Azerbajan Grand Prix, a thrilling blend of speed and history

This weekend in Baku, Azerbaijan, marks the start of the final leg of the F1 calendar. McLaren will be hoping to iron out the strategic errors that cost them a historic victory in Monza. Following Charles Leclerc’s surprise win at Ferrari’s home race in Monza, McLaren and Lando Norris will be looking to bounce back from what turned out to be a disappointing weekend in Brianza.

After securing a dominant pole position, with his teammate Oscar Piastri starting just behind in second on the grid, it looked like it was going to be a dominant weekend for the Woking team. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez starting back in P7 and P8, a 1-2 finish for the men in papaya seemed certain.

That was the plan until Oscar Piastri swept past his teammate at the second chicane to take the race lead. He stayed there until Ferrari opted for a one-stop race strategy, while McLaren went for two stops. Norris came close to retaking the position from his younger teammate, but after the “Papaya Rules” order from the pit wall, Charles Leclerc ultimately came out on top in front of the adoring Tifosi.

Verstappen and Co. will be looking to reverse their remarkable drop in form since the Miami Grand Prix, which coincided with McLaren’s rise in fortune after a major upgrade package and the shock departure of car-designing genius Adrian Newey, who has since signed a ￡30m-a-year contract with Aston Martin.

The Baku City Circuit, situated on the ancient Silk Road, is a city of contrasts. On one hand, it’s a modern metropolis; on the other, it’s steeped in history. Nestled between the Caspian Sea to the south and the Altiagh National Park to the east, the City Circuit, designed by racetrack extraordinaire Hermann Tilke, features one of the fastest straights on the F1 calendar, with speeds reaching up to 340 kph. It also includes tight turns in the castle section, where Charles Leclerc famously exclaimed, “I am stupid, I am stupid,” after crashing into the Baku Fortress in 2022.

The title race for both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships is heating up, with McLaren now looking like the team to beat, just 8 points behind Red Bull. Lando Norris is a mere 62 points behind Max Verstappen.

Ferrari has performed well at Baku in the past, with Leclerc picking up pole position for the last three years, including a double pole last year in both the Grand Prix and the Sprint.

Towards the back of the grid, Ollie Bearman comes in as a substitute for Kevin Magnussen, who picked up a race ban due to the accumulation of penalty points. At least this time, Bearman had some prior notice, unlike his last-minute substitution for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Jeddah due to an emergency appendectomy.

Another driver set for his second taste of an F1 race weekend is Franco Colapinto. The Argentine stepped in at Monza after Williams decided to end Logan Sargeant’s F1 career before the season’s end.

This season has been unpredictable, with Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes all picking up multiple wins so far. Predicting the results is getting harder with each passing race.

Baku City circuit

Designed by renowned architect Hermann Tilke, the Baku City Circuit spans 6.003 km with 20 challenging turns. The track varies in width, from 13 metres in some areas to just 7.6 metres as it winds through the city’s historic centre. Baku’s inaugural Grand Prix took place in 2016, initially titled the European Grand Prix, before becoming the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017. It quickly became known for dramatic races, including Daniel Ricciardo’s upset victory in 2017 over Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll, as well as an infamous clash between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

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