CIRCUIT GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the Baku City Circuit

Formula 1 is back in action this weekend for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with plenty still to fight for. But how much do you know about the Baku City Circuit? F1.com has your all-in-one guide…

Key Baku City Circuit statistics

• Circuit length: 6.003km
• Number of turns: 20
• Number of laps: 51
• Race distance: 306.049km
• Lap record: 1m 43.009s – Charles Leclerc (2019)

When was Azerbaijan’s first Grand Prix?

Like a lot of modern tracks, the Baku City Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke and made its debut in 2016, when it hosted the European Grand Prix – the 23rd and last edition of a race under that title.

It returned to the calendar the following season as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and quickly established itself as a venue that produced exhilarating drama, with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel clashing behind the Safety Car before Daniel Ricciardo clinched a fifth career victory.

Baku has featured every year since with the exception of 2020, joining the likes of Monaco, Singapore and Las Vegas on the list of memorable street circuits.

What’s the circuit like to drive?

Baku presents a unique challenge, combining a remarkably long main straight that sees drivers go three-wide down its 2.2km stretch with tight twists around the city’s medieval walls.

It can be difficult to master, especially as teams have to strike a perfect balance between downforce for the turns and low drag for the straights, and it’s a strong test of a racer’s technical ability and nerve.

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver, explained: “There’s so much to put together in Baku, with lengthy straights and big braking zones in the first sector, before a winding second sector and a tough third sector.

“Braking for Turn 1 is tricky; the corner comes quickly after the start/finish line, but it somehow seems to take such a long time to get there from the final turn. With some slipstream, whether you luck into it or orchestrate it, you can gain a huge amount of time.

“That’s something to watch for in Qualifying, but out-laps are also important; the track surface isn’t so abrasive, so with a slow out-lap you could fail to warm up the tyres and lock up into Turn 1.

“The notorious castle section in the middle of the track is narrow and a place where accidents can easily happen, but the trickiest corner is probably Turn 15, where you’re accelerating towards the end of the lap.

“Turn 15 is an unsighted left-hander in which you’re braking slightly to the right, then you’ve got to slow it down and not get into the run-off area, and avoid the looming walls in the process.

“It’s all about the braking and, like at any street circuit, there’s plenty of time to be gained if you can carry sufficient speed out of the apex – just don’t get greedy with the apex and clout the wall.”

Where are the Straight Mode zones and overtake detection?

As a reminder, and as explained in our pre-season summary of regulation changes, Straight Mode is a different aerodynamic configuration that allows cars to reduce their drag, making them more efficient when accelerating up towards top speed.

The rear wing continues to open up a gap – just like it did when drivers used DRS (the Drag Reduction System) in the past – but now the front wing also moves. The uppermost front wing elements drop down at the same time the rear wing’s top element does.

This is a mode that is used on every single lap in dry conditions, in every area that is designated for it. Essentially, the car will adapt between two different configurations depending on where it is on the track, providing maximum downforce in corners but then less drag on straights.

In Baku, there are two designated Straight Mode zones – the section between Turns 2 and 3, followed by another longer one along the start/finish straight, beginning at the exit of Turn 19 and extending all the way down to Turn 1.

Meanwhile, Overtake Mode replaces DRS and is a new power mode that allows a driver to recharge more electrical energy, and generate an additional electrical power profile, so they can sustain a higher speed for a longer period.

There is one detection point per lap for this mode – expected to be out of the final corner on many occasions, leading onto a long straight – and it will be available to drivers on the following lap as long as they stay within a second of the car in front at that detection point.

Around the Baku City Circuit, the Overtake Detection point comes shortly after the left-hander of Turn 16, while the Overtake Activation line follows at the entry of Turn 17.

Five fun facts about the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• The Baku City Circuit includes the longest straight on the F1 calendar at 2.2km
• Leclerc is the only driver who has recorded more than one pole position in Baku, having qualified P1 on four occasions
• Red Bull hold the record for the most wins (five) – one for Ricciardo, and two apiece for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
• At its narrowest point (the Turn 8/9 ‘Old Town’ complex), the circuit is just 7.6m wide
• Qualifying for the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw a record-breaking six red flags