AzerbaijanGrand Prix

Baku City Circuit intertwines around the country’s capital, and is our first street circuit since the visit to Monaco in May – although some would argue the Montreal circuit is a semi-street track! The circuit layout looks key-shaped from above and makes for a very long lap – 6.003km to be precise – consisting of 20 corners, which is the second-highest number on the calendar.

The final corner, Turn 20, is also one of the fastest on the calendar. Cars can reach top speeds of up to 305kph (189mph), before they head down the very long straight past the pits and paddock before they get to Turn 1.

A single lap provides drivers and teams plenty of challenges, from a very long straight to the tight and twisty castle section in the second sector. This makes car set-up a tricky thing to master as you want as less drag as possible for the slipstream dream that is the start-finish straight, but a machine that is planted on the ground for the narrow and windy parts of the track.

The circuit is also very picturesque with the circuit passing many landmarks, including the iconic Castle Section which is the narrowest part of the F1 calendar at just 7.6m wide!

Overall, this is a low downforce circuit, but a venue which experiences high levels of track evolution and traction. Heavy braking is also very common here, with the escape roads getting plenty of use over a race weekend. Balancing tyre temperatures will also be a big focus, and the fact we’ve never raced here in September could bring with it new variables.