Baku 2023! Everything You Need To Know...
Updated: Apr 30
After a painstakingly long April break, F1 is back and resumes at the Baku street circuit for the Azerbaijan GP!
It's the first sprint of the weekend, and the first sprint with the new format:
Friday will see 1 free practice session and qualifying for Sunday's GP.
Saturday will see the sprint shootout (qualifying session for the sprint race) and the sprint race.
Sunday will see the GP as usual.
The sprint shootout is 30 minutes long, divided into 3 sections (like quali). Q1 is 12 minutes, and drivers must drive with a medium tyre. The slowest 5 cars are then eliminated. Q2 is 10 minutes long, and drivers again must drive with a medium trye. The slowest 5 cars are eleminated. Finally, Q3 is 8 minutes long, and drivers must drive with a soft tyre.
There have also been a number of upgrades brought to the cars this weekend, hopefully these will pay off for the teams.
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Baku Schedule (BST):
Friday 28th April 2023:
Free Practice 1: 10:30-11:30
Qualifying: 14:00-15:00
Saturday 29th April 2023:
Sprint Shootout: 09:30-10:00
Sprint: 14:30
Sunday 30th April 2021:
The Race: 12:00
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About The Track:
The Baku City Circuit held its first GP in 2016.
The drivers will race 51 laps of the 6.003km track.
The lap record was set by Charles Leclerc in 2019 at 1:43.009.
The track has 2 DRS zones.
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Free Practice Updates:
Times By Teams -
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P13. 1:44.010. Completed 23 laps.
Zhou Guanyu: P10. 1:43.748. Completed 23 laps.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P14. 1:44.137. Completed 18 laps.
Nyck De Vries: P6. 1:43.414. Completed 24 laps.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P18. 1:45.955. Completed 8 laps.
Pierre Gasly: P19. 1:46.321. Completed 7 laps.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P8. 1:43.560. Completed 20 laps.
Lance Stroll: P7. 1:43.455 Completed 23 laps.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P2. 1:32.352. Completed 21 laps.
Charles Leclerc: P4. 1:42.899. Completed 23 laps.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P20. 1:47.498. Completed 8 laps.
Nico Hulkenberg: P15. 1:44.323. Completed 21 laps.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P5. 1:43.125. Completed 22 laps.
Oscar Piastri: P12. 1:43.980. Completed 23 laps.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P11. 1:43.798. Completed 21 laps.
George Russell: P17. 1:45.082. Completed 20 laps.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P1. 1:42.315. Completed 22 laps.
Sergio Perez: P3. 1:42.454. Completed 22 laps.
Williams
Alex Albon: P9. 1:43.628. Completed 25 laps.
Logan Sargeant: P16. 1:44.900. Completed 16 laps.
OVERALL RESULTS OF FP1 -
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:42.315 |
2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.037 |
3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.139 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.584 |
5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.810 |
6 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | +1.099 |
7 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.140 |
8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.245 |
9 | Alex Albon | Williams | +1.313 |
10 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | +1.433 |
11 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1.483 |
12 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.665 |
13 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1.695 |
14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.822 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +2.008 |
16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +2.585 |
17 | George Russell | Mercedes | +2.767 |
18 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +3.640 |
19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +4.006 |
20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +5.183 |
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Qualifying:
Eliminated in Q1 -
Zhou Guanyu
Nyck De Vries
Nico Hulkenberg
Pierre Gasly
Kevin Magnussen
Eliminated in Q2 -
Logan Sargeant
George Russell
Valtteri Bottas
Esteban Ocon
Alex Albon
Through to Q3 -
Oscar Piastri
Charles Leclerc
Lance Stroll
Max Verstappen
Yuki Tsunoda
Sergio Perez
Lando Norris
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso
Lewis Hamilton
OVERALL RESULT OF QUALIFYING:
*this does not take into account any penalties, final starting grid can be found under 'The Race' section*
The time listed shows the driver's fastest qualifying lap for their respective final qualifying sessions. Blue is for Q3, red is for Q2, and no background colour is Q1. For the driver's times for Q1, Q2, Q3, see below in 'Times by Team'.
