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Baku is a mashup of Monaco and Monza, 90 feet below sea level.
The distance between the start line and turn 1 is shorter at Baku than any other F1 circuit I can think of. Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Almost a decade old now, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is part of the modern breed of Formula 1 street circuits. Set on the shores of the Caspian Sea, the anti-clockwise layout manages to combine some of F1's highest top speeds with a rather fiddly section through the old city, all of it lined with walls and barriers to punish mistakes. It's a low-downforce track, with mostly slow corners, similar to Montreal and Monza.
Despite the questionable record of the hosting country—something all too many F1 races can also offer, including the three held in the US—I have a soft spot for watching Baku, with its interesting mix of old and new architecture, and it usually puts on a good race. I particularly love the helicopter and drone shots that follow the action with a God's eye view, giving you a glimpse behind the building facades and into this city by the sea.
Friday's practice sessions gave the Ferrari-supporting Tifosi something to look forward to, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc topping the times for FP2. Hamilton, who has looked at sea this year after his switch to Ferrari, was made the bubbliest we've seen him all season when being interviewed on Friday, and his teammate Leclerc has four pole positions to his name at Baku, further stoking the hope.
Qualifying chaos
Pole was not in the cards for Charles Leclerc this year. Credit: Joe Portlock/Getty Images
Saturday's qualifying session didn't pan out for the red cars. A good time for Hamilton in Q1 was not matched in Q2, and the seven-time world champion, who is yet to step on the podium this year (other than his Sprint win in China), was knocked out in Q2 and relegated to starting 12th. His was not the only hard day that saw a record six red flags interrupt the session, which took more than two hours to complete.
Strong, random gusts of wind caught out plenty, suddenly changing grip levels and even braking points and littering the track with leaves and branches. Williams' Alex Albon clipped his front left wheel on the apex of turn 1 on only his second lap, ending his day almost before it started.
A tailwind caught out Alpine's Pierre Gasly in Q1, and his rookie teammate Franco Colapinto hit the wall at the same corner shortly after. Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg also crashed, although not badly enough that he couldn't return to the pit under his own steam. As mentioned, Hamilton went no further than Q2, and Haas rookie Oliver Bearman was responsible for one of those six red flags when he collided with a wall.
Q3 was interrupted by light rain, just after Carlos Sainz had set a fantastic time in the other Williams. Had more rain arrived, Sainz would surely have started on pole position for Sunday's race. But things cleared up enough for the other drivers to complete some laps.
The old city section. Credit: James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Or try to, at least. With only four times on the board, Leclerc crashed heavily at turn 15, the third time in recent years. Championship leader Oscar Piastri also found the wall in his McLaren, putting the pair in ninth and eighth for the race. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was only able to secure seventh on the grid—like Canada and Monza, the McLaren does not have an advantage at low-downforce circuits.
On the other hand, cold temperatures and low downforce play well to the Mercedes' strength, and its drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli would start fourth and fifth. As we saw at Monza, Red Bull has unlocked some speed on tracks with these characteristics, too, and Yuki Tsunoda put in one of his best qualifying performances all year to grab sixth for the start.
Liam Lawson, who started the season at Red Bull before swapping seats with Tsunoda to move to the Racing Bulls, had an even better day, snagging third. Sainz would still start on the front row, but next to Max Verstappen, who demonstrated his mastery of car control in changeable conditions and uncertain grip to get pole position.
Almost no chaos in the race
If Saturday was bad for McLaren, Sunday was worse. Piastri jumped the start, then got swamped on the grid after his anti-stall system kicked in. He made it as far as turn 5 before locking up his front tires and finding the wall, heavily. The championship leader would watch the rest of the race from behind the crash fencing.
Oscar Piastri would have to have at least two more DNFs and another bunch of bad races, plus Verstappen would have to win a lot, for Verstappen to be an actual threat this year. Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
The combination of cold temperatures, low downforce, and low cornering speeds meant that the Pirelli tires didn't really degrade, helping out the teams that, unlike McLaren, don't look after their tires well when the situation is reversed. Up front, Verstappen was never really in any threat. Sainz did his best to hang onto second but eventually claimed third—and his first podium for Williams. Second went to Russell, who had to bring his A game to beat Sainz, overcutting him in with a late pit stop. Antonelli came home in fourth, with Lawson a fine fifth place and Tsunoda in sixth.
The sole McLaren of Norris had a rather mid-field day, without the top speed to pass, even with the drag-reduction system. A botched pit stop by his team and poor tire choice didn't help, leaving him to finish seventh. The Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc could do no better than eighth and ninth, with Isack Hadjar taking the final point in the other Racing Bull.
With Norris' seventh and Piastri's DNF (his first for 43 races), McLaren fans online appeared to have a crisis of faith, flooding social media with laments that Red Bull and Verstappen were now a real threat. To them, I say, "Calm down and have a cup of tea and a nice biscuit." Piastri has a 69-point lead over Verstappen (a win is worth 25), and Norris is 44 points ahead. Every driver will make a few mistakes during a season, and it's better for Piastri to make them all this weekend than spread them out. Like Canada and Monza, Baku is an outlier—if the Red Bull manages to be this competitive at high-downforce Singapore (our next race), then you can think about panicking.
It must be rather galling to Ferrari President John Elkann that the driver he forced out of the team for Lewis Hamilton has secured a podium for Williams before Hamilton has done the same at Ferrari. Credit: Joe Portlock/Getty Images
2025 is not like seasons past, where teams developed their cars all year. With such a big rule change coming for 2026 and the limited resources of the cost cap, upgrades are few and far between, and there's little reason to think the McLaren will suddenly be at a disadvantage for most of the remaining circuits. Then again, Murray Walker used to say that F1 spelled backward is "if"...
