The Azerbaijan Grand Prix Preview, 2025

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is round 17 of F1 2025, and signals the start of eight flyaway races to close out the season.

Toto Talks Azerbaijan

With the 'European' part of the year now complete, we begin the final third of the season this weekend. It will be an intense run to the flag in Abu Dhabi, with three teams in the fight for second in the Constructors' Championship. We lost some ground to our competitors in Monza and know we need to perform better in the closing eight races than we did in Italy if we are to come out on top. 

The 'flyaway' races start with two street circuits. First up is Azerbaijan before we then head to Singapore in two weeks' time. The track in Baku is a challenging mix of high-speed straights, 90-degree corners and the tight, twisty castle section. It is a good test for both the car and the driver. The grid is tight and once again small margins will make a big difference; if we deliver in the way we know we can, then we can be hopeful of a strong weekend fighting near the front of the field.

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 71 times, more than at any other circuit on the 2025 calendar.
• The Baku City Circuit also ranks highest in terms of braking energy. The layout is one of two tracks on the 2025 calendar has more braking zones of over 2G. Singapore is the other.
• 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 difficult restart for the leader, with a strong tow for the driver behind leaving them vulnerable into Turn 1.
• At just 89.5m, the run down from pole position to the first braking point is the shortest on the entire 2025 calendar.
• Baku has the second-highest number of turns on the F1 2025 calendar, with 20 – a figure it shares with COTA in Austin. Jeddah in Saudi Arabia has the most with 27.
• 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 one and only time to date in 2023.
• In 2024, the event moved dates to 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.
• Baku is one four tracks where George has scored multiple podiums (2022 & 2024). The others are Montreal, Barcelona, and Budapest.
• Test and Reserve Driver Fred Vesti claimed his maiden F2 victory in Baku in the 2022 Sprint race.