Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Racing in the Land of Fire

Baku GP Saturday header portrait

Our drivers made history around Baku City Circuit, reaching a combined total of 600 Grand Prix starts. Read on for full coverage of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and get the thoughts of Lance, Fernando and our team.

  • Fernando and Lance began the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from P11 and P14 respectively, both on the Medium tyre. An unfortunate false start for Fernando resulted in a five-second time penalty.

  • Fernando made his pitstop at the end of Lap 21. After serving the penalty, he returned to the track in P17 on Hards.

  • Lance stayed out on the Mediums in hopes of taking advantage of a Safety Car period. After 38 laps on the tyre, he pitted for Hards for the final 13 laps.

  • At the end of 51 laps around Baku City Circuit, our drivers concluded the race in P15 and P17. 

  • Meanwhile in Formula 2, Aston Martin Aramco Young Driver Jak Crawford secured victory in the Feature Race, claiming 32 points over the course of the weekend and moving into second in the Drivers' Standings.

  • On 3-5 October, we'll be in Marina Bay for Formula One's original night race. Check back here for full coverage of the Singapore Grand Prix.

THE LATEST FROM THE TRACK

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
  • Position

    15TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:44.139 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    15

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    338.4

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
  • Postion

    17TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:44.329 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    15

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    337.8

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
It's always a fun challenge around this tight and fast circuit

"It's always a fun challenge around this tight and fast circuit.

"Looking at the lap-times it appears we still have some pace to find this weekend. You need to balance downforce and drag at this track and that's where we need to improve. Let's see what we can find overnight."

  • Position

    19TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:42.967 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    24

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    346.9

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
We were getting some good laps in throughout both practice sessions today

"We were getting some good laps in throughout both practice sessions today and collecting information to help in Qualifying tomorrow and for the race.

"Weather conditions are meant to be quite windy, so we'll have to see how that impacts our performance tomorrow in Qualifying."

  • Postion

    17TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:42.771 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    24

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    342.3

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
  • Postion

    14TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:42.591 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    17

  • Max speed (KM/H)

    351.2

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
  • Postion

    20TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:43.350 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    17

  • Max speed (KM/H)

    347.2

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
It went a little better than we expected today in Qualifying and I think to be on the edge of Q3 is a good result for us

"It went a little better than we expected today in Qualifying and I think to be on the edge of Q3 is a good result for us. There were a lot of red and yellow flags, so we weren't able to get too many laps on the board.

"We opted to run mostly with the Medium tyres and I think it worked quite well, but it's tricky to say which compound is better.

"The windy conditions made it difficult out there and it made every lap very inconsistent. It's meant to be windy tomorrow as well, so we'll see what happens."

  • Q1

    1:42.211 – 9TH (MEDIUM)

  • Q2

    1:41.857 – 11TH (MEDIUM)

  • Laps

    18

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    341.9

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
We will start from P14 tomorrow and see what we can do

"We had a good Q1, but only got a couple laps on the board in Q2 because the wind was changing direction every lap. They were very tricky conditions and not easy to get clean laps in because you suddenly lose downforce.

"We will start from P14 tomorrow and see what we can do."

  • Q1

    1:42.101 – 9TH (MEDIUM)

  • Q2

    1:43.061 – 14TH (MEDIUM)

  • Laps

    16

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    344.1

Mike Krack
MikeKrack
Fernando and Lance dealt with the tricky conditions well and strong laps saw them both progress to Q2

"Not easy conditions for Qualifying with the gusty wind making each lap a bit of a lottery. Many drivers made mistakes, and the yellow and red flags made it difficult to complete a clean lap.

"Fernando and Lance dealt with the tricky conditions well and strong laps saw them both progress to Q2 – which was the realistic target today. Let's see what we can do from P11 and P14.

"Today has shown just how challenging this circuit can be and there are bound to be opportunities in the race. We’ve done our homework, have a good range of tyres available, and will try and progress up the order."

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
Hopefully our car will suit Singapore better and we can fight for the points again

"It was a difficult race without much happening and we simply didn't have the pace.

"At the start, I reacted to Oscar's movement and unfortunately got the penalty. I don't think this impacted our race in the end, because we just didn't have the performance.

"Hopefully our car will suit Singapore better and we can fight for the points again."

  • Position

    15th

  • Starting position

    11th

  • Fastest lap

    1:45.002 (LAP 50) (HARD)

  • Tyres

    Medium-Hard

  • Laps

    51

  • Max. speed (km/h)

    347.0

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
We will look ahead to Singapore now where we hope to be more competitive and have a stronger race weekend

"We stayed out for a longer stint on the Mediums hoping to take advantage of a Safety Car that never came, which limited our opportunities and what we could do.

"We will look ahead to Singapore now where we hope to be more competitive and have a stronger race weekend."

  • Position

    15th

  • Starting position

    14th

  • Fastest lap

    1:45.083 (LAP 50) (HARD)

  • Tyres

    Medium-Hard

  • Laps

    51

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    346.5

Mike Krack
MikeKrack
We will head back to Silverstone, regroup and come back stronger in Singapore

"There were very few opportunities in the race and points were out of reach today.

"The majority of cars stopped only once – as we did – with the Medium tyres performing especially well with low degradation. That limited the strategy options and made for quite a straightforward race.

"Both drivers pushed hard, but ultimately we were missing outright pace. We will head back to Silverstone, regroup and come back stronger in Singapore."

Welcome to the City of Winds

We've said goodbye to the trucks and motorhomes and headed out for the final flyaway third of the season, beginning with a trip to Baku, for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. When Baku arrived on the calendar in 2016, it reset expectations for street races, combining the low grip and unyielding barriers common to the genre with the sort of low downforce and high speeds previously reserved for tracks like Monza or Hockenheim.

It's produced dramatic, often chaotic racing, and has become the template for the street circuits that have followed in Jeddah and Las Vegas. When it was announced in 2014, the Land of Fire seemed an unusual choice for a Grand Prix venue, and the proposed track layout raised any eyebrows that weren't already raised – but it's become a race of real character in a relatively short amount of time.

For us, a strong run of form came to a grinding halt at Monza, last time out, with neither driver scoring – but Baku has traditionally been a stronger circuit for us (the scene of our team's maiden podium) and presents an opportunity to hit back immediately. This is also true for Jak Crawford, who didn't have a lot of luck in Italy and consequently dropped from second to fourth in the F2 standings. With just three events and six races remaining, he needs a strong weekend in Azerbaijan.

For exclusive insight and all you need to know about the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, plus a must-read interview with CEO and Team Principal Andy Cowell, keep scrolling.

TRACK INSIGHTS

Baku City Circuit

Baku GP circuit hero portrait
Baku has the longest full-throttle time, and it's very important to maximise straight line speed.
Felipe Drugovich – Test & Reserve Driver
Track map
  • Sectors
  • Turns
  • DRS
  • Circuit length (km)
    6.003
  • Number of corners
    20
  • Race distance (km)
    306.049
Session Times
FP1
Fri19SEP
FP2
Fri19SEP
FP3
Sat20SEP
Quali
Sat20SEP
Race
Sun21SEP
Talking Points

Entering F1's final third

Aston Martin Aramco CEO and Team Principal Andy Cowell discusses Enrico Cardile's arrival, explains why the sport should be receptive to change if it's for the benefit of fans, and looks forward to racing in Baku.

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