AZERBAIJAN GP

4-6 June 2021 Baku City Circuit

THE MAIN EVENT

Formula 1’s fastest street circuit since its arrival on the calendar in 2016, Baku City Circuit is about to have that crown taken away by the new track in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Every 3.73-mile lap in Baku takes in a fascinating mix of ancient and modern as the route wends its way around the state capital via a flat-out blast along the sea front, followed by a sequence of 90-degree bends through the contemporary built environment, then an orbit of the Unesco-listed walled city.

The nature of the circuit means trade-offs have to be made on car setup, since the main straight is unusually long, and cars in high-downforce trim are sitting ducks at the end of it. This spot is usually the focal point of argybargy between drivers as they try to assert themselves for position before the street section which follows.

2019 RACE RECAP

The drivers largely behaved themselves in the most recent edition of the race. Valtteri Bottas stuck his Mercedes on pole from team-mate Lewis Hamilton and rebuffed a stiff challenge from Hamilton to maintain that position on the opening lap. Even when DRS became available Bottas stuck to his guns and there was little Hamilton could do to prevent his team-mate running out the victor by a second and a half.

The battle for the final podium spot was fraught, though Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had pulled away from the Red Bull of Max Verstappen by the chequered flag.

KEY CORNER: TURN 8

This is where it can all go horribly wrong for a driver when they’re pressing on, usually in qualifying: the road narrows dramatically as it funnels uphill past the ancient walled city.

RACE DATA

Circuit Baku City Circuit

First GP 2016

Number of laps 51

Circuit length 3.730 miles

Longest straight 1.304 miles

Race distance 190.170 miles

Lap record 1m43.009s Charles Leclerc (2019)

F1 races held 4

Winners from pole 2

Pirelli compounds C3, C4, C5

CAR PERFORMANCE

Downforce level Low

Cooling requirement Medium

Full throttle 61%

Top speed 210mph

Average speed 130mph

TIMETABLE

Friday 4 June

Practice 1 10.30-11.30

Practice 2 14:00-15.00

Saturday 5 June

Practice 3 11:00-12.00

Qualifying 14:00-15.00

Sunday 6 June Race 13:00

Live coverage Sky Sports F1

Highlights Channel 4