[akash_v12]

Formula One returns to Baku! The more interesting street track and IMO, one of the better ones introduced in recent years. Baku has definitely given us interesting races (Stroll's Photo Finish/VER-RIC crashing/Bottas' Puncture) et. al

Schedule



Track

Here's what the drivers encounter on a race weekend in Azerbaijan.

Turn 1 - With the brakes cold heading into this 90 degree corner on the back of a long straight where cars reach speeds of up to 365km/h, locking up is common. A truly hectic corner.
Turn 2 - Slow into another 90 degree turn, getting right against the wall with a fast exit into the second DRS zone.
Turns 3/4 - Another overtaking opportunity before two more right-angled corners, coming out on the right of Turn 3 and heading left going into Turn 4.
Turns 5/6 - A quite unique double corner, the front wing can get very close to the wall heading into Turn 6.
Turn 7 - An extremely tight angle needing a late brake to come almost to a halt.
Turns 8-12 - Arguably the most difficult part of the circuit as drivers navigate their way through the castle chicane. Too much action on the kerb and you're likely in trouble. It was at Turn 8 that both Robert Kubica and Charles Leclerc went straight into the wall in 2018 qualifying.
Turns 13/14 - Simple by comparison, two high-speed left turns on a flat surface.
Turn 15 - A deceptively downhill corner and a hard braking point.
Turn 16 - Brake downhill on approach to the final tight corner of the circuit.
Turns 17/18/19 - Flat chicane which can cause a problem with struggling tyres, a good exit is important on approach to Turn 20.
Turn 20 - Almost unnoticeable at the start of a remarkably long straight which offers a powerful slip stream and chance to activate DRS.

Taken from planetf1.com

Track Guide

Tyres





Weather



Championship Standings




2019 Results

[tazmaan]

I think Mercedes has lost the plot. They are no where close to being a competitive car at the moment. Redbull is right on top of this with Ferrari catching up.

Hamilton would be having nightmares and Max would be hoping to extend his lead.

[SILVER-ARROW]

It would be too early to conclude on mercedes. We have seen teams struggle in the free practice but show their true pace when it comes to qualifying.
But yes. Mercedes do seem to be struggling for pace.

Ferrari seems to be showing some promise. If they can qualify higher up the order. We can expect to have some interesting duels for positions on Sunday.

Lets wait to see what FP3 has in store before getting geared up for qualifying.

[shibujp]

Never seen a circuit where the reverse gear sees so much action!

Red Bull looked to be the car to beat over all three practices. But then Verstappen's crash in FP3 also shows that the qualifying is not necessarily dictated by the fastest car on the circuit.

Mercedes seems to be struggling quite a bit with grip and getting tyres into the optimum window. I think Toto Wolff unnecessarily opened up the bendy wing controversy and has got himself into a soup with Red Bull challenging the flexible rear wing setup.

The tow looks to be especially powerful here with Hamilton gaining as much as 0.6 seconds on his last run in FP3 getting a two off Perez. We may see a lot of team orders and stuff to facilitate this. Another opportunity for Bottas to be left holding the short straw.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[speedmiester]

Brilliant qualifying and Charles on a roll to get back to back pole.
This time no one can blame Charles for the red flag.

Good to see Ferrari with some pace.
It will be an exciting race with the very long straight and with easy overtaking.

Lewis and Max in 2nd and 3rd will be very interesting.

Looking forward to for the race.

[mazealot]

Congratulations to Charles on back to back pole , he was actually going faster before tsunoda's crash but just like Monaco , we were denied a close battle for pole .
Also a great maneuver by Sainz to avoid , to what would've been a very nasty crash.
This gp is shaping to be a great one!!

[Turbohead]

Totally unexpected qualifiers today! Charles Leclerc is genuinely talented! Initially expected Red Bull to start from the first row.

Expecting tomorrow to be an action packed race with overtakes and red flags. Pretty sure drivers will lose sleep tonight over turn 15.

[Fiestaboy]

Lec, Ver & Lewis on the first row.
All of them will be aggressive, with Lewis the best in the lot to take calculative risk. So, first corner without any issues is still a doubt.

I am a Ferrari fan, but somehow didn't even thought that they will be on pole.
Good work by Lec.
I think I got unconscious bias to like Ver nowadays.

My doubt still after the qualifying: Is Merc good at sandbagging (as usual) until the last moment or really they burnt midnight oil to catchup 1.0s between yesterday & today? I think it's former.

[SILVER-ARROW]

Wow! Four different teams lining up the first 4 starting positions. Brilliant drive by Leclerc, some might say he got an excellent tow from Hamilton.
Let’s acknowledge the fact of being in the right place at the right time .

With the number of cars going into barriers on Turn 15. It won’t be a surprise to see a number of safety cars in race tomorrow.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda might spring a surprise with the pace Alphatauri are showing . Looking forward to an exciting race tomorrow!

[shibujp]

As much as the Turn 3 and 15 make the Baku circuit more interesting and unforgiving, I think Tsunoda's crash revealed it to be a safety harazd as well. The way Sainz picked up Tsunoda's crash too late and having to swerve and crash to avoid running into the back of Tsunoda was indicative of this. If he had crashed into Tsunoda, end result would not have been pretty either.

Another point is that the crashes spoilt the rhythm of qualifying as well. The last few seconds of Q3 especially is quite exciting seeing drivers post fast times one after the other and nail grid position separated by miniscule differences. The crashes were an anti-climax in that respect.

But all credit to Ferrari for being so competitive in Baku. After Red Bull looking to have it all in the bag, out comes Ferrari and nails pole. And at Mercedes the story continues...Bottas becomes the fall guy...every time it is critical Mercedes says it was Hamilton's turn! Yeah right!

Gasly looked quite good today at one stage even threatening pole. Two drivers done in by Riccardo's crash was Vettel and Ocon both of whom looked to be potential Q3 entrants. Vettel seems to be finding his feet in the Aston.

I expect the race tomorrow is going to reflect the happenings in qualifying and practices. Would be surprised if there isn't at least a single safety car.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[avm2407]

If Leclerc manages to maintain his lead at the start of the race and through turn 1, he has a fair chance of a victory. But Hamilton will be super aggressive with having the faster car on the straights. Overtaking Hamilton is very difficult, something which only Verstappen has been able to do so far in this season.

So hoping and praying for Leclerc. Redemption awaits!

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by avm2407

If Leclerc manages to maintain his lead at the start of the race and through turn 1, he has a fair chance of a victory. But Hamilton will be super agressive with having the faster car on the straights. Overtaking Hamilton is very difficult, something which only Verstappen has been able to do so far in this season.

So hoping and praying for Leclerc. Redemption awaits!

His tyres will be colder at the start, brakes will be colder as well. The Ferrari lights their tyres up faster. Also depends which side is dirtier.

[tazmaan]

It is going to be an exciting race for viewers but the drivers will be anxious with sleepless nights.

With 4 different teams in top 4, I would be surprised if all of them make it through the first corner. Not only a safety car but I am expecting a red flag on the first lap itself. If there is an incident there is no way a safety car can operate due to narrow turns.

The straight line speeds of Mercedes is very good and if they survive I see them overtaking the Redbull or Ferrari on the straights.

Looking forward to lots of drama.

[AtheK]

Heartbreak, absolute heartbreak

This changes the driver standings too, max seems devastated. That was almost a 200 mph crash

[harry10]

What bad luck for Verstappen. So close..

2 accidents in one race is a rarity and seems both are attributed to tyre failures.