Ferrari personnel associated with the operation of the car were found inside the circuit during the 12.5-hour curfew that began at 9pm local time on Thursday, 24 September, according to the FIA’s decision document at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The governing body ruled that no penalty was warranted.
“This was the second (2) of the four (4) individual exceptions permitted for the Scuderia Ferrari HP team during the 2026 Formula One Championship season and therefore no action should be taken,” the FIA stated.
Under Formula 1’s sporting regulations, each team is allowed four such curfew breaches across a season before sanctions can be considered. The overnight window is designed to force teams to rest their mechanics between sessions, and any personnel connected to running the cars are barred from being on-site while it is in force.
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Racing Bulls and Haas received the same treatment. Both teams were ruled to have used their third exception of the season, with no further action taken against either.
Not Ferrari’s first breach of 2026
Ferrari had already picked up their first curfew violation of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix in late July, when team personnel were on-site during the overnight window at the Hungaroring. That case was also cleared without penalty.
Two exceptions remain for Scuderia Ferrari HP for the rest of the 2026 season, which still has several rounds to run.
Leclerc facing likely engine penalty
The regulatory decision landed inside a testing weekend for the Italian team. Charles Leclerc arrived in Baku already at the limit on all seven of his power-unit components after his crash at Monza’s Parabolica damaged a new engine.
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Team principal Fred Vasseur has hinted a grid drop is likely on this street circuit, where the long run down to Turn 1 offers unusually strong overtaking chances.
“We’ll see when we have to take an engine penalty with Charles, but I think Baku should be quite suitable,” Vasseur said.
Leclerc declined to spell out Ferrari’s plan at Wednesday’s pre-race press conference.
“I won’t go too much into the detail on what’s the plan and what engine we will use or not, because that’s still something strategic for us,” the Monegasque said.
He added that his repaired Monza engine is “definitely back in the pool of engines that we can use, so that’s a good thing”.
Race brought forward by 24 hours
The Baku weekend is running on an unusual timetable. The race has been brought forward from Sunday to Saturday, 26 September, to avoid a clash with Azerbaijan’s Remembrance Day, which is marked on 27 September. Qualifying takes place on Friday afternoon.
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