Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix 2022 preview: a mix of Monaco and Monza
The eighth round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship will be held this weekend as teams converge on Baku, the host city of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Baku urban circuit where the race will take place is a 3.73-mile-long street circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, featuring a 1.3-mile long straight, long pits lining the edge of the Caspian Sea, and several tight corners in the historic city center.
Thus, this circuit is a mix between Monaco and Monza. The circuit is a bit of a mix between Monaco and Monza, as the sections through the narrow maze of streets in the old town resemble the principality, while the long straights and intense braking zones are similar to the Temple of Speed in Monza's Royal Park.
This mix of tight corners, long straights, and intense braking zones makes setting up a car in Baku a tricky task. Teams want to gain as much downforce as possible in the slower corners while minimizing drag on the long straights. Therefore, as in Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, the emphasis will be on reducing drag without losing too much downforce.
The track surface is relatively smooth, with some sections of the surface being renewed each year to completely cover the cobblestones of the old town. The average steering angle is very small, making it difficult to get the tires up to temperature. The corners do not generate as much energy as other circuits, forcing teams to rely on the heat generated during braking to warm up the tires.
Pirelli has named the three softest compounds for this weekend, C3 on white hard, C4 on yellow medium, and C5 on red soft. This is the same designation as last year, but the compounds are new for the 2022 season.
The weather forecast calls for sunny but mild conditions for both Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race, making for a dry weekend. [Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen leads the 2022 drivers' championship with 125 points. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari is second with 116 points and Sergio Perez of Red Bull is third with 110 points. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull leads with 235 points to Ferrari's 199 and Mercedes-Benz AMG's 134. Last year's winner in Azerbaijan was Red Bull's Perez.
