Everything you need to know about the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Formula One heads to the City of Winds for the eighth round of the 2022 championship this weekend, for what will be the sixth battle on the streets of the Baku City Circuit.

Since making its debut in 2016 under the guise of the ‘European Grand Prix’, this venue has become a real favourite amongst fans, thanks in part to its high-speed sections that are neatly tied together by a tight and technical middle sector.

Join us as we discover everything you need to know ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

There’s been no shortage of incident and drama at this venue over the years, with battles going all the way to the chequered flag, as we know all too well.

Lance Stroll secured a podium finish for the team here in 2017, finishing P3 after just being pipped to the line by Valtteri Bottas.

This long straight, which is full throttle for roughly 25 seconds, presents the best opportunity for overtakes, especially braking from around 350km/h into Turn 1 where cars can battle three abreast.

The previously mentioned mix of high-speed and technical sections can provide a setup conundrum for teams throughout the paddock – give yourself enough downforce for the fiddly middle sector or lower it to maximise the 2.2km straight? Keep your eyes peeled during practice, there are sure to be plenty of different approaches trialled across the 10 teams.

Baku’s castle section is up there as one of the most recognisable parts of any race circuit on the globe. There are just 7.6m between the walls at Turn 8, making it the narrowest section of road on the calendar.

The rise up alongside the medieval walls throws the drivers into the blind Turn 11, then they continue to climb before dropping down through another blind turn at Turn 15, then back to lower ground at Turn 16.

Not just a favourite amongst the fans, the Baku City Circuit is also popular with the drivers.

Alex Albon, a race winner here during the 2018 Formula 2 season, was hopeful for a positive weekend when we caught up with him earlier.

“I really like Baku as it tends to be a circuit with a lot of opportunities,” claimed the Thai driver, adding: “It’s been a good track for me in previous years.

“Baku is a street circuit but presents a different challenge to what we faced in Monaco a couple of weeks ago.

“The races are quite unpredictable, which I think will work well for us and on paper, it’s a circuit that should also suit us.

“We’ll be looking to hit the ground running from Friday onwards and come away with a good result for the team.”

Like his teammate, Nicholas Latifi has also stood on the top step in Azerbaijan, with his podium visit coming in Formula 2’s 2019 Sprint Race. He too is looking forward to what this weekend might present, saying: “Baku is always a very interesting and exciting race to go to.

“From a track perspective, it’s a high-speed street circuit in terms of the very long straights.

“There are repetitive cornering sequences with a lot of 90-degree corners which makes it important to dial the car set-up to suit those characteristics.

“It's quite nice in a way that once you find a nice rhythm on the track it's easy to find lap time in both qualifying and race trim.

“The one thing Baku never disappoints for is an exciting race as we've seen many over the past years – the long straight and DRS zones really aid that.

“Hopefully we can have a good weekend and capitalise on any opportunities that arise.”

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, spoke of the differences between the previous race venue and this weekend and that, despite both being street circuits, there are plenty of new considerations for the team.

“The streets of Baku are a quite different challenge to those in Monaco and although there are some very tight and slow corners here, there are also long straights and fast corners to contend with.

“There is a temptation to significantly lower the downforce and drag level for this circuit but how far it is correct to do so will depend on a range of risk-reward trades, which the drivers will have to consider during the practice sessions.

“Like Monaco, Pirelli have provided the softest of their compound range, which should be suited to Baku providing that they don’t grain.

“The smooth track surface can make warm-up difficult, but this is compensated by the long lap.

“The camber of the roads, large gradient changes, and the varying track width all add to the challenge at this circuit and ensure that setting the car up to be strong over the full 6km lap is very tricky.

“However, the same circuit characteristics that provide the setup challenges also lead to good racing and exciting on-track battles in Azerbaijan.

“Taming the streets of Baku is not easy, but it can be enjoyable and rewarding when done well.”

Before being rebranded as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Baku City Circuit hosted its maiden event as the European Grand Prix. It was the sixth venue to hold a race under that title, with 23 events taking place with that name since 1983. The other five circuits are the Nürburgring (12 races), Valencia Street Circuit (5), Brands Hatch (2), Circuito de Jerez (2) and Donington Park (1).

Each of the five previous races at the Baku City Circuit has had a different winner, bolstering the claims about the unpredictable nature of this venue. Nico Rosberg (2016), Daniel Ricciardo (2017), Lewis Hamilton (2018), Valtteri Bottas (2019) and Sergio Perez (2021).

During the first-ever qualifying session at this venue in 2016, Valtteri Bottas in his FW38 set the unofficial record for the highest speed recorded in an F1 car, maxing out at an eye-watering 378 km/h!

When Lance Stroll finished P3 in 2017, he became the second-youngest driver ever to score a podium, aged just 18 years and 239 days.

The cars that qualify P6 and P8 might just be a little happier than usual this weekend. That’s because those two grid spots have supplied as many podium finishers in Baku as pole position has.