 |
| 10 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 1'44.891 | 1.707 |
| 11 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 1'44.943 | 1.759 |
| 12 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 1'45.092 | 1.908 |
| 13 |  Lance Stroll |  | Aston Martin | 1'45.234 | 2.050 |
| 14 |  Yuki Tsunoda | | AlphaTauri | 1'45.384 | 2.200 |
| 15 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Aston Martin | 1'45.415 | 2.231 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | | Alpine | 1'45.446 | 2.262 |
| 17 | George Russell |  | Williams | 1'45.452 | 2.268 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | | Williams | 1'45.774 | 2.590 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |  | Haas | 1'46.899 | 3.715 |
| 20 |  Nikita Mazepin |  | Haas | 1'46.945 | 3.761 |
| View full results | |||||
FP2 results:
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez |  | Red Bull | 1'42.115 | |
| 2 | Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 1'42.216 | 0.101 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | Ferrari | 1'42.243 | 0.128 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 1'42.436 | 0.321 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly |  | AlphaTauri | 1'42.534 | 0.419 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso |  | Alpine | 1'42.693 | 0.578 |
| 7 | Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 1'42.941 | 0.826 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 1'43.018 | 0.903 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |  | Alpine | 1'43.020 | 0.905 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda |  | AlphaTauri | 1'43.130 | 1.015 |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | | Mercedes | 1'43.156 | 1.041 |
| 12 | Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 1'43.220 | 1.105 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo |  | McLaren | 1'43.298 | 1.183 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll |  | Aston Martin | 1'43.812 | 1.697 |
| 15 | Sebastian Vettel |  | Aston Martin | 1'43.881 | 1.766 |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 1'44.184 | 2.069 |
| 17 | George Russell |  | Williams | 1'44.557 | 2.442 |
| 18 | Nikita Mazepin |  | Haas | 1'45.563 | 3.448 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |  | Haas | 1'46.095 | 3.980 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | 1'46.983 | 4.868 |
| View full results | |||||
FP3 results:
| Cla | # | Driver | Chassis | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | | AlphaTauri | 1'42.251 | |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | | Red Bull | 1'42.595 | 0.344 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | 1'42.697 | 0.446 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 1'42.778 | 0.527 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | | Ferrari | 1'43.006 | 0.755 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 1'43.011 | 0.760 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | | Alpine | 1'43.080 | 0.829 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda |  | AlphaTauri | 1'43.244 | 0.993 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | | Alpine | 1'43.294 | 1.043 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo |  | McLaren | 1'43.557 | 1.306 |
| 11 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | | Aston Martin | 1'43.585 | 1.334 |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll |  | Aston Martin | 1'43.682 | 1.431 |
| 13 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 1'43.745 | 1.494 |
| 14 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | | Alfa Romeo | 1'43.826 | 1.575 |
| 15 | 33 | Max Verstappen | | Red Bull | 1'43.984 | 1.733 |
| 16 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi |  | Williams | 1'44.054 | 1.803 |
| 17 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 1'44.113 | 1.862 |
| 18 | 63 | George Russell | | Williams | 1'44.434 | 2.183 |
| 19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher |  | Haas | 1'45.282 | 3.031 |
| 20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin |  | Haas | 1'45.711 | 3.460 |
| View full results | ||||||
Related video
The troubled Ferrari that was a game-changer for F1
Mercedes braced for "very difficult" Baku F1 qualifying
The underdog F1 squad that thrust Senna into the limelight
The Toleman TG184 was the car that could, according to legend, have given Ayrton Senna his first F1 win but for Alain Prost and Jacky Ickx at Monaco in 1984. That could be stretching the boundaries of the truth a little, but as STUART CODLING explains, the team's greatest legacy was in giving the Brazilian prodigy passed over by bigger outfits an opportunity
Why Aston Martin is unlikely to repeat Jaguar’s F1 mistakes
Two famous manufacturer teams born out of humble midfield origins, splashing the cash while attempting to rise to the top of F1 in record time. There are clear parallels between Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin and the doomed Jaguar Racing project of 22 years ago, but Mark Gallagher believes struggling Aston can avoid a similar fate.
How rejuvenated Haas recovered its F1 mojo
US-owned but until recently Russian-backed, Haas seems to have reached a turning point in car performance after three gruesome seasons. And it needs to if it’s to attract fresh investment. Team boss Gunther Steiner tells Oleg Karpov how close Haas came to the abyss.
How F1 race leaders have now lost their comfort blanket
As Formula 1 teams have settled down in understanding the new generation of cars and the way they need to maximise their performance, fresh lessons have emerged. Jonathan Noble investigates how they have brought with them an all-new kind of grand prix racing
Gilles Villeneuve's 10 greatest F1 drives
Formula 1 lost one of its brightest stars when Gilles Villeneuve was killed during practice for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. Forty years on, Motorsport.com picks out the greatest drives by a Ferrari legend
The silver lining of Ferrari’s Miami GP defeat
OPINION: Much was made of Formula 1’s first Miami Grand Prix – what turned out to be a very ‘marmite’ event for both those in attendance and everyone following on TV. But even as the on-track battle between Red Bull and Ferrari it produced continued the negative run of results for the red team, it contained a glimmer it must hope continues to shine
How imperfect Miami offered F1's drivers a unique challenge
OPINION: Despite all of the stylistic embellishments festooning Formula 1's inaugural Miami Grand Prix, the Miami International Autodrome offered the drivers a unique challenge and punished driver errors; a stark contrast to the usual cast of modern-day circuits
Why F1’s turbulent relationship with Russia is nothing new
Russia’s involvement in Formula 1 has been big on promise but short on delivery – then reached the end of the road prematurely. MARK GALLAGHER investigates why