Ferrari are the team for you!
This is the way.
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Ferrari are the team for you!
Hmm… I like both drivers but not a huge fan of the team. Close enough!
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It’s Williams for me lol.
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I got McLaren
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wanna swop
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I just checked the standings and McLaren is above Alpine, lol I didn’t even realise.
Either that or the last GP was so long ago that I even forgot what an F1 car looks like.
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oh man, its been too long, and yet, the wait till Sunday will be just as long. And even longer when Ferrari crashes on lap 1.
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woah…@LiamLawson30 can send 😳 pic.twitter.com/QLkzfXyezN
— Josh Revell (@thejoshrevell) April 24, 2023
Liam Lawson is definitely heading in the right direction to get into F1 one day.
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This ended exactly how I wanted it to end! 
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Sprint Race Weekends are getting tweaked this year. Biggest change is that the Sprint Race gets its own “Qualifying” session - the Sprint Shootout on Saturday.
Friday’s Qualifying session will now have no impact on the Sprint Race at all and will only be used to determine the grid for the Grand Prix. Friday Qualifying will follow the normal race qualifying format and times.
The Sprint Shootout session will be a shorter session than traditional qualifying, with SQ1 set to run for 12 minutes, SQ2 for 10 minutes and SQ3 for eight minutes, and replaces the previous FP2 seen on the Saturday morning of Sprint weekends. New tyres are mandatory for each phase, with mediums for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3. It will determine the starting grid for the Sprint Race only and will have no impact on the Grand Prix.
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I cannot decide if this is better or worse… Why have Sprint races at all then? Just for the few fans who cannot sit through a whole race on the Sunday?
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I know right, I was happy with the results being the racing start, this feels pointless
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2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 
Baku City Circuit | Baku | 30 April
2023 Season - Round 4/23 - Sprint 1/6
Vital Statistics
- First Grand Prix – 2017 (2016 as the European Grand Prix)
- Track Length – 6.003km
- Number of Laps: 51
- Lap record – 1m 43.009s, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2019
- Most pole positions – Charles Leclerc (2)
- Most wins – Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen (1)
- Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 141 metres (shortest on the calendar)
- Overtakes completed in 2022 – 40
- Safety Car probability – 50%
- Virtual Safety Car probability – 33%
- Pit stop time loss – 20.40 seconds (including 2.5s stationary)
Most Recent Azerbaijan GP Pole-sitters
- 2022 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 2021 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- 2018 – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
- 2017 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Most Recent Azerbaijan GP Winners
- 2022 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 2021 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
- 2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
- 2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2017 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
Random Trivia
- At its narrowest point (the Turn 8/9 ‘Old Town’ complex), the circuit is just 7.6 metres wide
Strategy & Set-up Keys
According to Bernie Collins, former Aston Martin F1 strategist:
Baku’s streets play host to the first of six scheduled F1 Sprint events in 2023, but drivers and teams will have the aforementioned revised format to contend with – and adapt to as quickly as possible – over the course of the weekend.
Alongside these session changes, an important factor teams will need to be on top of is the tyres, with F1 supplier Pirelli picking the three softest compounds from their range for the first time this season: the C3, C4 and C5 rubber. Intriguingly, the new ‘Sprint Shootout’ will enforce mediums in SQ1 and SQ2, and softs in SQ3. Wind is another big consideration across the weekend at this venue, as it is often funnelled by the historic buildings at the side of the track and can be very strong in force, while often changing dramatically in terms of speed and direction on any given day.
Then there is the emphasis on straight-line speed, given the flat-out stretch from Turn 16 to Turn 1 that is more than two kilometres in length. This also creates a little bit of a headache for drivers in qualifying when they will ideally want to have a tow out of the last corner but be in clean air for the rest of the lap.
As for strategy, Baku has typically been a one-stop race over the years; low degradation and high track improvement means the undercut is not a powerful tool and overcut opportunities often feature across the 51-lap encounter instead.
The Schedule
Honestly missed my (self-imposed) deadline to post the preview report by the day before because of the weird week we’re having and the weird schedule that the Sprint Race changes have brought about for the weekend.
Time in Baku City is SAST +2, so a slightly earlier than normal for us GP Race Start on Sunday at 13:00. Also, of course, keep in mind that this is the first of six Sprint Race Weekends for the season, so there’s a Saturday Sprint Race to watch from its start at 15:30.
The Circuit
The newest F1 street circuit has a reputation as a car breaker. The long straights and high temperatures combined with a number of heavy breaking zones, right angle corners, and the tight section through the Castle section have caused some catastrophic failures in the past.
This year will be no different. I’m typing this as I watch FP1. In the first 30 minutes of the only Practice session for the weekend we’ve had Carlos Sainz hit a wall, Yuki Tsunoda spin and destroy his right rear wheel, Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in flames and smoldering on the side of the track (triggering a 15 minute red flag period taking even more time off the already limited Practice time for the weekend), and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas stopped at Turn 1.
When was the track built?
It wasn’t – Baku is the newest street circuit on the Formula 1 calendar, joining the ranks of Monaco, Melbourne and Singapore.
When was its first Grand Prix?
The first Grand Prix in Baku was held in 2016, as the European Grand Prix. That was followed by the inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017, which witnessed one of the biggest upsets of the season, with Daniel Ricciardo winning out from Valtteri Bottas and the Williams of Lance Stroll, while Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel engaged in some argy-bargy behind the Safety Car.
