Formula 1 heads to the streets of Baku this weekend for the fourth round of the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the final early flyaway. Motorsport Week delves into the key information.
History
Azerbaijan joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2016 at a street circuit encompassing the old and new of the country’s capital city Baku, located on a peninsula adjacent to the Caspian Sea.
The event was given the European Grand Prix moniker for its inaugural race in 2016, but took up the Azerbaijan title last year, a name it has retained for 2018.
Initially installed in a June date, Azerbaijan is one of two races on the calendar to switch positions, moving forward to make way for France’s return, with Russia taking up the September spot vacated by Malaysia.
Circuit
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The 20-turn 6.003km circuit has been described as a mixture of Monaco and Monza, with elements of Macau, presenting teams and drivers with several challenges.
The track is the second longest on the calendar, featuring an extremely long full-throttle section and a back straight longer than many start/finish lines on other circuits.
But while half of the lap is packed with full-throttle sections and third-gear 90-degree bends, the other half provides an entirely different challenge – a narrow, twisty section past the Old City, and a sequence of low- to medium-speed blind turns, with the wall mere inches away.
The Turn 8/9/10 section, where drivers wind their way through narrow residential areas and brush the historic castle, is the track’s iconic complex, the width a mere 7.6 metres, as drivers grapple with camber changes and a sharp incline.
Just as crucial is getting good traction out of Turn 16 and picking a braking point almost half a minute later at Turn 1 – especially with the brakes having cooled significantly along the full-throttle section.
No wonder it provides a delicate balancing act for car set-up. And don’t even mention restarts…
“You’ve got the first part of the circuit – big straight lines and then big braking into 90-degree corners,” explains Haas’ Romain Grosjean.
“It’s not the most exciting, but it’s good for overtaking. Then later the track changes a lot. There are very tight corners, but flowing ones.
“Around the castle it’s uphill and very fast. The two last corners are downhill with a lot of camber before the long back straight. It’s really two different circuits in one.”
“The racing down the main straight is really cool and if you pick up a tow you can find a huge speed advantage,” adds Force India’s Esteban Ocon. “It is a place where you can go three or four cars wide, which is insane.”
What happened in 2017?
What didn’t happen in 2017?
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The carnage and chaos that was expected to materialise 12 months previously arrived in 2017, with Daniel Ricciardo the unlikely victor, rising from 10th after a qualifying crash, sealing his success with a 3-on-1 move into Turn 1.
But while Ricciardo savoured his triumph, there were stories up and down the field, none more so than the rancour that exploded between title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton and Vettel came to blows before a restart, with the Ferrari driver making ostensibly deliberate side-on-side contact with his rival, having been angered at what he believed was a brake test.
Vettel was sanctioned for dangerous driving – dropping him to fourth – but Hamilton’s win prospects were undone by a loose headrest, restricting him to fifth.
Valtteri Bottas collided with Kimi Raikkonen on the opening lap but rose from last to collect second, beating Lance Stroll to the line by a tenth of a second.
The Canadian scored an unexpected podium, staying out of trouble on a weekend where he showed pace, as Williams team-mate Felipe Massa was halted by a suspension failure.
Elsewhere an angry Raikkonen turned the airwaves blue with his steering wheel requests, the Force India drivers clashed and let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers, Nico Hulkenberg crashed, and Max Verstappen was stopped by an engine problem.
If 2018 is even a little bit as good…
Ricciardo heads to Azerbaijan as the only previous Baku winner on the grid, with 2016 victor Nico Rosberg – who also took pole for the inaugural race – having retired.
Hamilton headed qualifying last year in a front-row lock-out for Mercedes.
Other details
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Tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated the Ultrasoft (purple), Supersoft (red) and Soft (yellow) tyres for this weekend’s event, one step softer than last year’s choices, with this year's compounds also one step softer than their 2017 counterparts. This effectively makes the selection two steps softer.
Either the Supersoft or Soft tyres must be run for one stint of the 51-lap Grand Prix, should dry conditions prevail.
There will be two DRS zones – one along the pit straight between Turns 20 and 1, and another along the back straight, between Turns 2 and 3, unchanged from 12 months ago.
Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen will act as the driver steward.
Formula 2 will lead the support package this weekend for its second of 12 rounds, with McLaren-backed Carlin driver Lando Norris currently leading the standings.
The 29-lap Feature Race will take place on Saturday, with the 21-lap Sprint Race scheduled for Sunday.
Weather forecast:
Friday: Sunny, 21°c
Saturday: Partly cloudy, 23°c
Sunday: Partly cloudy, 21°c
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Timetable: (GMT+4)
Friday 27 April
FP1: 13:00 – 14:30
FP2: 17:00 – 18:30
Saturday 28 April
FP3: 14:00 – 15:00
Qualifying: 17:00 – 18:00
Sunday 29 April
Race: 16:10 (51 laps or two hours)
What next?
Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will host the fifth round of the season from May 11-13
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