The fastest street track on the current F1 calendar returns this weekend for a second outing, and after a relatively quiet debut race which followed in the footsteps of a manic GP2 encounter on the same day, it is still a little early to make a definitive verdict on the success or otherwise of the layout.
There’s no question that it’s fast; last year’s pole position lap by Nico Rosberg was set at an average speed of 130mph, a similar average to Barcelona and well up on the other two pure street tracks Singapore at 110mph and Monaco at just over 100mph, while the Williams team recorded Bottas at over 230mph at the end of the 1.3 mile flat out section from Turn 16 to the first corner. That is a pretty daunting figure on what is a normal section of road that usually carries busy traffic alongside the Caspian Sea coastline, and which when closed for race weekend causes all sorts of confused detours and coaches going down one way streets in the wrong direction. At the opposite end of the track, F1 cars climb past a mediaeval wall that surrounds the Palace of the Shirvanshas through an area that is only wide enough for a single car at a time, and which has masses of potential for chaos in the race. That’s quickly followed by a daunting downhill left hander, Turn 15, where Sergio Perez crashed in practice last year and Rosberg got away with scraping the wall in qualifying.
It has a split personality, from the ninety degree corners on a level surface in the early part of the lap to the twisting, climbing, narrow section further along. In some ways, the track harks back to an era when long sections of road were closed off to create classic racing venues; places like Reims in France and Pescara in Italy, both appearing in the 1920s. The latter was fully 16 miles long with two straights of 4 miles each and then a tortuous twisty section that went on for 8 miles between the villages of Pescara and Capelle, and all within sight of the Adriatic coast. Impossible to manage in our modern health and safety era, of course, but an indelible part of the history of the sport.
Funnily enough, Enzo Ferrari drove to the first ever Pescara race victory back in 1924 by beating two Mercedes, and 93 years later the team he created would love a similar result in Azerbaijan after being soundly thrashed by a Silver Arrow in Canada. Part of that was down to the start of the race, as contact with Verstappen at Turn One put Vettel on the back foot for the rest of the afternoon and allowed Hamilton to sail into the distance. Lewis was in absolutely stupendous form in Canada, but he returns to Baku knowing that this was one that slipped away last year, and ultimately contributed to Rosberg being crowned champion. Fastest in practice, Hamilton couldn’t get the same feel with the car in qualifying and ultimately clouted the barrier in his attempts to match Nico. A similar lack of confidence in the car occurred in Monaco this year and to a certain extent on the semi-street circuit layout of Sochi, so there could be some concerns but Mercedes are on the case, attempting to make the car less sensitive to temperature changes and tyre requirements.
The elements are all in place for a tantalising race; the top two in the championship fighting tooth and nail, a layout that could favour either team depending on how well they make use of the tyres, and a track which is yet to prove itself as a modern classic, but which has plenty of idiosyncracies to keep us entertained. Fast and furious or plain and processional? There’ll be more evidence come Sunday night.
There’s no question that it’s fast; last year’s pole position lap by Nico Rosberg was set at an average speed of 130mph, a similar average to Barcelona and well up on the other two pure street tracks Singapore at 110mph and Monaco at just over 100mph, while the Williams team recorded Bottas at over 230mph at the end of the 1.3 mile flat out section from Turn 16 to the first corner. That is a pretty daunting figure on what is a normal section of road that usually carries busy traffic alongside the Caspian Sea coastline, and which when closed for race weekend causes all sorts of confused detours and coaches going down one way streets in the wrong direction. At the opposite end of the track, F1 cars climb past a mediaeval wall that surrounds the Palace of the Shirvanshas through an area that is only wide enough for a single car at a time, and which has masses of potential for chaos in the race. That’s quickly followed by a daunting downhill left hander, Turn 15, where Sergio Perez crashed in practice last year and Rosberg got away with scraping the wall in qualifying.
It has a split personality, from the ninety degree corners on a level surface in the early part of the lap to the twisting, climbing, narrow section further along. In some ways, the track harks back to an era when long sections of road were closed off to create classic racing venues; places like Reims in France and Pescara in Italy, both appearing in the 1920s. The latter was fully 16 miles long with two straights of 4 miles each and then a tortuous twisty section that went on for 8 miles between the villages of Pescara and Capelle, and all within sight of the Adriatic coast. Impossible to manage in our modern health and safety era, of course, but an indelible part of the history of the sport.
Funnily enough, Enzo Ferrari drove to the first ever Pescara race victory back in 1924 by beating two Mercedes, and 93 years later the team he created would love a similar result in Azerbaijan after being soundly thrashed by a Silver Arrow in Canada. Part of that was down to the start of the race, as contact with Verstappen at Turn One put Vettel on the back foot for the rest of the afternoon and allowed Hamilton to sail into the distance. Lewis was in absolutely stupendous form in Canada, but he returns to Baku knowing that this was one that slipped away last year, and ultimately contributed to Rosberg being crowned champion. Fastest in practice, Hamilton couldn’t get the same feel with the car in qualifying and ultimately clouted the barrier in his attempts to match Nico. A similar lack of confidence in the car occurred in Monaco this year and to a certain extent on the semi-street circuit layout of Sochi, so there could be some concerns but Mercedes are on the case, attempting to make the car less sensitive to temperature changes and tyre requirements.
The elements are all in place for a tantalising race; the top two in the championship fighting tooth and nail, a layout that could favour either team depending on how well they make use of the tyres, and a track which is yet to prove itself as a modern classic, but which has plenty of idiosyncracies to keep us entertained. Fast and furious or plain and processional? There’ll be more evidence come Sunday night.