Baku – Fastest Ever F1 Track
Posted on September 11, 2024
On a 2.2km Straight
THE FASTEST EVER SPEED by a Formula 1 car in an official event was set here in Baku City, when Valtteri Bottas was clocked at 378 km/h in his Williams-Mercedes.
That was during qualifying for the inaugural event in 2016, when the event was known as the Grand Prix of Europe.
The final third of the 2024 season gets underway this weekend with in the Azerbaijani Grand Prix in the city which history recounts was founded by Alexander the Great.
In Arabic the name Baku is derived from the Persian bād Kūbac, meaning “gust of wind.” And wind is rarely missing here as this street circuit snakes as its way through the streets of nation’s capital.
Baku’s Extraordinary 2.2km Straight
Azerbaijan lies on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, and the Baku City Circuit is a race rarely short of drama, with plenty of overtaking opportunities.
Although a glance at the circuit layout might lead one to believe that overtaking is relatively straightforward, that most certainly is not the case.
It’s an extraordinary venue where drivers end one lap and begin another by being at full throttle for 2.2 kilometres, from the exit of Turn 16, meandering through several corners and all the way out to Turn 1 again.
Two DRS zones provide ample opportunities to overtake, the twisting second sector is what can separate the good and great laps around Baku. with the performance differences within the two main groups being minimal,
The effectiveness of DRS often play an important role, as will a team’s ability to react to the unexpected on a track where the chances of the race being neutralised are very high.
I’m hoping Sky F1’s expert team of commentators at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes a wider view of this Sunday’s race, after the Monza telecast.
Ok. Both Sky F1 and most of the team members are British, and Lando is doing well – with Lewis and George not out of the picture.
But there are 20 teams competing in the premier level, and most don’t seem to get the television coverage they deserve.
It’s a long, long time since I worked in television, but I guess the cameras still follow the call of the director/s, who follow the lead of the commentators.
I stand to be corrected. What do you think?
I always welcome your comments!
Daniel’s legendary triple overtake
As a West Aussie, I’ve always been an avowed – and proud – Daniel Ricciardo fan, which is patently obvious to anyone who reads my F1 column. I make no apology.
This weekend is a reminder how Daniel, in Baku City way back in 2017, scored one of his early wins for Red Bull.
I’m still searching for that blinding triple overtake video and I’ll post it when it surfaces!
Speaking after the race, Daniel said:
“I think I was pretty fortunate. I’ve only had a few victories, but I think pretty much all of them have come under pretty crazy circumstances or the races have been far from dull. “Obviously all of them are special. (Baku) was just crazy.We haven’t been necessarily the quickest car on track or all weekend, (but) after my crash in qualifying, I said ‘be there and capitalize on opportunities,’ and I certainly capitalized on all the re-starts where I was able to gain at least one position, if not more.”“It was fun to be in the battle for the most part and towards the end, obviously once I got the lead it was just trying to keep the laps I could.“We knew we weren’t setting probably the quickest times on track, but I knew if I kept that rhythm, it was enough to win.”
Happy Hunting Grounds
For Mexican Sergio Perez, desperately trying to show faith to his Red Bull masters, Baku City seems to be his happy place.
He’s the only driver to have won here more than once – in 2021 and 2023, last time out also winning the Sprint.
His record shows he clearly has an affinity for this type of track, as six of his seven Formula 1 wins have come on street circuits.
If Checo is the king of Baku, Charles Leclerc can be said to be its prince of poles, as the Monegasque has secured the number one grid slot for the past three years – from 2021 to 2023 and last year, he was also fastest in the Sprint Shootout.
When it comes to the teams, the roles are reversed with Red Bull having the most wins (four) but no pole positions, while Ferrari has had four, one of which courtesy of Sebastian Vettel, but it has never won.
In fact, the Italian team has only made it to the podium four times, while Mercedes and Red Bull have each done so on six occasions.
Parts of Baku Track Narrower than Monaco
The 6.003 km Baku track has remained pretty much unchanged since 2016 and features 20 corners, the first seven of which are practically right angle turns!
Others through the old part of the city are very slow. But some are flat out, especially a section that is treated as a two kilometre straight leading across the start-finish line.
The high speeds reached on the main straight will put the tyres to the test, especially with the downforce generated by the current cars.
The track varies a lot in width, going from only seven metres at turn 8 to being wide enough to accommodate three cars abreast down the main straight.
Turns 8, 9 and 10 are a short, sharp burst of throttle on a piece of tarmac alongside the city’s Fortress Walls that is the narrowest part of any track of the season – even narrower than anywhere in Monaco!
As usual for a street circuit, Pirelli has chosen the three softest dry compounds in the range – the C3 Hard, C4 Medium and C5 Soft.
Baku City, Azerbaijan
While the weather always plays a part, temperatures this month are decidedly higher in Baku City than when the race was last held in April. And humidly can be sapping.
Track temperature varies significantly depending on which parts are in sunlight or in the shade from the surrounding buildings, especially the section running through the old city.
And the wind can catch drivers unawares and upset a car’s handling, as it is channelled from different directions by the surrounding buildings of the town centre.
With another section of track requiring the opposite aero set-up, teams cannot opt to run too low a downforce level as they would then suffer in the slowest part of the track, where they will rely on tyre-generated grip to get the most out of the car.
Fortunately, the current Pirelli range has proved to be up to the task of dealing with these extremes of use.
When it comes to strategy, Baku is a typical one-stop race with the hardest tyre doing most of the work.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
PERTH TIME
Baku City Circuit | 13 – 15 Sep
P1 Friday 13th September17:30
P2 Friday 13th September 21:00
P3 Saturday 14th September16:30
Qualifying
Saturday 14th September 20:00
RACE
Sunday 15th September 19:00
[51 laps or 120 minutes]
Next up:
Round 18: Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay, September 20-22
Remaining events on F1 2024 schedule:
Round 19: United States Grand Prix, Austin, October 18-20 s
Round 20: Mexico City Grand Prix, Mexico City, October 25-27
Round 21: Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Interlagos, November 1-3 s
Round 22: Las Vegas Grand Prix, Las Vegas, November 21-23
Round 23: Qatar Grand Prix, Lusail, November 29 – December 1 s
Round 24: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina, December 6-8
s Denotes F1 Sprint weekend
EDITED by AC
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