F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2021

Initially held as the European Grand Prix in 2016, the Baku City Circuit hosted the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix a year later in one of the five street courses on the calendar in 2017.

Designed by architect Hermann Tilke, the circuit follows a series of right-angled turns into rapid flat-out sections which before the introduction of new aerodynamics rules in 2016 pushed cars to speeds of over 360 km/h.

Comparable to the tight twists of Monaco in the way that the track forces drivers to both commit to each turn while being aware of the perils of straying too close to the edge, the Baku City Circuit has been the site of numerous high-speed crashes. Charles Leclerc learned that the hard way in 2019 by crashing at Turn 8 in qualifying. The section is the tightest on the F1 calendar and sees the cars round Baku’s UNESCO-protected old city walls.

Azerbaijan GP

The first Azerbaijan GP was held on June 25, 2017 and saw Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel enter the round with a 12-point lead in the standings over Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

It was the Briton who started from pole with the German down in fourth, however the two occupied the top two spots following the deployment of the Safety Car in the early stages. Another Safety Car period followed soon after and saw Vettel run into the back of Hamilton's car, damaging his front wing along the Briton's rear diffuser. The German felt he was being brake-tested and drove alongside and into his rival, though car data showed Hamilton had not applied the brakes.

A third Safety Car and red flag followed, however Hamilton lost the lead of the race after being called in due to a loose headrest while Vettel was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty. This opened for Daniel Ricciardo who took the chequered flag ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll. It was the first podium finish for Stroll, who became the first Canadian to finish in the top three since Jacques Villeneuve at the 2001 German GP.

Hamilton started from pole in 2018 with the major turning point taking place on Lap 40 when Red Bull teammates Verstappen and Ricciardo collided with one another.

After the restart Vettel tried to pass leader Valtteri Bottas only to overshoot the turn, ultimately leaving in fourth. The Finn looked set for victory only for a tyre puncture to end his race, allowing Hamilton to take the win ahead off Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez.

Bottas got his revenge the following year, claiming pole and converting it into his fifth career race win ahead of Hamilton and Vettel.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the race cancelled in 2020, however there was shortage of action at the 2021 event.

Verstappen was on course to take victory but a left-rear tyre failure on Lap 44 ended his race and brought out the red flag. Teammate Perez led from Hamilton with the race resuming via a standing start, however the Briton locked his brakes heading into Turn 1 after selecting the wrong brake mode. He dropped to last as a result, while the Mexican took victory ahead of Vettel and Pierre Gasly.

Most successful F1 drivers and teams

So far there have been no repeat winners of the Azerbaijan GP with Ricciardo, Hamilton, Bottas and Perez all winning the race once.

As for constructors, Mercedes and Red Bull have evenly split all four events.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2020

The race wasn’t held in 2020, but 2019 saw Valtteri Bottas take pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The Finn kept his head and crossed the line for his fifth career victory, with Hamilton taking second and Sebastian Vettel rounding out the podium.

Of note, the race also saw Daniel Ricciardo issued a penalty for the following race after colliding with Daniil Kvyat. The two missed Turn 3, but in Ricciardo’s attempts to get back on track, he reversed into the Russian with both cars forced to retire from the race.

When is the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the F1 calendar?

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on the weekend of June 4-6 and is provisionally set to be the sixth race of the Formula 1 season. The first two free practice sessions will take place on June 4 with qualifying on Saturday June 5 at 15:00 CET.

What time does the Azerbaijan Grand Prix start?

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix starts on Sunday June 6, 2021 at 14:00 CET. The race can be followed live on RacingNews365’s live blog and watched on F1 TV.