What’s the circuit like?
A mixture of wide and open and tight and twisty. The lonnnnng main straight along the Baku shoreline is a slipstreaming mecca, and with cars able to run three abreast into Turn 1, the action often looks more IndyCar than F1. However, from there, the track loops around into the city’s narrow, winding Icheri Sheher old town, dramatically wending past Baku’s medieval city walls. As in Monaco, slightest mistakes are punished quickly and severely, while set-up wise, the teams are forced to choose between downforce for the twisty bits and less drag for the straight.
The second DRS Zone - on the main straight - has been significantly shortened for this year.
The Weather
The weather in Baku in April is fine. The wind is constant. There is a vague outside chance of some moisture around on Sunday, but it should be an all dry, all warm weekend.
Friday: FP1 and Race Qualifying
Conditions: There will be some light winds, with a few low clouds becoming mostly sunny throughout the day. FP1: °C // Q: 19°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 21 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 14 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%
Saturday: Sprint Shootout and Sprint Race
Conditions: It will be mostly cloudy early in the day and with a very slight chance of rain showers late in the afternoon. SS: 24°C // SPRINT: 21°C.
Maximum temperature expected: 24 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 15 Celsius
Chance of rain: <20%
Sunday: Grand Prix
Conditions: Mostly cloudy throughout the day with a slight chance of rain late in the afternoon. RACE: 24°C
Maximum temperature expected: 25 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 17 Celsius
Chance of rain: 20%
The Tyres
- Pirelli takes the softest tyres in the F1 range to the Baku street circuit: C3 as the P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow medium and C5 as P Zero Red soft.
- There’s a new race format this weekend, approved by the F1 Commission on Tuesday. A new qualifying session called the Sprint Shootout will decide the grid for the first Sprint Race of the year, taking the place of FP2. The fastest driver in the Sprint Shootout will receive the Pirelli Sprint Shootout Award.
- The Sprint Shootout will take place on Saturday at 12:30 local time, split into three qualifying sessions: Q1, which is 12 minutes long, followed by a 10-minute Q2 session and an eight-minute Q3 decider. The teams have to use new sets of tyres: the medium for Q1 and Q2, followed by the soft for Q3.
- The result of the Sprint Shootout will determine the grid for the Sprint Race, which gets underway at 17:30 on Saturday local time. The Sprint classification doesn’t affect the grid for Sunday’s grand prix, which will be decided with the usual qualifying session, this time held on Friday afternoon, with the poleman receiving the Pirelli Pole Position Award.
- The reduced length of the Sprint Shootout theoretically allows the drivers to make a pit stop in Q1 but not in the other two sessions – where there is time to do two timed laps but not to make a stop. Each driver will have two sets of hard tyres, four sets of mediums, and six sets of softs (making 12 sets in total): one less set compared to a conventional weekend. On top of this, there’s a wet-weather allocation of four sets of Cinturato Green intermediates and three sets of Cinturato Blue full wets.
- The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on a track that combines narrow corners and fast straights. At more than six kilometres, this is one of the longest circuits on the calendar, which alternates tricky sections in the historic city centre (where the track narrows to 7.6 metres) with straights and 90-degree corners, featuring two DRS zones.
- The track has been completely resurfaced, according to the race organisers. The latest asphalt roughness, which is usually minimal and not especially abrasive for the tyres, is another unknown factor that will only be established during free practice.
- The race takes place at a different time of year compared to 2022. Last year, track temperatures in June exceeded 50 degrees centigrade, but with the race shifting to April, temperatures could be 10 degrees lower. This was the case in 2018 – the last time the race was held in April – when there was a wide range of temperatures recorded across the day as well.
- There’s a 75% chance of a neutralisation in Baku. Two Virtual Safety Car periods gave some drivers a cheap pit stop last year, in a race where the top four stopped twice.
- No driver has ever won more than once in the six Baku races that have been held up to now. The past winners are Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo (from P10 on the grid), Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. The only teams to have won are Mercedes and Red Bull, which each scored a one-two in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
Source: 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Preview
The Digital Race Programme
A full Digital Race Programme for you all again this weekend. This edition includes features on the new F1 Sprint format, some of the wilder moments from the Baku race history, an interview with FIA Safety Car driver Bernd Maylander, a Track Trivia quiz, and stats on all 10 teams. All with a fancy video cover:
(Works on desktop, but best viewed on mobile.)
And off we go to the northern hemisphere’s version of the Windy City. Happy Sprint Race Weekend!
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Times for the only Free Practice session for the weekend:
Next up - Grand Prix Qualifying for Sunday’s Race at 15:00 today.
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thanks for all the info. the best way to start race weekend. makes me super excited for a race.
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Chuck makes it three out of three poles in Baku. Consistently fast all day. Let’s see if he can carry it through to the Sprint and the GP. Of some concern to Ferrari will be that the customer cars are all down the bottom of the grid in 14, 16, 17 and 18.
Much better showing from the McLarens - Lando sounding a lot happier than any point so far this season.
Red Bulls will still be the team to beat when the points count though. Max and Sergio both within 0.3s of Charles. Everyone else almost a full second plus behind.
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