[fz_rider]

The circuit layout for the Baku European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan has been revealed by Bernie Ecclestone and the country's Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov. The race is set to join the calendar in 2016 and will take place on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city.

The circuit is designed to take in some of the city's landmarks and has been mapped out by F1 track designer Hermann Tilke.

"I am absolutely thrilled about the Baku European Grand Prix project and delighted we can now unveil the track design," Tilke said. "We have created a challenging street circuit, in terms of engineering and design, and one that thrives on Baku's very attractive urban atmosphere and its great combination of history and 21st century style. The historic city centre, the beautiful seaside promenade and the impressive government house all combine to provide the perfect backdrop for a spectacular new track.

"Obviously street circuits present a number of challenges, in terms of circuit design, but we have been able to incorporate some unique features that will provide the teams and fans with fascinating racing. For example, there will be an extremely narrow uphill section at the old town wall that will reward pinpoint accuracy and courage, and we have an acceleration section of almost 2.2kms along the promenade which will see the cars running flat out at very high top speeds - something that will create an incredible spectacle for the race fans on track and the viewers at home."

Source: http://en.espnf1.com

[deetjohn]

More pictures (illustration) revealed and its unbelievably narrow. It will be better to conduct two races at Spa than lifting the whole circus to a new country to race in a circuit like this. All new tracks are going the same way. Wonder why F1 is continuing with Tilke country after country. Others should be given a chance.

Turn 9 and 10


Pits and paddock


Turn 12


Pits


Source

[zenren]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

More pictures (illustration) revealed and its unbelievably narrow.

Pits and paddock
Attachment 1298964

From the pictures, it looks like the only place wide enough for an over take is the pit lane. Let them put pit lane as the DRS zone

Slightly OT, but after Bianchi's incident, is FIA doing the right thing to move to countries where it might not be able to provide a proper medical care in case of any big accident? Is Baku really equipped with all the state of the art medical facilities et al?

[amitoj]

Looks more like a sightseeing tour than a race circuit! Is there any shortage of real tracks??

[sswaroop]

Woah! That does look narrow. Looks like they desperately wanted people to see that fort like structure. Hopefully it isn't that way everywhere and has decent access roads for the medics.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Looks more like a sightseeing tour than a race circuit! Is there any shortage of real tracks??

Not really. It is just a case of Bernie chasing more money for himself. There are loads of purpose built tracks but economically it has to be profitable to Bernie Most races including the Indian GP incur losses to the organizers, but Bernie goes home with his share of the money. Apparently Australian GP lost about $55 Million for hosting this years race.

[deetjohn]

Some real pictures now. As expected, the drivers aren't a very excited lot. F1 safety has gone backwards at Baku

Start/finish straight


Pit lane


Turn 8. It still is


Both incredibly wide and tight based on where you are.



And here is Ricciardo on the simulator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOOeVROaYZM

[Hatari]

To begin with I really like the circuit. Good mix of high speeds and low speed, tight and twisty corners. As a city, never knew Baku was so beautiful! Great mix of old and new.

Turn 8 is very narrow though, the narrowest section in F1 currently?
But I guess we are used to this now, with Monaco, where for most parts cars are only single file.

All the overtaking is mostly at the end of long straights nowadays in any case, and we will have a lot of it here!

Originally Posted by deetjohn

More pictures (illustration) revealed and its unbelievably narrow. It will be better to conduct two races at Spa than lifting the whole circus to a new country to race in a circuit like this. All new tracks are going the same way. Wonder why F1 is continuing with Tilke country after country. Others should be given a chance.

One reason only. MONEY. Most of the current F1 races are partly funded by Governments.
Not much following left in Europe, certainly not growing, thats got a lot to do with the current 'show' im sure.
Tilke is the official appointed 'track maker', no scope of anyone else in the current system.

Originally Posted by zenren

From the pictures, it looks like the only place wide enough for an over take is the pit lane. Let them put pit lane as the DRS zone

Slightly OT, but after Bianchi's incident, is FIA doing the right thing to move to countries where it might not be able to provide a proper medical care in case of any big accident? Is Baku really equipped with all the state of the art medical facilities et al?

The straights are pretty wide.

Good question on state of the art medical care, should have been asked at the press conference.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Looks more like a sightseeing tour than a race circuit! Is there any shortage of real tracks??

Agree. Sadly there is a shortage of circuits willing to pay big money. Even Vegas being throw back into the fray..
But on the upside we get to be 'touristy' here, sitting at home!

