Saturday’s qualifying session lasted longer than any race this year – and last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix for that matter.
But the incident-filled session has produced many potential storylines for Sunday’s race.
The McLaren drivers will have to fight their way forward to secure the constructors’ championship for their team. Carlos Sainz Jnr and Liam Lawson have a chance to reach the podium.
At the front of the field Max Verstappen is perfectly placed to claim his second victory in a row. But Baku is a track which can produce surprises.
Weather
Some forecasts indicate further rain is likely in the morning before the grand prix, but the chance of any falling during the race itself is very low.
The Formula 2 drivers may well have to contend with a wet track when their race begins at 11am local time, and more rain after the start. However the grand prix is likely to be dry.
Start
At less than 100 metres, the Baku City Circuit has the shortest run to the first corner of any track on the calendar.
That doesn’t necessarily make it easy for the pole-winner to protect their position at the start, however. The run to the first corner is so short it leaves little time to cover off a driver who starts well from second place. The wide, right-angled opening corners offer plenty of scope for attack, as does the long run to turn three.
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Distance from pole position to first braking zone. Source: Mercedes
Strategy
Last year drivers chose the following compounds to start the race on:
Pirelli has brought tyres which are one stage softer this year than last year. However the softest of those, the C6, has not performed well and drivers are unlikely to favour it for the race. A one-stop strategy, starting on mediums and switching to hards, is likely to be favoured by the front-runners, while those in quicker cars starting near the back may prefer to reverse that in the hope of taking advantage of a late Safety Car period.
A full list of available tyres for each driver will be added here once it is published.
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Overtaking
The DRS zone layout is the same as last year. Drivers can open their rear wings at the exits of turns two and 20.
Carlos Sainz Jnr’s attempt to overtake Oliver Bearman at the last race in Monza had serious repercussions for the Haas driver. The stewards handed him two penalty points after the pair made contact, putting him on a total of 10, leaving him just two away from an automatic ban.
Speed trap
As has often been the case this year there is a fairly narrow spread between the fastest and slowest cars in a straight line.
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Safety Cars
Due to the limited run-off space around the Baku street circuit, Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car periods are fairly common. Due to the length of the track, recovering cars and cleaning up incidents can take longer than at other venues.
Last year’s race saw one VSC period and there were two in 2022. A single Safety Car period occured during the 2023 race. The long, flat-out run to the first corner makes Safety Car restarts especially difficult for the race leader.
Grid
The grid for this year’s race is as follows. Any changes between now and the start of the race will be added here:
Championship implications
If the drivers finish in the order they start, Verstappen will cut his deficit to Piastri in the championship to 71 points, while Norris will move to 27 behind.
McLaren need to improve on their starting positions to clinch the constructors’ championship. As it stands they would leave Baku 344 points ahead of Ferrari and 343 ahead of Mercedes.
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Over to you
Is this going to be a straightforward win for Verstappen? What is the best Sainz and Lawson can hope for? And which of the McLaren drivers will come out ahead?
Share your views on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the comments.
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