Preview Azerbaijan GP | Red Bull favourites in Baku, will Mercedes bounce back?

Baku City Circuit

Opened in June 2016, the Baku City Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. A unique street circuit. A narrow and technical second sector, but with the longest straight on the Formula 1 calendar (2.2km), the Baku City Circuit is not your typical street circuit. The circuit is 6,003km long and has 20 corners. The part near the castle is very picturesque.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019

On June 19, 2016, the Baku City Circuit was used for the first time during the European Grand Prix. It became a boring parade and so Tilke's new circuit received a lot of criticism. However, those criticisms disappeared after spectacular races in 2017 and 2018, then under the Azerbaijan Grand Prix name. However, the last edition of 2019 again looked suspiciously like that of 2016.

After victories for Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton, in 2019 it was Valtteri Bottas who managed to grab the victory. The Finn grabbed the pole on Saturday and managed to keep Hamilton behind him throughout the race. Despite the great pressure from the world champion, Bottas took revenge for the 2018 edition, where he suffered a puncture at the head of the race.

For Max Verstappen, Azerbaijan has not yet been a happy hunting ground. He has never been on the podium and even crashed out in 2017 and 2018. In 2017 due to technical problems and in 2018 due to the famous crash with teammate Daniel Ricciardo. In 2019, Verstappen drove to fourth place.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's new teammate for the 2021 season is a master of Baku street circuit. Twice Perez secured a podium place for Force India on this circuit. The Mexican will arrive full of confidence on this track, and will be hoping he can get closer to Verstappen in qualifying to provide Red Bull with a strategic advantage over their rivals. 

Formula 1 in 2021

However, the 2021 Formula One season is set to be truly exciting for the first time in years. Red Bull Racing and Mercedes are very close on every track, leaving the battle for the championship wide open. Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing grabbed the lead in the standings after a strong performance in Monaco, but Mercedes will be looking to bounce back after their dramatic weekend at the other street circuit.

Weather forecast

The weather is getting better. After a cold start in Europe, Weather.com expect this weekend to be at least 25 degrees. The chance of rain is nil during the whole weekend. But there is a lot of wind, and on Sunday this will be really big. Then there will be a northerly wind with speeds up to 39 km/h. Let's see who can stand up to that?

Prediction for Baku Grand Prix

In the past, prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, you would always point the finger at Mercedes. With the longest straight on the Formula 1 calendar, the team with the strongest engine naturally has a huge advantage, and that will also be the case in 2021. Honda has closed the gap, but Mercedes still seems to be slightly ahead.

However, there are a number of things that speak in Red Bull Racing's favour. In Monaco, Mercedes proved not to be strong on the street and struggled in the slow corners. Baku has a long straight, but also an important technical section. Especially over one qualifying lap Mercedes cannot lose too much here.

On top of that Pirelli again brought the softest tyres. Mercedes couldn't run these tyres in Monaco, and in the past Mercedes had more problems with the softest tyres. Add to that the fact that there is a lot of wind and the W12 seemed very sensitive to that in the winter test and you have to say that Red Bull Racing and Verstappen are the favourites.

Timetable for the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Friday

First free practice: 09:30 - 10:30

Second free practice: 13:00 - 14:00

Saturday

Third free practice: 10:00 - 11:00

Qualification: 13:00 - 14:00

Sunday

Race: 13:00 - 15:00