Baku, decided by two tenths · Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026 · 26 September
Some Grands Prix are remembered for a car. Baku 2026 will be remembered for a gap: 0.196 seconds between George Russell and Max Verstappen. From the Paddock Club terrace above the pit lane, the last five laps were watched standing up.
The weekend
Baku is the only circuit where the paddock sits inside a UNESCO old town, and a Saturday race — moved for Remembrance Day — gave our guests an unusual rhythm: Thursday pit lane walk, Friday qualifying that produced Russell's biggest pole margin of his career, Saturday the race, and a Sunday in the city with nothing on the schedule but lunch.
Qualifying set the story. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes in the wall in Q1 and would start 16th; his teammate took pole. For our guests in the Marine Lounge by the Azneft grandstand, that was the moment the weekend became a race rather than a procession.
The race
Russell led from the start. Behind him the field folded and unfolded through two safety cars — the second after Franco Colapinto collected both Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly, ending the world champion's afternoon before it began. Each restart brought Verstappen closer. On the final lap he was within DRS range down the two-kilometre straight, and from the Icheri Sheher grandstand at Turn 12 you could hear the crowd decide it was going to happen.
It didn't. Russell held on by two tenths. Isack Hadjar took third, Red Bull's first double podium in two years. Antonelli recovered to fifth from sixteenth and kept the championship lead — narrower now.
What our guests had
The Paddock Club Suite for the full weekend, with the pit lane walk and the terrace above the garages. The Marine Lounge for those who wanted the harbour side, the food, and the old city walls at their back. And Icheri Sheher grandstand seats at Turn 12 for guests who came for the noise. Every group had chauffeured cars between the Four Seasons, the circuit gates and the Old City — the only sensible way to move in Baku on race weekend, when the city centre is the track.
What we'd change
Nothing about the seats. Everything about arrival: Baku's airport on Thursday evening is Formula 1's least glamorous hour, and next year every Obsidians guest lands with fast-track immigration included, not optional.
Next
Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Sepang, 2–4 October. Then Las Vegas, Qatar, and the finale at Yas Marina in December. Baku 2027 opens for booking in November — the Paddock Club Suite allocation is smaller than this year's.
concierge@obsidians.vip · +971 55 541 3508
Questions and answers
Who won the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
George Russell, 0.196 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen, with Hadjar third.
How did Antonelli do?
Kimi Antonelli finished fifth from 16th on the grid.
Can I attend the next races?
Yes, Obsidians books tickets and hospitality for the 2026 Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
Where did Verstappen finish?
Second, 0.196 seconds behind Russell.
Where can I watch the 2026 season finale?
At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 4–6 December 2026, at Yas Marina Circuit; Obsidians books tickets and the Paddock Club.