Renault details the Baku route: “As if we were assembling three distinct circuits”

In just three editions, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has acquired the status of an essential race in Formula 1. The Baku city track, with a length of 6,003 km, has often seen second-place finishers do well: Lance stroll (Williams) in 2017 and Sergio Pérez last year took advantage of various accidents to get on the podium.

Team Renault, tied for fourth with Sauber in the Manufacturers' standings after three GPs, intends to take advantage of the Azeri adventures, as explained Cyril Abiteboul. “We will continue to attack and bring new elements to the next rounds. Baku is often unpredictable, the races are thrilling and it's an opportunity to capitalize on your opponents' mistakes while trying to avoid making any ourselves, advances the main Team.

The Technical Director in charge of the RS19 chassis, Nick Chester, details the secrets of the circuit. “Baku has a beautiful layout making things very interesting. It's like putting together three separate circuits. The first sector is similar to Sochi (Russia) with right-angled turns and straights, the next one is similar to Monaco and the last one is like Canada with a long straight line.”

ONE HOUR TO LIGHTS OUT

A lap of Baku City Circuit will take the drivers roughly 102 seconds

Here's one in 16 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/I5ACFEYjPB

- Formula 1 (@ F1) 25th June 2017

This is a difficult mix to master, because we would ideally use different levels of support for each sector. There, there is always a compromise to be made », analyzes the Briton. 

The new leader of the Yellows and Blacks, Daniel Ricciardo, impatiently awaits this unique event of its kind. “Baku is a circuit different from the other urban tracks we go to as there are so many places to overtake”, says the Australian, who scored his first points in 2019 during the last round in China.

“It’s a track that has always been interesting from my point of view. I had some strong moments there, like my crazy victory in 2017, and others more difficult like last year. In 2017, the race was crazy. It was like we were doing karting and that we had all returned to childhood, he compares!

We kick off our #AzerbaijanGP preview: @danielricciardo & @HulkHulkenberg explain why @BakuCityCircuit is known for thrilling races.#RSspirit pic.twitter.com/eFYwEGS5po

- Renault F1 Team (@ RenaultF1Team) April 23th

There are things in Baku that future circuits could take inspiration from. The long curved straight line is conducive to enormous aspiration phenomena and very competitive races. And since we have low downforce settings on the car, the grip is just as low. » 

The 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix could therefore be an ideal opportunity to score big points for Renault, provided you avoid all accidents... and also reliability glitches, as was the case in Bahrain and in China for Nico Hulkenberg. “We experienced another retirement in Shanghai, the fourth in six starts, including three on reliability problems, specifies Cyril Abiteboul. If our objective for the season to widen the gap with the peloton remains unchanged, we must agree to make a particular effort to resolve these problems which could compromise our season. »