[Porschefire]

Baku has been my second home for almost 3 years between 2012 and 2015. After a year's gap, visited again for a couple of weeks, last month and felt really good to go back again.

I've been to most parts of the city and I must say it is beautiful. The culture is western and people are really warm. Picturesque landscapes, good mix of modern and old Baku, pleasant temperatures throughout the year makes it more that ideal for anyone who wishes to settle there. Of course language could be a problem for many especially when you are shopping for groceries, communicating with the taxi drivers, while using the local transport etc. But the best part is they make an effort to understand you and go to extents to help you out. But yes, almost all of the younger population (<40yrs) speak good English. Infrastructure is good and the traffic is a LOT better than Bangalore!

It is really exciting that Baku is hosting F1 this year and really bummed about returning back earlier this month, missing the race by a few days!
While everything looks good on the surface, I feel this will be the first and probably the last time Baku will host an F1 race. Here's why -

- As has been mentioned earlier and I agree, safety has been compromised for this leg of the F1 calendar. Unlike Monaco, this looks to be a high speed circuit with the cars hitting >300kmph on the long straights with very few run off areas. Now, Baku has good wide roads but narrow roads can be found aplenty. I've traveled on certain sections of the track and yes, it is that narrow!!! I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot of accidents on Sunday. Hoping none of them to be serious.

- Azerbaijan's economy depends on Oil and Gas exports. The first onshore drilling happened in Baku. Az made huge profits during the golden years but since 2014 they've been struggling to cope up. The oil price cuts have hugely impacted their economy such that their currency, 'AZN' which was comfortably stronger than Euro in 2013 has been reduced to half and is way less than USD now.

- The city seems to be modern and bright and it is. For most parts. All the buildings on major streets have been given a makeover or a fake cardboard like structure is put in front of an old rotting building. If you travel a little outside the city or on the by-lanes you will come across really old tattered buildings which are cleverly hidden from view.

- Cost of living was always on the higher side and with the oil prices plummeting, it has gone further up. The incomes have come down, expats have been fired and the locals have either been asked to leave or work on a salary cut. F1 is a costly sport and to make profits out of it, you will need public participation which is one of the most important contributing factor. There will be numbers this year for sure, but I'm pretty sure people will not turn up next year.

Don't get me wrong here, I'd be more than elated if the first Baku race turns out to be a success. It will give Baku a much needed shot in the arm and will definitely help in improving its economy. Well, if nothing else, let's just hope that it turns out to be an exciting race for us to watch on the Idiot Box!

[jfxavier]

The first practice session done and dusted.
The spread in the timings show that the drivers are still finding their feet on a brand new street circuit.
Excellent job by Alonso.
Heard that Andrew Benson tweeted saying Honda Pu is harvesting less from MGU-K compared to Renault around the track (flashing lights), which sounds like good progress with MGU-H.

[jfxavier]

Here's the timings in IST in case anyone is wondering when the action is going to be.



FP2 results:



Looking like Hammer time at Baku
Torro Rosso of sainz ahead of Max.
Force India looking good so far.
Ferrari and Red Bull needs to step up soon.

[deetjohn]

Looks like Lewis is enjoying it.

And I hope there is no recurrence of Monaco by Nico here. He was lost there.

[jfxavier]

Looking at the GP2 race and the FP sessions, the race promises action and close racing.
Half the field in GP2 did not finish.
Just hoping that the F1 drivers are a bit more mature lot to not test the barriers so often.



Lewis was not wrong exactly when he called the circuit a motorway

Mercs are standing tall here.
The rest are quite close so far.



Not bad for a GP2 engine, not bad at all Honda

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Looks like Lewis is enjoying it.

And I hope there is no recurrence of Monaco by Nico here. He was lost there.

Lewis is not enjoying this up-to q2 though. Some serious issues he has with Baku right about now.
Fingers crossed for the shunt!!



And again, in Q3!!!

Edit :well that was just mad. Hoping for a good run from the back tomorrow.

[jfxavier]

A mixed up grid always makes for good racing, especially on a tight street circuit.
lack of Simulator runs and track walks probably did Lewis no good this weekend.

[sgiitk]

@deetjohn; I think it is Bernie chasing ££s. The circuit almost reminds me of the narrow tract at Monte Carlo. In qualifying Hamilton lost it twice. Let us see what happens tomorrow. How come the Ultra Softs were not used?