One of many newer occasions on the Formulation 1 calendar, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has earned itself a popularity as a race that may ship chaos throughout its earlier eight editions. One driver who has seen each side of that’s Valtteri Bottas, and the 2019 race winner is your information for a lap of Baku.
“I’ve good and dangerous reminiscences of Baku – keep in mind the last-lap puncture when main in 2018!
“For me, what makes this place so particular is it is at all times a very unpredictable race. Very often, it is very entertaining. Plenty of issues occurring – yellow flags, security vehicles, and it is simply laborious to foretell what is going on to occur subsequent. That is thrilling.
“And the observe itself, you recognize, for a road circuit, it is fairly excessive velocity. And it has the longest flat-out part. In order that additionally means slipstreaming and overtaking is sweet.
Bottas received the steadiness proper en path to taking victory for Mercedes in 2019. Jerry Andre/Getty Photos
“It is positively not one of many tougher tracks on the circuit – there is not any actually correct high-speed corners. All of the high-speed corners, they’re flat out. Nevertheless it’s largely 90-degree corners, with some sluggish sections just like the citadel, so it’s a technical observe.
“It is bumpy as effectively. And it’s a road circuit, and with a number of the broad strains there’s distinction within the grip in other places, so it’s one of many extra technical ones.
“It is fairly distinctive, I’d say. Taking place that lengthy straight, typically it appears like unending! You see the buildings and stuff, so it is fairly cool. The center sector or the citadel part, there it feels extra like a traditional road observe, however I’d say that final stretch is kind of particular.
“The one annoying factor right here in Flip 1 is that very often you arrive with chilly brakes. So the preliminary chew of the brakes isn’t fairly 100% – that is why it makes it much more tough to seek out the optimum braking level for Flip 1.
“The important thing part for me is the final sector. It is usually a bit extra uncovered to the wind, that final correct nook at Flip 16 earlier than popping out to the lengthy straight. And the nook earlier than that – Flip 15 – options downhill, fairly tough braking. It is laborious to place the automobile in a very straight line for the braking. So these final two corners, you may lose or achieve fairly a bit.
The wild combine of latest and previous in Baku is matched by the combo of lengthy, quick straights and tight, sluggish corners. Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Photos
“Within the race, usually it is actually dominated by the rear degradation. We have had some races with dangerous graining points and it is usually fairly laborious to get the rear to entrance steadiness proper by way of the damage profile. In order a driver, you additionally want to alter your driving a bit.
“You may positively attempt to use the entrance tires a bit extra and play with the setup, however that’s going to be the identical factor. If it isn’t scorching, you are inclined to wrestle with entrance tires being on the cooler aspect on the floor, particularly underneath braking. So with the setup, you wish to attempt to discover that proper steadiness, however that tends to be the clear route that it’s fairly rear deg-dominated.
“It is at all times a compromise with the downforce degree right here, however it actually relies upon how a lot confidence you wish to really feel within the corners – with extra downforce – and the way aggressive you wish to be within the race, preventing different vehicles, with much less downforce. So it isn’t straightforward on that sense. However I’d say the largest factor might be the mechanical steadiness as an alternative of the aerodynamic aspect.
“I’ve at all times loved it. Like I mentioned, I’ve had had good reminiscences and horrible reminiscences, however it’s at all times thrilling racing. And usually, I really feel like we have carried out fairly effectively right here.”
AT A GLANCE
Race distance: 51 laps/190.9 miles
2024 pole time: 1m41.365s (Charles Leclerc, Ferrari)
2024 winner: Oscar Piastri, McLaren-Mercedes
Pirelli tire allotment: Pirelli is bringing its softest trio of 2025 compounds for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which is a step softer than final 12 months. The truth is, the C6 is again because the Comfortable, having already been utilized in Imola, Monaco and Montreal. The C5 would be the Medium and the C4 the Arduous.
On a road circuit with low ranges of grip and put on, bringing the identical choice as in 2024 would inevitably have led to a one-stop technique. At the very least this fashion, contemplating that this 12 months’s vary suffers a lot much less from graining, it opens up the opportunity of a two-stop technique. Furthermore, it’s clear that this 12 months, most not too long ago at Monza, the groups and drivers have change into adept at managing the tires effectively, in order that the race is unlikely to see very totally different methods. Though it’s a road observe, Baku has some very lengthy straights the place the vehicles hit very excessive high speeds that place important vertical hundreds on the tires.
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QATAR AIRWAYS AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX WEEKEND SCHEDULE (all instances ET):
Friday, September 19
4:25am – 5:30am – First Follow, ESPNU
7:55am – 9:00am – Second Follow, ESPNU
Saturday, September 20
4:25am – 5:30am – Third Follow, ESPN2
7:55am – 9:00am – Qualifying, ESPN2
Sunday, September 21
8:55am – 11:00am – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (51 laps or 120 minutes), ESPN