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:40.203 |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:40.391 |
3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:40.495 |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:41.016 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:41.177 |
6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:41.253 |
7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:41.281 |
8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:41.581 |
9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:41.611 |
10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:41.611 |
11 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:41.654 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:41.798 |
13 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:41.818 |
14 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:42.259 |
15 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:42.395 |
16 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1:42.642 |
17 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:42.755 |
18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:43.417 |
19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:44.853 |
20 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:55.282 |
Times By Teams -
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P14. Q1 = 1:42.582. Q2 = 1:42.259.
Zhou Guanyu: P16. Q1 = 1:42.642.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P8. Q1 = 1:42.234. Q2 = 1:41.569. Q3 = 1:41.581.
Nyck De Vries: P20. Q1 = 1:55.282.
De Vries caused a red flag early on into Q1 as he crashed into the wall at Turn 3.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P12. Q1 = 1:42.622. Q2 = 1:41.798.
Pierre Gasly: P19. Q1 = 1:44.853.
Just past the area where De Vries caused a red flag, Gasly also collided with the wall and caused a red flag.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P6. Q1 = 1:41.720. Q2 = 1:41.370. Q3 = 1:41.253.
Lance Stroll: P9. Q1 = 1:42.524. Q2 = 1:41.576. Q3 = 1:41.611.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P4. Q1 = 1:42.197. Q2 = 1:41.369. Q3 = 1:41.016.
Charles Leclerc: P1. Q1 = 1:41.269. Q2 = 1:41.037. Q3 = 1:40.203.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P18. Q1 = 1:43.417.
Nico Hulkenberg: P17. Q1 = 1:42.755.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P7. Q1 = 1:42.154. Q2 = 1:41.485. Q3 = 1:41.281.
Oscar Piastri: P10. Q1 = 1:42.455. Q2 = 1:41.636. Q3 = 1:41.611.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P5. Q1 = 1:42.113. Q2 = 1:41.650. Q3 = 1:41.177
George Russell: P11. Q1 = 1:42.073. Q2 = 1:41.654.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P2. Q1 = 1:41.398. Q2 = 1:40.822. Q3 = 1:40.391.
Sergio Perez: P3. Q1 = 1:41.756. Q2 = 1:41.131. Q3 = 1:40.495.
Williams
Alex Albon: P13. Q1 = 1:42.171. Q2 = 1:41.818.
Logan Sargeant: P15. Q1 = 1:42.242. Q2 = 1:42.395.
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Sprint Updates:
Sprint Shootout -
Eliminated in SQ1 -
Nyck De Vries
Pierre Gasly
Zhou Guanyu
Yuki Tsunoda
Valtteri Bottas
Eliminated in SQ2 -
Kevin Magnussen
Logan Sargeant (he crashed at the end of SQ1 so he could not continue the shootout and had to withdraw from the entire sprint race.)
Oscar Piastri
Nico Hulkenberg
Esteban Ocon
Through to SQ3 -
Lando Norris (he could not drive SQ3 however as he did not have a new set of softs which are the requirement.)
Charles Leclerc
Lance Stroll
Sergio Perez
Fernando Alonso
Max Verstappen
Alex Albon
George Russell
Lewis Hamilton
Carlos Sainz
OVERALL RESULT OF SPRINT SHOOTOUT:
*this does not take into account any penalties, final starting grid can be found under 'The Race' section*
The time listed shows the driver's fastest qualifying lap for their respective final qualifying sessions. Blue is for SQ3, red is for SQ2, and no background colour is SQ1. For the driver's times for SQ1, SQ2, SQ3, see below in 'Times by Team'.
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:41.697 |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:41.844 |
3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:41.987 |
4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:42.252 |
5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:42.287 |
6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:42.502 |
7 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:42.846 |
8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:43.010 |
9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:43.064 |
10 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Q2 = 1:43.395 |
11 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:43.427 |
12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Alpine | 1:43.806 |
13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:44.088 |
14 | Kevin Magnussen | Williams | 1:44.332 |
15 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | Q1 = 1:44.042 |
16 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1:45.177 |
17 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:45.352 |
18 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:45.436 |
19 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:46.951 |
20 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:48.180 |
Times By Teams -
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas: P17. SQ1 = 1:45.352.
