Two weeks after the mayhem in Monaco, Formula 1 returns to racing in Baku this Sunday for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Max Verstappen’s first win in the principality propelled Red Bull and himself to the top of the constructors’ and drivers’ championships respectively as Mercedes spluttered to a disappointing performance at the famous street circuit.
Lewis Hamilton earned a total of seven points for Mercedes after Valtteri Bottas’ race was ended when the pit crew failed to remove his right front tyre. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz earned his best finish in F1 by finishing second ahead of former McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Longest straight on the F1 calendar
The 6 kilometre long Baku City Circuit has a total of 20 corners and was designed by circuit architect Hermann Tilke and features famous landmarks such as the Maiden Tower near Turn 18. In comparison to Monaco, we are likely to see lots of overtaking thanks to the longest straight on the Formula 1 calendar measuring in at 2,2km from Turn 16 to Turn 1.
In 2019, the fastest car in a straight line in Azerbaijan was Carlos Sainz, who rushed through the speed trap in his McLaren during qualifying at 323,9 km/h.
Heading into this weekend’s race it’s Mercedes who are likely to have the advantage due to their more powerful engine compared to rivals. However, the Red Bulls and Ferraris were set up markedly better for Monaco’s tight, twisty nature while the Mercedes cars struggled in the slow corners, and that’s where the team could be found wanting in Baku which has a technical section with slow corners.
The advantage is certainly stacked in Red Bull and Max’s favour, although the 23-year-old doesn’t have great memories of Baku. He is yet to finish on the podium in Azerbaijan and crashed out in 2017 and 2018, the latter saw then teammate Daniel Ricciardo end their races rather spectacularly.
Bottas and Hamilton won the last two races in Baku and will look to make up for their disappointing outing a fortnight ago.
CAR journalist Sean Parker is joined by Editor Ray Leather and intern Connor Edwards to discuss this weekend’s race.
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