01Friendly Fire
Beautiful Baku© Oracle Red Bull Racing
That’s it then, the European season is done and dusted… or is it? Our next stop is the Baku City Circuit, home of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Surely that’s Central Asia, right? Well, yeah, but no… but yeah. Back when the race first joined the calendar, in 2016, it arrived as the European Grand Prix, before taking on its current national title a year later. Also, consider the fact that Azerbaijan has played in the UEFA Euros forever and has been taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2008 and the waters are muddied even further.
Confused? We are too, so we’ll go with this travel brochure style characterisation instead: we’ve left the European season behind (sort of) and we’re heading for the transcontinental Caucasus where the eastern edge of Europe slides into western Asia in the fascinating cultural melting pot that is Baku.
Regardless of any continental uncertainty, one thing we are sure of about Baku is that it provides cracking racing. From the chaos of Daniel Ricciardo’s win from 10th amid safety cars and red flags in 2017, to Checo’s last-gasp victory in 2021 after powering past Lewis Hamilton following a restart and on to Max’s brilliant win in 2022, Baku has routinely served up some thrilling, dramatic and unpredictable Sunday afternoons.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing, though. In 2018, Max and Daniel infamously took each other out of the race in a messy crash, and in 2021 Max suffered a scary high-speed blow out that took him out of the race.
Turn 15 In Baku© Getty Images
So, what can we expect Baku to throw at us this season? More uncertainty? Another year of ‘expect the unexpected’? Let’s take a look…
02Challenges and Key Factors
The first variable for 2025 is tyres. Pirelli is bringing its softest trio of 2025 compounds to Baku, which is a step softer than last year. As with previous moves to softer compounds this season, the change has been made to try to provoke a two-stop race. In this case, it means that the C6 is back for the first time since the Canadian Grand Prix and for only the fourth time this season.
On its first outing, at Imola, the C6 proved to be difficult to master, with high deg and no great advantage over other compounds. While Monaco was a more specialised and isolated use case, in Canada it was more predictable but still difficult to use effectively. So, on its return, in Baku, expect plenty of puzzled drivers and engineers in qualifying, when the more durable C5 medium may actually prove more valuable across the 6km lap.
The C6 is not a race tyre by any means but what does a step softer on the medium and hard compounds means for strategy. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won last year on a C4-C3 strategy, stopping on lap 15. In 2023, on a newly resurfaced track, and in the cooler climes of April, Checo took his second Baku win in 2021 with a single switch from C3 to C4 tyres on lap 11. In 2022, Max won with a two-stop race, shedding mediums on lap 18 and then running two C3 hard stints, with a second stop on lap 33. Truth be told, that would probably have been a one-stop too had there not been an opportune VSC that afforded Max and Checo an almost free stop.
So, it’s a one stop, yes? Well, that’s what the switch to C4-C6 is designed to put into doubt. However, given the fact that the track surface is pretty smooth, wear rates are low and lateral and vertical forces aren’t extreme, we’re going to plump for another one-stop.
It’s a dusty, dirty street circuit and that means a ‘green’, grip-free track on Friday that ramps up in leaps and bounds as more running takes place, more rubber gets laid down and grip levels improved. Choosing the right moment to be on track for a qualifying run will be crucial. Track temperature also plays a part in this as well.
Hello Azerbaijan © Oracle Red Bull Racing
Azerbaijan might be the Land of Fire, but its capital on the shores of the vast Caspian Sea is often breezy and blustery, with the wind whipping in off the water and being channelled down the wide boulevards. Drivers are frequently caught out by unpredictable and destabilising gusts.
03Watchlist
04Baku City Circuit: Track Layout & Key Features
At 6.003km Baku is the fourth longest track on the entire calendar, with only Spa, Las Vegas and Jeddah being longer. A significant portion of that length is made up by the massively long run from Turn 16 to Turn 1, which at over 2km is longer than the run from La Source to Les Combes at Spa.
The length of that straight and the need to maximise outright speed (Baku has seen some of the highest speeds ever recorded in F1) pushes teams towards a low downforce set-up. However, once you’re past Turn 1 and through the first sector (which is made up of straights and 90˚ corners), you’re into the Old Town section of Sector 2 – and that’s all tight turns and narrow streets. This requires more wing, good balance and traction. It’s a bit of a set-up dilemma.
Things to watch out for? Fairly obvious: it’s a street track and that means barriers. The boulevards are wide but aside from escape roads, there’s no run-off area in the corners and one tiny mistake can result in catastrophe.
At the start, the run from pole to the Turn 1 braking zone is less than 100 metres. There’s a high chance of an incident as the field funnels into the corner, so being alert and staying out of trouble are crucial.
Once the perils of lap one, Turn 1 are behind you, Baku’s key overtaking points are Turns 1 and 3. Both are 90˚ left-handers at the end of DRS zones where drivers brake to 100km/h and drop down to second gear.
05Oracle Strategy Guide: Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025
06Oracle Virtual Laps: Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2025