Zhou Guanyu: P16. SQ1 = 1:45.177.
AlphaTauri
Yuki Tsunoda: P18. SQ1 = 1:45.436
Nyck De Vries: P20. SQ1 = 1:48.180.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon: P13. SQ1 = 1:44.433. SQ2 = 1:44.088.
Pierre Gasly: P19. SQ1 = 1:46.951.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: P8. SQ1 = 1:43.789. SQ2 = 1:42.976. SQ3 = 1:43.010.
Lance Stroll: P9. SQ1 = 1:43.879. SQ2 = 1:43.375. SQ3 = 1:43.064.
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz: P5. SQ1 = 1:43.622. SQ2 = 1:42.909. SQ3 = 1:42.287.
Charles Leclerc: P1. SQ1 = 1:42.820. SQ2 = 1:42.500. SQ3 = 1:41.697.
Haas
Kevin Magnussen: P14. SQ1 = 1:44.101. SQ2 = 1:44.332.
Nico Hulkenberg: P12. SQ1 = 1:44.843. SQ2= 1:43.806.
McLaren
Lando Norris: P10. SQ1 = 1:43.938. SQ2 = 1:43.395.
Oscar Piastri: P11. SQ1 = 1:44.179. SQ2 = 1:43.427.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton: P6. SQ1 = 1:43.561. SQ2 = 1:43.061. SQ3 = 1:42.502.
George Russell: P4. SQ1 = 1:43.763. SQ2 = 1:43.112. SQ3 = 1:42.252.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: P3. SQ1 = 1:43.288. SQ2 = 1:42.417. SQ3 = 1:41.987.
Sergio Perez: P2. SQ1 = 1:43.858. SQ2 = 1:42.925. SQ3 = 1:41.844.
Williams
Alex Albon: P8. SQ1 = 1:43.987. SQ2 = 1:43.376. SQ2 = 1:42.846.
Logan Sargeant: P15. SQ1 = 1:44.042
The Sprint -
Starting Grid:
Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
4 | George Russell | Mercedes |
5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
7 | Alex Albon | Williams |
8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
10 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
11 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas |
13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas |
14 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo |
15 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo |
16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
18 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri |
PITS* | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
*Ocon had to start from the pit lane after modifying his car under Parc Ferme conditions.
Sprint Results -
Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sergio Perez | Ferrari | 33:17.667 |
2 | Charles Leclerc | Red Bull | +4.463 |
3 | Max Verstappen | Mercedes | +5.065 |
4 | George Russell | Ferrari | +8.532 |
5 | Carlos Sainz | Aston Martin | +10.388 |
6 | Fernando Alonso | Mercedes | +11.613 |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | Aston Martin | +16.503 |
8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +18.417 |
9 | Alex Albon | Williams | +21.757 |
10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +22.851 |
11 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +27.99 |
12 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | +34.602 |
13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +36.918 |
14 | Nyck De Vries | AlphaTauri | +41.626 |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +48.587 |
16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +49.917 |
17 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +51.104 |
18 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +60.621 |
DNF:
Yuki Tsunoda - AlphaTauri
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Pre-race Penalties
Both Hulkenberg and Ocon will begin Sunday's GP from the pit lanes as their cars were modified under Parc Ferme conditions.
De Vries races at stewards discretion after failing to set a qualifying time within the Q1 107% regulation.
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The Race
Starting Grid -
Position | Diver | Team |
|---|---|---|
1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
7 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri |
9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
11 | George Russell | Mercedes |
12 | Alex Albon | Williams |
13 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo |
14 | Logan Sargeant | Williams |
15 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo |
16 | Kevin Magnussen | Alfa Romeo |
17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine |
18 | Nyck De Vries | Alphatauri |
PITS | Esteban Ocon | Alpine |
PITS | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas |
Race Updates -
Lap 1 - Verstappen gets ahead of Perez and challenges Leclerc at the end of the lap. Magnussen has had some damage to his front wing.
Lap 4 - Verstappen is able to use DRS and overtake Leclerc to now lead the race.
Lap 6 - Perez is now able to challenge Leclerc and take P2. Stroll (P7) and Alonso (P6), comes on the radio to say he "will not attack" and will work for the same team as Alonso is just out of DRS to take P5. Bottas pits for hards.
