| Press Information 11 September 2024 |
F1: Race Preview
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Preview
The first leg of the second double header after the summer break takes place in Baku.
- Toto Talks Azerbaijan
- Fact File: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Stat Sheet: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Toto Talks Azerbaijan
We head to Baku aiming for a better performance than we showed in Zandvoort and Monza. Both were difficult races for us. Our relative pace was not as strong as it was prior to the summer break and several of our competitors took a step forward. We showed good pace at moments across both weekends but were unable to unlock this consistently. We have spent the time since then analysing why this was. We have the opportunity to show we have done the necessary learning and made improvements both for this weekend in Azerbaijan and the following week in Singapore.
Both are challenging street circuits. They are bumpy, have many low-speed and 90 degree corners, but also feature plenty of high-speed sections. They pose a very different test to the ones we faced in the Netherlands and Italy. The traditional European portion of the season is now behind us. We have eight flyaway races before the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi. We are focused on ending the season as strongly as possible. There is plenty of racing left and we will be fighting for every point possible, starting this weekend in Baku.
Fact File: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- The Baku City Circuit is the fourth longest on the F1 calendar this year - only Spa, Las Vegas and Jeddah are longer.
- A lap of the track sees drivers change gear 64 times, more than at any other circuit on the 2024 calendar.
- The Baku City Circuit also ranks highest in terms of braking energy. No track on the 2024 calendar has more braking zones of over 2G.
- Given the nature of a street circuit, it is perhaps no surprise that the Safety Car has been deployed five times across the last five races and is often required more than once across a Grand Prix.
- The section from the exit at Turn 16 to the braking zone for Turn 1 is the longest full-throttle passage of the year. It is around 200 metres longer than the segment from Turns 1 to 5 at Spa-Francorchamps.
- The 2.2 km start/finish straight therefore contributes to a very difficult restart for the leader, with a strong tow for the driver behind leaving them vulnerable into Turn 1.
- The name Baku derives from the shortened Persian name Bad-kuye, meaning "wind city", along with Bad-kube, which means "wind-hitting." Both terms refer to the famously consistently strong winds that blow through the city.
- Baku hosted an F1 Sprint weekend for the first time in 2023.
- The 2024 event is taking place in September for the first time, having previously taken place in the first half of the season (April or May).
- F1 first visited Baku in 2016, when the race was known as the European Grand Prix. It has been known as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix every year since.
- The team has recorded three wins in Baku with three different drivers - Nico Rosberg (2016), Lewis Hamilton (2018), and Valtteri Bottas (2019).
- George has also triumphed in Baku, winning the F2 Sprint race in 2018.
#AzerbaijanGP Preview: The Inside Line
F1: Race Preview 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Preview The first leg of the second double header after the summer break takes place in Baku.
Toto Talks Azerbaijan We head to Baku aiming for a better performance than we showed in Zandvoort and Monza. Both were difficult races for us. Our relative pace was not as strong as it was prior to the summer break and several of our competitors took a step forward. We showed good pace at moments across both weekends but were unable to unlock this consistently. We have spent the time since then analysing why this was. We have the opportunity to show we have done the necessary learning and made improvements both for this weekend in Azerbaijan and the following week in Singapore. Both are challenging street circuits. They are bumpy, have many low-speed and 90 degree corners, but also feature plenty of high-speed sections. They pose a very different test to the ones we faced in the Netherlands and Italy. The traditional European portion of the season is now behind us. We have eight flyaway races before the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi. We are focused on ending the season as strongly as possible. There is plenty of racing left and we will be fighting for every point possible, starting this weekend in Baku. Fact File: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Stat Sheet: Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Race Records - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Technical Stats - Season to Date (Pre-season Testing to Present)
Mercedes-Benz in Formula One
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