Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Facts that every race fan should know
By Laman Ismayilova
Nothing beats the smell of gasoline and burned tires. Formula One is sure to get your adrenaline pumping.
The European Grand Prix was a Formula One race held in the mid-1980s. Except for 1998, the race took place every year between 1993 and 2012. During these years (with the exception of 2007), the European Grand Prix was held in a country that also hosted its own national Grand Prix at a different point in the same season, on a different circuit.
The Baku City Circuit hosted the first Formula One Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, the 2016 European Grand Prix. The same venue hosted the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix the following year, in 2017.
In 2021, the race was held without spectators or concert programs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing won the Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly of Scuderia AlphaTauri finishing second and third, respectively.
The 2022 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, known as the world's most prestigious motor racing competition, will take place in the City of Winds on June 10-12. F1 racing will be held in Azerbaijan until 2024.
Let's take a look at some interesting facts about the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix that every race fan should know ahead of the new season.
Race through medieval architecture
The car race offers a wonderful blend of modern and ancient architecture.
The circuit begins on the Caspian Sea's foreshore and passes modern skyscrapers as well as the 11th-century Old City of Baku.
Numerous unique monuments, mosques and minarets, caravanserais and bathhouse ruins make this one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.
The Old City of Baku, including the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower, was designated by UNESCO as the first World Heritage Site in Azerbaijan in 2000.
Second longest circuit on Formula 1's calendar
After the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the Jeddah Street Circuit, the Baku City Circuit (6.003 km) is the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar.
The 2016 European Grand Prix was the circuit's first Formula One race. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was held on the circuit for the first time in 2017.
Few more facts about race
Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel share the record for most podium finishes at this track. Both drivers have finished on the podium here three times, f1destinations.com reports.
During qualifying for the 2016 race, Williams' Valtteri Bottas set an unofficial record for the highest speed ever recorded in an F1 car, reaching 378 km/h.
Furthermore, the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked the first time in Formula 1 history that a Mexican driver, a German driver, and a French driver shared the three podium positions.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz