Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Preview

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team enters the event in seventh position in Formula 1’s Constructors’ Championship, on seven points, buoyed by successive points finishes in the previous grands prix in Saudi Arabia and Australia. Kevin Magnussen collected 10th place around the streets of Jeddah prior to Nico Hulkenberg scoring seventh position in Albert Park, capturing MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s best result since July 2022. 

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Magnussen and Hulkenberg both know their way around the Baku City Circuit. The pair were part of the driver line-up for Baku’s inaugural race, which ran under the European Grand Prix moniker, in 2016 – with Magnussen sixteenth and Hulkenberg scoring points in ninth. That remains Hulkenberg’s highest Baku finish, though Magnussen bettered his result in 2017 when he classified a strong seventh. 

Azerbaijan and MoneyGram Haas F1 Team have a shared connection as both joined the Formula 1 championship in 2016. Azerbaijan’s historic capital Baku – adjacent to the Caspian Sea, is the location for its annual grand prix, with an eclectic temporary facility set up around the city streets. The 6km layout – the third-longest on the current schedule – features contrasting sections that give the circuit a unique flavor. That includes long straights punctuated by 90-degree turns, a narrow and twisty section around the Old City, and a full-throttle sector along which drivers will remain flat out for 2km.  

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will this year host the first of six planned F1 Sprint events – the first time the Sprint weekend format has been run at the Baku City Circuit – now inclusive of a stand-alone Sprint Shootout qualifying session on the Saturday to set the Sprint grid. It will be the first experience of F1 Sprint for Hulkenberg, while Magnussen has prior know-how of the format, scoring points in all three of last year’s Sprint events.   

Guenther Steiner – Team Principal:

The Australian Grand Prix was one to remember for many reasons. What were the emotions when Nico finally crossed the line and brought home his first points for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team?

“It was one of those moments where you thought he could make points and do it, and hopefully a lot more. Then immediately the frustration sets in with what could’ve been if there had been a different decision from the Race Director. In the end, we’re happy with seventh place, and the six points we scored takes us forward in the Constructors’ Championship again. All in all, a very good race weekend for us in Australia.” 

 

What has the team been up to in the three-week gap and has this provided a timely reset for the next leg of the calendar? 

“With the unintended break, we tried to make the best out of it. Firstly, I told people to rest a little bit and get ready for a tough season in front of us as, the real season starts now with the double-header and then the triple-header. The design team is working on the last little bits for upgrades that we bring in the next races, starting in Miami. We also put a few things in place like the race team going to a team bonding event for two days in Wales.” 

We head to the Baku City Circuit for Round 4 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Championship. The team hasn’t scored around the City of Winds since 2017, is the VF-23 the car that will break that streak? 

“It’s difficult to say because it’s not only our form. I think our car isn’t perfect but I don’t know where the rest of the cars are perfect this year. I let myself be surprised when we go out in first practice and see what we can do, but this year it could be possible that our car scores points in every race. That’s the aim anyway so let’s hope after 2017, 2023 is the year that we score points in Baku.” 

 

For the first Sprint of the season, Formula 1 and the FIA has approved a revised format for separate qualifying sessions for the Sprint and the Grand Prix. Are you in favor of mixing up a traditional weekend format or do you prefer the standard practice, qualifying and race set-up?

“I definitely prefer the new set-up because Saturday morning practice is pretty pointless as you couldn’t change anything on the car, you just went out there, did laps and tried to understand the tires – I don’t think that’s very interesting for the fans. A second qualifying is a lot better for the fans and also for us as it gives you excitement. We’ve got a lot of things going on at the weekend, two qualifying sessions and two races, and I think that’s great for the sport.”