Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Preview

Uralkali Haas F1 Team’s 2021 Formula 1 season will continue with a trip to the edge of Europe for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit, Round 6 of the campaign. 

The city of Baku blends history and modernity where West meets East alongside the inland Caspian Sea, which sits 28 meters below sea level. That makes Baku the lowest-lying capital city in the world, while it is also colloquially labelled ‘the city of winds’ for the frequently gusty conditions. Thousand-year-old preserved ruins sit alongside imposing Victorian and Soviet era architecture and futuristic glass-fronted skyscrapers, and it is fitting that Formula 1, a forward-thinking championship with a rich history, has found such a home in Azerbaijan’s capital. 

Already, in just five years, the country has become a firm favorite of the Formula 1 paddock, which itself is set up directly in front of the imposing Government House on Freedom Square. ‘Land of Fire’ is the motto of Azerbaijan and Uralkali Haas F1 Team is ready to light up the city streets once more after the pandemic forced the cancellation of last year’s planned event. 

The Baku City Circuit provides a stern test for teams and drivers alike owing to the variety of sections that make up the 6 km layout. The first sector comprises long straights, heavy braking points and 90-degree corners while the middle section takes drivers through the Old City, past its fortress walls, and includes the narrowest portion of a Formula 1 track all year, with Turn 8 just 7.6 meters wide. 

A fast and flowing sector, including multiple blind corners, leads drivers back towards the Caspian Sea and along a full-throttle section that lasts almost two kilometers. That requires a delicate trade-off between aerodynamic dependency and straight-line prowess, working out how much of each to sacrifice in order to maximize potential. 

Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher previously tackled Baku City Circuit during their rookie FIA Formula 2 campaigns in 2019. Mazepin banked points by classifying eighth while Schumacher surged from the rear of the field to score fifth position. They will return to Baku City Circuit as Formula 1 drivers to put the Haas VF-21 through its paces between the walls.

 

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal

The week of the Monaco Grand Prix saw the team communicate extensions of existing partner relationships and the addition of new partners. Are you encouraged that both the team and Formula 1 remain attractive commercial platforms for brands looking for exposure and engagement?

“Absolutely – it is well known that Formula 1 is a very good, global platform for partners. That is what we’re counting on. With Haas, we’ve shown that we can be a good partner and that we’re here for the future, and it’s a good time to be working with us as I believe we’ve got a very good future in front of us. I still think for any commercial partner joining Formula 1, or a team – hopefully Haas, it can be good for them.”

 

The youth movement was very much represented on the podium in Monaco with Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris combining for the third youngest ever podium in Formula 1 history. As a team boss with two 22-year-old rookies in Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher, what do you see different in the younger drivers graduating up into Formula 1 these days and what stands them out from their older counterparts?

“These days the drivers come in younger anyway, not just now but probably from the last few years or so the drivers have been entering Formula 1 younger than the old days. It’s a trend. Obviously, they get older quicker – or they get older younger, I would say. They start karting very young and that’s here to stay. Your reflexes are better when you’re young, your motivation is higher, and I think it’s good for the sport to have young people coming along. That’s nothing against older guys, so they shouldn’t be upset with me about it, but we all have a shelf life. I think that shelf life stays the same, it just starts younger and ends younger now.”

 

There was talk post-Monaco of the FIA looking into a rule potentially taking away a driver’s fastest lap time if they subsequently crash and disrupt a qualifying session. What’s your take on such a rule being implemented?

“I wouldn’t be a big fan of that one if it was to be implemented. It obviously came up because Charles Leclerc hit the wall pretty hard on his last run in qualifying, but obviously it was not intentional. If it had been, the FIA would have seen that, it’s very easy to see that on the data if somebody’s done something intentionally. I don’t think there’s a need to start this discussion. What if instead of a red flag there was only a yellow flag and some people slow down and not some others – do we still cancel the lap of the guy who brought the yellow out? It’s worked for a long time as is, and it’s happened once, especially in Monaco where it’s very easy to crash by the way, I don’t think it’s a problem we need to fix at the moment. It’s part of the risk you take though if you go out late in qualifying. If people had gone out earlier maybe it wouldn’t have happened. I think if somebody does something on purpose there should be consequences, but this wasn’t the case in Monaco.”

 

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix marks the fifth Formula 1 race to be held at Baku City Circuit. As one of the newer venues on the F1 calendar, how do you feel Baku has integrated itself into the ‘hearts and minds’ of teams and fans in its short history?

“I think Baku is a very nice place to go to for a race. It’s a street circuit but it’s got those long straights and the scenery lends itself to the backdrop of the race. We enjoy going there, it’s different, but then we always ask for different things – but then want everything to be the same. I’m a big fan of going to Baku and hopefully it stays on the calendar for a long time to come.”

 

The two street tracks of Monte Carlo and Baku couldn’t be more different but what do you hope to see Nikita and Mick extract from their trip to Azerbaijan – a track where they do have previous race experience from Formula 2 in 2019?

“They’ve both raced once there. Obviously, it’s a very tricky track, but our expectations are not very high. For them it’s the same old story, they need to gain experience and learn all the tricks of the circuit to be ready for the future. Our performance will be not much different from Monte Carlo, but we look forward to it as we always try to get the best out of what we have.”