Baku Speed Trap: Who is the fastest of them all?

Baku is often described as a blend of two extremes - Monaco and Monza - thanks to the old city's narrow and twisty sections that are linked together by long straights followed by heavy braking zones.

But unlike Formula 1’s crown jewel, Baku requires a set-up balance weighted more towards straight-line speed than aerodynamic efficiency as, contrary to Italy’s Temple of Speed, there are no high-speed corners around Azerbaijan’s 6.0km street circuit.

For this reason, most teams are sacrificing a bit of downforce this weekend to gain velocity by running lower-downforce rear wings, although not the trimmed-out variety that one encountered at Monza last time out.

Baku’s speed trap is located approximately at the mid-way point of the track’s long 2.2km main straight, just before the pit entry. But drivers typically reach their maximum velocity further down the road – especially when they benefit from a slipstream, a very powerful tool in Baku, be it in qualifying or on race day.

Looking therefore at the numbers in the right column here above, the top speed of Liam Lawson’s VCARB (344.7 km/h) was evidently a strong component in the Kiwi’s outstanding performance in qualifying – setting aside the specific disruptive circumstances that marred the session.

But the same argument can be applied to poleman Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull RB21 is running much less drag than its rivals this weekend – and especially McLaren.

However, while Max was breezing down the straights at warp speed, the trade-off was that he had to use his very best skills to keep his car pointing in the right direction under braking and in the corners, something a few of his rivals fail to do.

Strategy Corner

Moving on to our strategy corner, Verstappen is likely to lead the field from the outset and progressively build his advantage, while Carlos Sainz and Lawson fend off their theoretically faster adversaries.

But The Dutchman warned that tyre management will be paramount in Sunday’s race. According to Pirelli, the fastest route to the checkered flag is a one-stop with Medium and Hard playing the leading roles, unless of course there are any neutralisations.

• Read also: Verstappen battled chaos but ‘nailed everything’ to claim Baku pole

“As for the Soft, it is unlikely to be used in the race, but it cannot be ruled out entirely, for example in the case of someone looking to do a short first stint, before running in clear air and going all the way to the chequered flag,” commented Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola.

“Obviously a first stint on Medium or Hard allows for greater flexibility, since it’s not out of the question that the race could be neutralized.

The one certainty is that it will be a very unpredictable race, especially because of a grid order like nothing we have seen so far this season.

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