The distance between the start line and turn 1 is shorter at Baku than any other F1 circuit I can think of. Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Almost a decade old now, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is part of the modern breed of Formula 1 street circuits. Set on the shores of the Caspian Sea, the anti-clockwise layout manages to combine some of F1's highest top speeds with a rather fiddly section through the old city, all of it lined with walls and barriers to punish mistakes. It's a low-downforce track, with mostly slow corners, similar to Montreal and Monza.
Despite the questionable record of the hosting country—something all too many F1 races can also offer, including the three held in the US—I have a soft spot for watching Baku, with its interesting mix of old and new architecture, and it usually puts on a good race. I particularly love the helicopter and drone shots that follow the action with a God's eye view, giving you a glimpse behind the building facades and into this city by the sea.
Friday's practice sessions gave the Ferrari-supporting Tifosi something to look forward to, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc topping the times for FP2. Hamilton, who has looked at sea this year after his switch to Ferrari, was made the bubbliest we've seen him all season when being interviewed on Friday, and his teammate Leclerc has four pole positions to his name at Baku, further stoking the hope.
Qualifying chaos
Pole was not in the cards for Charles Leclerc this year. Credit: Joe Portlock/Getty Images
Saturday's qualifying session didn't pan out for the red cars. A good time for Hamilton in Q1 was not matched in Q2, and the seven-time world champion, who is yet to step on the podium this year (other than his Sprint win in China), was knocked out in Q2 and relegated to starting 12th. His was not the only hard day that saw a record six red flags interrupt the session, which took more than two hours to complete.
Strong, random gusts of wind caught out plenty, suddenly changing grip levels and even braking points and littering the track with leaves and branches. Williams' Alex Albon clipped his front left wheel on the apex of turn 1 on only his second lap, ending his day almost before it started.
A tailwind caught out Alpine's Pierre Gasly in Q1, and his rookie teammate Franco Colapinto hit the wall at the same corner shortly after. Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg also crashed, although not badly enough that he couldn't return to the pit under his own steam. As mentioned, Hamilton went no further than Q2, and Haas rookie Oliver Bearman was responsible for one of those six red flags when he collided with a wall.
Q3 was interrupted by light rain, just after Carlos Sainz had set a fantastic time in the other Williams. Had more rain arrived, Sainz would surely have started on pole position for Sunday's race. But things cleared up enough for the other drivers to complete some laps.
The old city section. Credit: James Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Or try to, at least. With only four times on the board, Leclerc crashed heavily at turn 15, the third time in recent years. Championship leader Oscar Piastri also found the wall in his McLaren, putting the pair in ninth and eighth for the race. Lando Norris, in the other McLaren, was only able to secure seventh on the grid—like Canada and Monza, the McLaren does not have an advantage at low-downforce circuits.
On the other hand, cold temperatures and low downforce play well to the Mercedes' strength, and its drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli would start fourth and fifth. As we saw at Monza, Red Bull has unlocked some speed on tracks with these characteristics, too, and Yuki Tsunoda put in one of his best qualifying performances all year to grab sixth for the start.
Liam Lawson, who started the season at Red Bull before swapping seats with Tsunoda to move to the Racing Bulls, had an even better day, snagging third. Sainz would still start on the front row, but next to Max Verstappen, who demonstrated his mastery of car control in changeable conditions and uncertain grip to get pole position.
Almost no chaos in the race
If Saturday was bad for McLaren, Sunday was worse. Piastri jumped the start, then got swamped on the grid after his anti-stall system kicked in. He made it as far as turn 5 before locking up his front tires and finding the wall, heavily. The championship leader would watch the rest of the race from behind the crash fencing.
Oscar Piastri would have to have at least two more DNFs and another bunch of bad races, plus Verstappen would have to win a lot, for Verstappen to be an actual threat this year. Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
The combination of cold temperatures, low downforce, and low cornering speeds meant that the Pirelli tires didn't really degrade, helping out the teams that, unlike McLaren, don't look after their tires well when the situation is reversed. Up front, Verstappen was never really in any threat. Sainz did his best to hang onto second but eventually claimed third—and his first podium for Williams. Second went to Russell, who had to bring his A game to beat Sainz, overcutting him in with a late pit stop. Antonelli came home in fourth, with Lawson a fine fifth place and Tsunoda in sixth.
The sole McLaren of Norris had a rather mid-field day, without the top speed to pass, even with the drag-reduction system. A botched pit stop by his team and poor tire choice didn't help, leaving him to finish seventh. The Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc could do no better than eighth and ninth, with Isack Hadjar taking the final point in the other Racing Bull.
With Norris' seventh and Piastri's DNF (his first for 43 races), McLaren fans online appeared to have a crisis of faith, flooding social media with laments that Red Bull and Verstappen were now a real threat. To them, I say, "Calm down and have a cup of tea and a nice biscuit." Piastri has a 69-point lead over Verstappen (a win is worth 25), and Norris is 44 points ahead. Every driver will make a few mistakes during a season, and it's better for Piastri to make them all this weekend than spread them out. Like Canada and Monza, Baku is an outlier—if the Red Bull manages to be this competitive at high-downforce Singapore (our next race), then you can think about panicking.
It must be rather galling to Ferrari President John Elkann that the driver he forced out of the team for Lewis Hamilton has secured a podium for Williams before Hamilton has done the same at Ferrari. Credit: Joe Portlock/Getty Images
2025 is not like seasons past, where teams developed their cars all year. With such a big rule change coming for 2026 and the limited resources of the cost cap, upgrades are few and far between, and there's little reason to think the McLaren will suddenly be at a disadvantage for most of the remaining circuits. Then again, Murray Walker used to say that F1 spelled backward is "if"...
