Who is Sweet Loretta Martin referred to in the thread title? Older people will know....
Start off with Baku's promo video for the GP
As they say, lets start at the very beginning...... it started off a year later than originally planned, in 2016 when it was known as the European GP at Baku, .... now known as the Azerbaijan GP. A street circuit, like Albert Park,Monaco, Singapore, Canada and of course Miami. Edit: Plus Jeddah.
But Baku is a bit different.
Its fast..... very fast. In fact they go faster here than at Monza.
Yes its true. Its the longest straight on the calendar at 1.6 klms long flat out. OK it has a curve in it but its flat out all the way.
The 2016 race saw Bottas in a Williams hit 378kph at Baku .... I think the official trap top speed ever at Monza is Pizzonia driving a Williams BMW in 2004 did 369kph. It was supposedly the fastest street circuit on the calendar. But it isnt. Albert Park is, by a margin now thanks to the new changes to the Melbourne Layout (244kph average at Albert Park on the pole lap.).
Edit: Oh thats probably wrong now because of Jeddah. *Checks*. Yes Jeddah is the fastest at 252kph for the pole lap this year..
But Baku has some twisty bits too. It has some nasty narrow bits. The layout was designed by Tilke.
We could call it Monzaco as it combines Monaco and Monza.
Oh and its long. Just over 6 klms it is near enough the same as Jeddah, within 150 metres, Jeddah being the longest track after Spa.
Getting back to this year.... I will look at the track in more detail later.
We have just had Monaco, and for all its quirks and the weather, Ferrari turned having the fastest car most suited to the track into a disaster weekend compared to expectation. Sergio showed that given the opportunity he is a title contender if he stays on his form of late. Had he been allowed to win at Barcelona he would be right on Max's tail and within a point of Leclerc. Sergio of course won at Baku last year
Ferrari really need a good weekend. They started the year at a cracking pace and after Australia Leclerc was it seemed in control, over a race clear of his nearest opposition, albeit perhaps aided by Red Bull unreliability. In the Constructors Ferrari were almost a 1-2 ahead of Red Bull also, despite Sainz crashing out on the opening lap. At Australia they were realistically like at Monaco the dominant car. Imola the wheels started to fall off their effort, and Miami Red Bull had the edge. Spain we saw Leclerc out in front to suffer aan engine failure.
Ferrari cannot make mistakes this weekend to allow Red Bull to extend.
I would imagine that the DRS problems we saw the Red Bulls suffering in Spain have been sorted now. Mind you if they have any issues still this circuit will test the DRS out to the max. (sic).
Of course it is no longer just Ferrari and Red Bull. Well, maybe it is.... we dont know yet whether Mercedes will bring the decent car with them, or the dog. Just as they seemed to be getting back to some decent pace they had an ordinary car at Monaco, albeit boosted by the new team leader's performance. Mind you Monaco was never likely to be strong for them.George still sits 4th in the WDC and Mercedes 3rd, thanks to no one else being consistent either. Constructors wise they are 3rd, but 65 points shy of Ferrari in 2nd, so the constructors horse has bolted, along with Lewis's WDC hopes. However they can still spoil the other's parties at a moments notice. They looked good(ish) at Catalunya so we cant write them off yet.
However they believe they might have issues with the Baku circuit due to the bumps.... that was their problem at Monaco
A little video explains....
Baku has traditionally been a strong track for Mercedes, and if you include the first race run as the European GP, Mercedes have only not won here twice, and one of those was last year when Lewis threw it away (after Max had his tyre failure) with his Magic Brake Button error at the restart. How they handle the tight part of Baku could be the deciding factor of their weekend.
With the rest, who will shine through? Danny Ric needs to play some part this weekend, but with his confidence shot and his dismal season to date I am not confident. 4 races in a row without a point at a time when Lando, other than his crashing out at Miami in an unfortunate clash with Gasly, has been reeling in the points. Danny has won here at Baku (2017) so hopefully this weekend will be a turnaround for him. Hopefully we might see something like his triple overtaking move he made in 2017 passing two Williams and a Ferrari into T1.McLaren need him to be contributing a lot more.
Will Alfa continue to impress? Bottas has been a standout and I feel that Zhou is better than his results. Alpine are always in there or close, and Alpha Tauri impress. Haas need a bit of a better weekend than at Monaco and Junior might even get a point.
Aston Martin..... well they have not had the best year but they are another that have been close to doing well, and are always knocking on the door of a points finish. Of course Stroll has had a podium here before, and Seb has had two. In fact he has three if you include the European GP year. Along with Perez that makes him the driver with the most podiums at the track!
The reality is that the midfield is so close now its anyones game 30 seconds behind Red Bull and Ferrari..
The beauty of Baku for all its crappiness is that it is not difficult to overtake so qualifying is less of an issue here. In fact it has only been won from pole twice IIRC, (Bottas 2019 and Rosberg 2016) 8th on the grid has earned the same number of podiums as pole! We have the longest straight and with that goes the longest DRS zone, with a second one thrown in for good measure.
Often the unusual happens here.... We had the bolts on the kerbs ripping tyres to shreds the first year, (the holes for the bolts had not been drilled long enough) and we have had drain covers loose and damaging cars.... ask Bottas about how much damage they can do. He missed a complete session due to damage from a drain in 2016. We also had a complete session cancelled in 2019 after GR hit a loose drain cover.
Oh and it will more than likely involve a Safety Car.... it seems the place breeds them.
Set Up.
