F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022
Initially held as the European Grand Prix in 2016, the Baku City Circuit hosted the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix a year later in one of the five street courses on the calendar in 2017.
Designed by architect Hermann Tilke, the circuit follows a series of right-angled turns into rapid flat-out sections which, before the introduction of new aerodynamics rules in 2016, pushed cars to speeds of over 360 km/h.
Comparable to the tight twists of Monaco – in the way that the track forces drivers to both commit to each turn while being aware of the perils of straying too close to the edge – the Baku City Circuit has been the site of numerous high-speed crashes.
Charles Leclerc learned that the hard way in 2019 by crashing at Turn 8 in qualifying. The section is the tightest on the Formula 1 calendar, and sees the cars work their way around Baku’s UNESCO-protected old city walls.
History
The first Azerbaijan Grand Prix was held on 25 June 2017, and saw Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel enter the round with a 12-point lead in the standings over the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
It was the Briton who started from pole, with Vettel down in fourth, but the pair occupied the two leading positions in the race following the deployment of the Safety Car in the early stages.
Another Safety Car period followed soon after, and during this Vettel ran into the back of Hamilton’s car, damaging the Ferrari’s front wing along with Hamilton’s rear diffuser. The German felt he was being brake-tested and drove alongside and into his rival, though car data showed Hamilton had not applied the brakes.
A third Safety Car and red flag followed. Hamilton lost the lead of the race after being called in due to a loose headrest, while Vettel was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty.
This opened the path up for Daniel Ricciardo, who took the chequered flag ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll. It was a debut podium finish for Stroll, who became the first Canadian to finish in the top three since Jacques Villeneuve at the 2001 German Grand Prix.
Hamilton started from pole in the 2018 event, with the major turning point taking place on Lap 40 when Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen and Ricciardo collided with one another.
After the race was restarted, Vettel tried to pass Bottas for the lead only to overshoot the turn, ultimately leaving with fourth. The Finn looked set for victory before a tyre puncture brought an end his race, allowing Hamilton to take the win ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez.
Bottas got his revenge in the following year, claiming pole position and converting it into his fifth career victory ahead of Hamilton and Vettel.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw the race cancelled in 2020.
Most successful F1 drivers and teams
So far there have been no repeat winners of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Ricciardo, Hamilton, Bottas and Perez all winning the race once.
As for constructors, Mercedes and Red Bull have evenly split all four events.
The 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
The race wasn’t held in 2020, but returned in spectacular style in 2021. Verstappen was on course to take victory, but a left-rear tyre failure on Lap 44 ended his race and brought out the red flag.
Teammate Perez led from Hamilton with the race resuming for a two-lap sprint to the finish via a standing start. There was disaster for the Mercedes driver, though, when he locked his brakes heading into Turn 1 after selecting the wrong brake mode.
Hamilton dropped to last as a result, while Perez took his second victory in F1 ahead of Vettel and Pierre Gasly.