Lap 9 - Verstappen clipped the wall at Turn 4, but no damage has been detected. Tsunoda, Piastri, and Sargeant pit for hards.
Lap 10 - Hamilton and Norris pit for hards. Yellow flag as De Vries is stranded at turn 6. Verstappen pits for hards.
Lap 11 - Safety car is deployed. Perez, Leclerc, Russell, Zhou, Sainz, Stroll, and Alonso pit under safety car. Everyone is now driving on hards.
Lap 13 - Bottas pits again for a fresh set of hards. The safety car will end this lap.
Lap 14 - Vertsappen takes P2 from Leclerc at Turn 4, and Alonso takes P4 from Alonso at Turn 6.
Lap 15 - Stroll hit the wall in the same spot as De Vries, fortunately he has not taken too much damage.
Lap 24 - Hulkeberg touches the wall, but similaraly to Stroll, he gets away with very little to no damage.
Lap 33 - Gasly is able to overtake Bottas out of Turn 1.
Lap 36 - Bottas pits again for a set of mediums.
Lap 37 - Zhou told to box due to an issue with the car; Alfa Romeo retire the car.
Lap 46 - Norris finally is able to get past Hulkenberg to take P10 at Turn 7.
Lap 50 - Russell and Hulkenberg pit for softs.
Lap 51 - Ocon tries to pit, however, photographers and the parc ferme barriers are already starting to come out. Luckily no one was injured, but this was extremely dangerous to have the pit lane flooded with people when a car has yet to pit.
Fastest Lap - George Russell
Driver of the Day - Sergio Perez
Race Results -
Position | Driver | Team | Gap (seconds) | Pit Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | ​ | 1 |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +2.137 | 1 |
3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +21.217 | 1 |
4 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +22.024 | 1 |
5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +45.491 | 1 |
6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +46.145 | 1 |
7 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +51.617 | 1 |
8 | George Russell | Mercedes | +74.24 | 2 |
9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +80.376 | 1 |
10 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +83.862 | 1 |
11 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +86.501 | 1 |
12 | Alex Albon | Williams | +88.623 | 1 |
13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +89.729 | 1 |
14 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +91.332 | 1 |
15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +97.794 | 1 |
16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +100.943 | 1 |
17 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1 lap | 1 |
18 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +1 lap | 3 |
DNFs:
Nyck De Vries - AlphaTauri
Zhou Guanyu - Alfa Romeo
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Any Other News
Charles Leclerc's debut single enters the top 10!
Laurent Mekies, Ferrari's deputy Team Principle, will take over from Franz Tost as the AlphaTauri Team Principle at the end of the 2023 season.
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Championship Standings
World Constructors Championship
Position | Team | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Red Bull | 180 | ​ |
2 | Aston Martin | 87 | -93 |
3 | Mercedes | 76 | -11 |
4 | Ferrari | 62 | -14 |
5 | McLaren | 14 | -68 |
6 | Alpine | 8 | -6 |
7 | Haas | 7 | -1 |
8 | Alfa Romeo | 6 | -1 |
9 | AlphaTauri | 2 | -4 |
10 | WIlliams | 1 | -1 |
World Drivers Championship
Position | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Max Verstappen | 93 | ​ |
2 | Sergio Perez | 87 | -6 |
3 | Fernando Alonso | 60 | -27 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | 48 | -12 |
5 | Carlos Sainz | 34 | -14 |
6 | Charles Leclerc | 28 | -6 |
7 | George Russell | 28 | -0 |
8 | Lance Stroll | 27 | -1 |
9 | Lando Norris | 10 | -17 |
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | 6 | -4 |
11 | Oscar Piastri | 4 | -2 |
12 | Valtteri Bottsa | 4 | -0 |
13 | Esteban Ocon | 4 | -0 |
14 | Pierre Gasly | 4 | -0 |
15 | Zhou Guanyu | 2 | -2 |
16 | Yuki Tsunoda | 2 | -0 |
17 | Alex Albon | 1 | -1 |
18 | Kevin Magnussen | 1 | -0 |
19 | Logan Sargeant | 0 | -1 |
20 | Nyck De Vries | 0 | -0 |