Formula 1 moves back to the old world this week, setting up shop on the fastest street circuit of the season in Baku.
The anti-clockwise, six-kilometer layout features twenty turns, almost all of them right-angled, in the old section of Baku, and a two-kilometer flat-out straight that runs along the Caspian Sea.
There's no room for compromise in terms of set-up, with low downforce aero settings prevailing to ensure maximum speed.
Compared to last year, Pirelli has gone for a soft/supersoft/ultrasoft selection which is two steps given that the Italian manufacturer's compounds are all basically softer this year.
The race is also held two months earlier that it was previously, meaning cooler conditions are expected.
"The Azerbaijan Grand Prix should have quite a different look to it this time, being held two months earlier and presumably presenting a contrast to last year in terms of weather conditions, when track temperatures peaked at more than 50 degrees centigrade," explains Pirelli's Mario Isola.
"Last year, we felt that we were a little too conservative with the tyre nomination in Azerbaijan in the first year of the new tyre regulations, as the medium wasn’t really used. So, we felt that this year we had scope to be a little more aggressive with the nominations.
"This should lead to all three compounds being used as realistic race options, and some inventive race strategies, as we saw at the last two Grands Prix in Bahrain and China."
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