1118th F1 GRAND PRIX | 7th AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX | 8th F1 GRAND PRIX AT BAKU CITY CIRCUIT
2023 POLESITTER: CHARLES LECLERC | 2023 WINNER: SERGIO PEREZ
Baku City Circuit has gained a reputation for producing unpredictable and action-packed races since joining the calendar in 2016. The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is set to take place on September 13-15.
2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday September 13
Free Practice 1 – 1:30pm Local Time/ 10:30am UK Time
Free Practice 2 – 5:00pm Local Time/ 2:00pm UK Time
Saturday September 14
Free Practice 3 – 12:30pm Local Time/ 9:30am UK Time
Qualifying – 4:00pm Local Time/ 1:00pm UK Time
Sunday September 15
The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – 3:00pm Local Time/ 12:00pm UK Time
2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX: WEEKEND MILESTONES
The 43rd lap of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be the 400th Grand Prix racing lap to take place at Baku City Circuit since it first joined the Formula 1 calendar.
This weekend, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen become the first drivers to make eight F1 appearances in Azerbaijan.
Sergio Perez became the first repeat winner at Baku City Circuit in 2023. A victory at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix would make him the first driver to win three times at the track, while Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas or Max Verstappen could equal Perez’s record of two Azerbaijan victories.
READ MORE IN MILESTONES AND RECORDS TO BREAK
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
WHAT HAS CHANGED AT THE CIRCUIT SINCE LAST YEAR?
There have been only minor changes at Baku City Circuit since the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. A number of walls around the circuit have been re-aligned, while some concrete walls in run-off areas have been replaced. Meanwhile, patches of asphalt have been re-laid in the pit exit and at Turns 2 & 3 and Turns 7 & 8.
HOW MANY DRS ZONES WILL THERE BE AT THE 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX?
Like last year, there will be two DRS zones at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The activation zones are located after Turn 2 and on the main straight after Turn 20. The DRS zone on the main straight is 100 metres longer than in 2023.
BAKU CITY CIRCUIT TRACK GUIDE
The oil-rich country of Azerbaijan became the newest fixture on the F1 calendar in 2016. The Baku City circuit, the second longest track of the season, combines twisting sections reminiscent of Monaco with flat-out straights like those at Monza.
Baku itself is no stranger to motorsport, with the Baku World Challenge having been held on a street circuit between 2012 and 2014. Azerbaijan wanted a prestigious event to add to its list of honours, and followed in the footsteps of similarly oil-rich countries Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, and enticed Formula 1 to the area.
In December 2013, Bernie Ecclestone announced that a deal had been signed for F1 to visit the country for the first time, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to be added to the Formula 1 calendar from 2015 onwards. Ecclestone then suggested that the event would replace the Korean Grand Prix, with the organisers of that event being in breach of their contract. In July 2014, it was announced that the Baku race would in fact début in 2016.
READ MORE IN OUR ULTIMATE TRACK GUIDE
WHO WILL BE IN THE 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX PRESS CONFERENCES?
The world’s media will have the opportunity to talk to the drivers ahead of the on-track action. The drivers appearing in the press conference for this race are:
Oliver Bearman (Haas)
Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)
Franco Colapinto (Williams)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
The media will also be talking to prominent members of Formula 1’s teams in a separate press conference over the race weekend. The team members appearing in the press conference are:
Ayao Komatsu (Haas)
Alessandro Alunni Bravi (Sauber)
Christian Horner (Red Bull)
WHO WILL BE THE RACE DIRECTOR AT THE 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX?
Niels Wittich will be the race director at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
WHO WILL BE THE DRIVER STEWARD AT THE 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX?
Each weekend a former Formula 1 driver, or a driver from another prominent series of motorsport, joins the stewards to help judge any incidents from a drivers’ perspective. The Driver Steward this weekend is Johnny Herbert.
WHICH TYRE COMPOUNDS WILL BE USED AT THE 2024 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX?
Pirelli will supply the C3, C4 and C5 tyre compounds at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The C3, C4 and C5 compounds were also used in 2023.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME AT THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX?
Baku City Circuit hosted the first F1 Sprint weekend of the season. Leclerc took pole position for both races, but it was Perez who emerged victorious for Red Bull in the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
After just one hour of Free Practice, it was time for qualifying at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. There was drama early on in the qualifying hour, with two red flags caused by Nyck de Vries and Pierre Gasly scraping the walls. While George Russell was the big name to miss out on Q3, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen set identical provisional pole times in the early stages of the final session before Leclerc lowered the benchmark to secure the first non-Red Bull pole of the year.
For the first time, Saturday was a standalone Sprint day, with the drivers partaking in a 45 minute Sprint Shootout to decide the grid for the afternoon’s race. Logan Sargeant crashed out in SQ1 – leaving him unable to partake in the Sprint – but it was Leclerc who secured the fastest lap time in SQ3 to take the front spot on the grid for the Sprint despite hitting the barriers in the closing moments.
Leclerc held on to the lead at the start of the Sprint, while contact between Russell and Verstappen at Turn 3 nearly eliminated the Red Bull driver from the race. The duo continued their wheel-to-wheel scrap around the opening lap, with Russell eventually getting ahead. A scrape of the walls for Yuki Tsunoda saw the AlphaTauri driver lose a wheel, bringing out the Safety Car.
Leclerc maintained the lead at the restart, while Verstappen took his third place back from Russell at Turn 1. Perez overtook the race leader at the start of Lap 8, where he would remain for the last 10 laps of the Sprint.
It was a similar story on Sunday, where Leclerc was able to maintain his lead after his Friday pole for the opening stages of the race before being passed by a Red Bull – this time Verstappen – as Lap 4 began. Two laps later, Leclerc was demoted again when Perez made his way into second place.
Another collision with the wall for De Vries brought out the yellow flags, which prompted a pit stop for Verstappen before the Safety Car was called. Perez and Leclerc pitted under Safety Car conditions, giving them the on-track advantage over Verstappen.
A clean restart saw Perez keep hold of the lead, while Verstappen re-passed Leclerc for second place. Fernando Alonso made an eye-catching move on Carlos Sainz for fourth place while a mistake for the other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll allowed Lewis Hamilton to make an overtake.
Both Red Bull drivers clipped the barriers at Turn 15 as the race neared its conclusion but it didn’t stop them from dominating proceedings, securing their second consecutive 1-2 finish at Baku City Circuit. Perez’s victory made him the first repeat Grand Prix winner in Azerbaijan, while polesitter Leclerc completed the podium line-up.
WHAT’S THE FASTEST EVER LAP AT BAKU CITY CIRCUIT?
Attending the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix? Learn more about visiting Bahrain International Circuit in the F1Destinations Travel Guide.