Carlos and Alex set for Baku with an updated FW48
Our duo preview the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend
Published
23 SEP 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
Having bid farewell to the European leg of the season, our sights are now set on the flyaway races, the first of which takes us to the streets of Baku.
Located where Eastern Europe and Western Asia meet, Azerbaijan celebrates a decade of Grand Prix racing this weekend as it hosts the first race of an intense triple-header.
The team are bringing an updated FW48 to the Baku City Circuit this weekend, and getting to grips with their new tools is something both drivers have spoken about ahead of Thursday’s practice.
Carlos Sainz:
"Baku is a track where I have good memories, coming away with my first podium for Williams last year, so it's great to be back. It's a track where there’s usually a lot of action between safety cars, red flags and easier overtaking than elsewhere, so we’ll be looking out for opportunities to capitalise on what happens around us.
"We're also bringing an upgrade this weekend, which is something the team back at Grove has been working incredibly hard to deliver and will hopefully put us closer to the midfield mix. The main focus for us this weekend is to learn as much as we can about how the upgrade behaves and use those learnings to maximise the rest of this season. This is an important step for the team and I'm looking forward to getting back out there."
Alex Albon:
"We’re headed into a busy stretch of flyaway races now, beginning with Baku this weekend. It’s such a unique track, with a mix of super narrow and wide sections, plus two long straights, and a real combination of corners. It's a proper mix, and I enjoy that about it.
"We're bringing our first proper upgrade this weekend, so I'm looking forward to getting up to speed with the car and seeing what performance it gives us here. We have a big gap to close and it’s not going to happen overnight, but we're taking those steady steps back to where we want to be, and hopefully this weekend's another one of those steps."
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