Presentation – Azerbaijan GP: A Third Winning Driver This Season?
After an unexpected victory by Daniel Ricciardo in China thanks to a good strategy, it will be time to make up for Vettel and Hamilton. The former fell victim to an overly audacious Verstappen, while the latter had a difficult weekend. Neither the German nor the British driver have yet managed to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, so the make-up opportunity might be on Sunday.
(b) « The Baku race will be our first street race of the season. It’s a pretty cool track, with a good mix of high-speed sections and challenging corners. The distinct feature of the track is that it includes winding parts, mainly around the castle. The track is very narrow there, and you have to be very precise as a driver.
Another challenge will be to adapt the car to the circuit’s requirements. Tire management will be a key factor, as tire degradation is quite significant during the race. I can’t wait to go to Baku and continue our strong performances from the first three races of the year.
In your opinion, who is the author of this quote accurately describing the Baku circuit? A hint, it’s one of the four Nordic drivers on the grid. Before ending the suspense, a brief description of the main characteristics of this Azerbaijan circuit.
This Baku city circuit is unique in that it forces drivers to make compromises in terms of settings. This is because the layout includes both large full-throttle areas in its first and last sectors, as well as narrow parts in its middle sector. The first four right-angle turns involve demanding acceleration and braking phases for the brakes, requiring little downforce to avoid losing too much speed in the long straights.
The situation changes from turns 5 and 6 where you enter the city with much narrower arteries. The drivers quickly reach the famous castle section which is the narrowest turn on the calendar. This passage cannot be negotiated without the benefit of aerodynamic downforce, requiring a bit of speed sacrifice in the following fast section. The most daring drivers manage to perform well here, without a lot of angle on their wings. The last two major braking points on the track are turns 15 and 16 before starting a series of four sequences taken flat out, finally leading onto the very long start-finish straight. Top speed will then be crucial for achieving good lap times or making overtakes in this final sector.
If you haven’t yet guessed which driver gifted us with this statement, it’s Marcus Ericsson who seems very motivated after his remarkable eighth place in Bahrain in an Alfa-Romeo Sauber that’s nonetheless difficult to master.
A tour of the premises
The narrowest street race on the #F1 calendar has been bumped up! #AzerbaijanGP
See how the #F1Baku circuit differs from last year: https://t.co/1iazQAS7PH pic.twitter.com/aMc1VtZACI— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) 23 avril 2018
For posterity
After a rather dull first edition won by Nico Rosberg in 2016, the last race delivered an exceptional spectacle. Between the Vettel Hamilton incident under the safety car, the clash between the two Force India cars, the unexpected podium of Lance Stroll, and the improbable opportunistic victory of Daniel Ricciardo.
If you don’t clearly remember the layout of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lance Stroll takes you for a lap around the circuit.
Tarmac and mistral
You can never have too many Purple #Fit4F1 shoes when travelling to the #AzerbaijanGP… Or can you? See what #F1 driver chose for #F1Baku All details here 👉 https://t.co/a7wIRuzkm7 pic.twitter.com/CIUarTrfGJ
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) 17 avril 2018
Pirelli has chosen to bring its Soft, Super Soft, and Ultra Soft tires for this urban Grand Prix, which is still quite demanding on the tires. Regarding the hardest tires in the range available this weekend, allocations vary from one to two sets depending on the teams and drivers. Vettel and Bottas are bringing only one set of Softs, while Hamilton and Räikkönen will have two. As for the Super Soft tires, they range from one set for Räikkönen and Ericsson to four sets for Stroll and the Renault drivers. The number of Ultra Softs is also very variable, ranging from seven sets for Sainz and Hülkenberg to ten for Vettel, Räikkönen, Vandoorne, Ericsson, and Leclerc.
Regarding the weather conditions for this Grand Prix weekend, the first two free practice sessions are expected to take place under a slightly cloudy sky with temperatures around 23 degrees in the afternoon. The final free practice session and the qualifying will be held in good sunny conditions with some cloudy spells, with a temperature of around 24 degrees. Finally, the race will take place in the same condition as Saturday but with a wind of 33 kilometers per hour and gusts around 50 kilometers per hour.
The TV program!
