Baku does not have the history of the great Formula 1 cathedrals such as Monza, Silverstone, Spa or the Nürburgring, but everything suggests that, if he had had a career as long as those mentioned, his resume would be at least similar.
Only five races has seen F1 on the Baku street circuit, and yet it’s already enough to collect great and incredible moments that will be remembered for decades. We are going to review the history of the highest category in Azerbaijan.
The 2016 F1 European GP in Baku: Rosberg prevails and Hamilton fails and suffers
Baku entered the F1 calendar in 2016, but not as the Azerbaijan GP, but as the European GP, which had historically been held in other circuits that were in countries with another race, such as Valencia, Jerez, Brands Hatch or Nurburgring .
The circuit was no stranger to early problems, with curbs leading to numerous tire cuts on Friday, a day where the drivers found the track to be much more of a challenge than it appeared in the simulator. In the season in which Rosberg and Hamilton , as partners in Mercedes, played for the title, the German took pole position while the Englishman suffered an accident in Q3 that left him tenth.
From there, Rosberg had no problems winning the European GP ahead of a Vettel who came from behind and a brilliant Checo Pérez who had shone on Saturday to qualify second and who, after a penalty for replacing the gearbox and starting seventh, was third with the Force India. It was a black Sunday for the two Spaniards: Alonso suffered an abandonment due to the gearbox in his McLaren F1 and Carlos Sainz another KO due to a suspension problem in his Toro Rosso .
Hamilton also had power problems in his Mercedes, and had to settle for fifth place, paying dearly for the mistake he had made on Saturday. The one in Baku in F1 was, however, a criticized debut after a rather boring race.
The 2017 F1 Azerbaijan GP in Baku: Vettel rams Hamilton and there is a surprise podium
Ferrari’s Vettel arrived at the Baku race (already called the 2017 Azerbaijan GP) with a 12-point advantage over Hamilton, and both were the protagonists of the event. The Briton took pole on Saturday, with his rival fourth, and on Sunday the war broke out directly.
During a safety car period, Hamilton was leading the pack and over-braking after a tight corner, which surprised a Vettel who took justice into his own hands in the face of the unsportsmanlike defense and, standing next to the Mercedes, directly rammed it . He was penalized with a 10-second stop and go that saw him finish fourth, but smiled when a problem with Hamilton’s car sent the Englishman down to fifth.
The exchange of statements was very hot after the race, and just as unfortunate: Vettel said that they competed as men and Hamilton challenged him to demonstrate that manhood outside the car. When he became aware of his mistake, Vettel softened his tone and telephoned Hamilton to apologize, in addition to doing so publicly. However, the FIA decided to enter fully, and Vettel had to appear before the highest body in Paris, although he ended up getting rid of a greater sanction.
Beyond the historical controversy between the two contenders for the title, the victory went to Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), ahead of Bottas and a surprising Lance Stroll with the Williams. The Canadian became the second youngest driver in F1 history to achieve a podium finish, and in fact was second until on the same main straight, and over the line, Bottas took advantage of the increased power of the Mercedes to steal second. put for just a tenth.
The 2018 F1 Azerbaijan GP in Baku: civil war between Ricciardo and Verstappen at Red Bull
If the 2017 edition was controversial, the 2018 Azerbaijan GP was not far behind. Vettel failed to attack Bottas for the victory, and the Finn suffered a vicious puncture at the end that gave Hamilton victory. Raikkonen finished second and Pérez, who had had to serve a five-second penalty for failing to respect the minimum speed during a safety car, was third.
But the leading role went to the Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. After battling throughout the race, an undercut put the Dutchman ahead of the Australian, who tried to regain his position considering that the team had favored his teammate. At top speed on the Baku straight, Verstappen made two changes of direction and surprised Ricciardo, who directly took him ahead under braking for the first corner.
(Here are the photos of the historic accident)
The stewards sanctioned both with reprimands and from the team they were outraged, blaming both. Verstappen, who had already had incidents with Hamilton in that 2018 course and had ruined the Chinese GP for Vettel, was renewed with the team, but not a Ricciardo who saw the straw that broke the camel’s back there and who, fed up with the favor treatment of Red Bull to the young Max, would announce months later that he was leaving the team and surprisingly signed for Renault .
But in addition to the Red Bull one, there was another anecdote that will be remembered from Azerbaijan 2018, when Romain Grosjean spun during a Safety Car period and blamed it on Marcus Ericsson, who was riding a considerable distance behind him. His “I think Ericsson hit us! (I think Ericsson has hit us!)” went viral, of course.
And also, beyond Hamilton’s victory, he was praising Alonso’s seventh place after suffering a touch and staying on two wheels on the first lap. The Spaniard, far from throwing in the towel, toured the entire circuit with a badly damaged car and from there began a great comeback to the points.
F1 Azerbaijan GP 2019 in Baku: Bottas beats Hamilton; Leclerc coup
Friday of the 2019 Azerbaijan GP got off to a rocky start, when a manhole that rose up and damaged Russell’s car forced Free Practice 1 to be canceled just 10 minutes after it started. Leclerc was fastest in the Ferrari in a very bumpy second session, which recalled the difficulty of the track.
Saturday looked very good for the Monegasque, but a serious accident in Q2 in the castle area ended his options. Leclerc was very hard on himself (“I’m stupid”, he went so far as to say), and Bottas inherited pole position.
Kimi Raikkonen was disqualified from qualifying for failing a flexibility test on his Alfa Romeo car, and was forced to start from the pitlane. In the race, the Mercedes had no rival and completed a double with Bottas in front of a Hamilton who warned that in the next start he would not be so generous.
It was a Sunday without much history, where the most striking thing was that precisely a former Mercedes, Nico Rosberg, was sanctioned with two races without being able to enter the paddock when he was caught leaving his access pass to the circuit to his camera, something that is prohibited .
F1 Azerbaijan GP 2021 in Baku: Verstappen accident, Hamilton failure and Pérez surprise victory
If in the previous Baku races it was clear that anything could happen, the 2021 edition, the last one held so far, confirmed it. Fans will remember Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as great rivals for the world championship in that season, and the two left Azerbaijan empty.
On Friday he revealed that Mercedes was one step behind Red Bull and a priori also below Ferrari, but on Saturday we experienced a crazy qualifying like few others. There were up to four red flags, a record shared with Hungary 2016 (until the Imola event in 2022), and the last of them, an accident by Yuki Tsunoda, prevented Verstappen from improving and Leclerc, with a slipstream from Hamilton, took the surprise pole position. That last-minute accident left Max, Sainz, Pérez and everyone affected furious, and left a grid in which Leclerc shared the front row with Hamilton and Verstappen second with Pierre Gasly.
The Dutchman confirmed his role as favorite by leading much of Sunday’s race, and Red Bull was on course for a one-two finish when, with five laps to go before the checkered flag, Verstappen suffered a tire blowout on the main straight that saw him star a bad accident. There came a Safety Car that ended in a red flag and in a final ‘mini race’ of only two laps. Pérez was the leader and Hamilton, with his rival out, was second, on his way to adding 18 very valuable points that would have allowed him to become first in the world championship.
However, the Englishman attacked with everything in the first corner and made a grotesque mistake after touching the wrong button going wide, seeing how the entire peloton passed him. He was finally 15th, and victory went to Pérez, ahead of an incredible Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly ‘s AlphaTauri. Along with them, Fernando Alonso was also the protagonist, who was tenth at the restart and managed, with two magnificent laps, to finish sixth thanks to a great final sprint.