Having to cater for the long straights and also the tight twisty bits makes it something of a compromise. As I said we have slow narrow 90 degree bends yet also the long straights, so its a trade off between enough downforce for the twisty bits and yet minimal drag for the straights.
Traction will be a key criteria here.... normally a strength with Ferrari. Finding a decent balance is also a key element.... the tight and narrow twisty bits mean having a car that is nimble and goes where its pointed and turns in well will be key. Not too hard on tyres here given the slow corners equals low lateral loads.
THE TRACK.
The Baku street circuit features a contrast between the ancient city and its famous mediaeval walls dating back to the twelfth century and the modern part, where the skyline features buildings such as the Heydar Alivey Center.
One unusual fact about this track is that it is below sea-level.
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.
First Grand Prix
2016
Number of Laps
51
Circuit Length
6.003km
Race Distance
306.049 km
Lap Record
1:43.009 Charles Leclerc (2019)
When was the track built?
Technically, centuries ago, part of it anyway. The old bit has been around since about 1138. As mentioned it is a design put together by Tilke, and as such until Jeddah and Miami came along was the newest street circuit on the Formula 1 calendar, all three joining the ranks of Monaco, Melbourne Canada 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.
Historically we have had just 4 Azerbaijan GPs, with the first being the European GP as mentioned.
As far as the Azerbaijan GP and the Baku European race is concerned no one has won more than once.
Combined Mercedes have won 3 Red Bull 2. No one else has won.
Winners
ROSBERG (European GP)
Driver No
RICCIARDO Daniel 1
HAMILTON Lewis 1
BOTTAS Valtteri 1
PEREZ Sergio 1
Podiums. (Combined)
PEREZ Sergio 3
VETTEL Sebastian 3
BOTTAS Valtteri 2
HAMILTON Lewis 2
RICCIARDO Daniel 1
STROLL Lance 1
RAIKKONEN Kimi 1
GASLY Pierre 1
ROSBER Nico 1
One for @Star to enjoy..... No one has scored more points at the track than Sebastian Vettel. (He has scored 75 all up). Perez is next with 68.
Some Baku highlights
Click the watch on youtube button.
2021
2019
2018 Crashes, collisions and heartbreak - race day in Baku was dramatic from the first corner to the last...
2017 Three safety cars, a red flag, title race drama, and a stunning finish.
In this video we look back at some memorable moments from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and chat about some of the circuits challenges and features!
I cant say I have ever been a huge fan of the circuit, but on reflection that might be a bit harsh. We have had a number of memorable moments here and some decent races. . We have had Lewis and Sebastian playing bumper cars behind the SC, Max and Danny taking each other out, Lewis flying up the escape road, Max kicking his punctured tyre last year.yeah lots of stuff.
PIRELLI TYRE PREVIEW
The softest possible combinationfor Baku, the same as we saw last time out at Monaco.....
THE TYRES ON TRACK
For the unique Baku City Circuit, which combines the complexity of Monaco with the speeds of Monza, Pirelli has brought the three softest tyres in its range: the C3 as the P Zero White hard, C4 as the P Zero Yellow medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft. This is the same selection as was made for Azerbaijan last year – although the compounds and constructions are completely new for 2022.
Baku is a street circuit with a personality all of its own, combining rapid straights with some extremely narrow and technical sections, especially around the famous Turn 9 in the old city centre. As a result, unlike the high downforce setup for Monaco, the teams tend to go for a low to medium downforce setup in Baku: balancing the requirement for grip through the tight corners with the need for high top speeds on the fast straights to facilitate overtaking. Back in 2016, Valtteri Bottas – driving for Williams at the time – exceeded a reported 378kph in Baku (naturally on Pirelli tyres): an unofficial F1 record that still stands today.
The weather can be warm, with track temperatures in excess of 50 degrees, but the tight confines of the buildings around the circuit mean that there are alternate areas of light and shade, varying the track temperature quite a bit around the lap.
Last year, the winning strategy was effectively a one-stopper (although the race was neutralised by a red flag close to the end). On that occasion, the favoured strategy from most of the field was soft to hard, with the soft tyre fitted again for the final three-lap sprint to the flag. However, the rule of using the fastest Q2 tyre for the race start was in place back then for the top 10, so the strategy may be different this year.
WEATHER
Conditions appear perfect ahead of the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend. Sunny, breezy and pleasant conditions are expected from the entire race weekend.
FRIDAY, JUNE 4 – FP1 AND FP2 WEATHER
Conditions: Partly cloudy in the morning. Sunny in the afternoon. Dry all day long. Light-to-moderate northerly wind with gusts up to 30-40km/h in the afternoon.
Maximum temperature expected: 27 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%
SATURDAY, JUNE 5 – FP3 AND QUALIFYING WEATHER
Conditions: Sunny and dry all day long. Dry all day long. Moderate northerly wind with gusts up to 40km/h in the afternoon.
Maximum temperature expected: 26 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%
SUNDAY, JUNE 6 – RACE WEATHER
Conditions: Sunny and dry all day long. Temperatures around 24°C for the race. Gusty northerly wind. Gusts up to 40-50km/h for the race.
Maximum temperature expected: 26 Celsius
Chance of rain: 0%
And if all else fails we have F2 here as backup.. A 21-lap sprint race on Saturday as well as a feature race lasting 29 laps on Sunday.
Now THIS is what I call a Feature !!
Though I will admit I didn't know he had scored the most points here, so thanks for mentioning that. Go Seb!! 
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