Max Verstappen wins in Baku in 2022 Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Formula One is braced for chaos on the streets of Baku this weekend as Azerbaijan hosts the first sprint race of the season and kicks off a run of five grands prix in six weeks.
After a long April break due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, racing resumes with the sprint recast as a standalone event and a qualifying session replacing final practice.
The change should allow drivers to race for points on Saturday, knowing the outcome will not affect where they line up on Sunday.
Despite teams voting unanimously in favour, the new format could backfire on such a tricky city circuit where speeds are high and the walls and fences leave no room for error.
The track has seen plenty of crashes since its debut on the calendar in 2016.
"It's absolutely ludicrous to be doing the first sprint race of the year in a street race like Azerbaijan," Red Bull boss Christian Horner said at the previous race in Australia.
"From a spectacle point of view, from a fan point of view, it's probably going to be one of the most exciting sprint races of the year.
"From a cost cap perspective, all you can do is trash your car and it costs a lot of money around there."
Haas boss Guenther Steiner, whose team operate on a tight budget and count the cost of every crash, agreed there could be 'carnage'.
"The chances are high. We all know that," he told Reuters.
"Hopefully we are not the unlucky ones... because now with the budget cap if you have damage that will have an influence on your season because you have got less to spend on developments on the car."
Williams boss James Vowles said the tight and twisty castle section in the old town was "going to cause a little bit of mayhem."
Champions Red Bull have won all three races so far this season, twice one-two, and start as favourites while Fernando Alonso chases his fourth podium in a row with Aston Martin.
Baku has yet to witness a repeat winner but that looks likely to end with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both past winners of the race and their car in a league of its own.
Mexican Perez has much the best record with victory in 2021, second in 2022 and third in 2016 and 2018. Verstappen won last year.
Mercedes, with seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton still chasing his first win since 2021, are the only others to have won in Baku.
Chief technical officer James Allison returns to his role of technical director, swapping jobs with Mike Elliott, with the former champions ramping up car development.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Several other teams will also bring upgrades, and plenty of spares.
"We are bringing a new floor to Baku amongst some other aerodynamic and mechanical items," said Alpine technical director Matt Harman.
"We then have a further development at the following race in Miami and something further for Imola after that."
Formula One statistics for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, the fourth round of the 23-race 2023 world championship:
Lap distance: 6.003 km. Total distance: 306.049km (51 laps)
2022 pole position: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari one minute 41.359 seconds.
2022 winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
Race lap record: Leclerc, 1:43.009. Ferrari, 2019
Start time: 1100GMT (1500 local)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan will be the first of six sprint weekends this season with Saturday now a standalone race with its own qualifying. Baku has not hosted a sprint before.
The street circuit made its debut in 2016 as the European Grand Prix. The name changed in 2017, when the race was held in June. There was no race in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Baku has yet to see a repeat winner in six races and Mercedes and Red Bull are the only teams to have won there. Nobody has taken fastest lap more than once either.
Leclerc is the only driver to have been on pole twice.
Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are the only current drivers to have won there.
Only two of the races have been won from pole (Nico Rosberg in 2016 and Bottas in 2019) and three from the front row. Daniel Ricciardo won for Red Bull from 10th on the grid in 2017 and Perez from sixth in 2021.
Mercedes and Ferrari have each taken three poles.
The safety car has been deployed in four of the six races. In total there have been two red flags, seven safety car periods and three virtual safety cars.
Perez won in 2021, was second last year and also finished third for Force India in 2016 and 2018.
The circuit, the fourth longest on the calendar, is 28 metres below sea level and overtaking is relatively easy.
RACE WINS
Hamilton has a record 103 career victories from 313 starts but his most recent was in Saudi Arabia in December 2021.
Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen has 37 wins from 166 starts. One more by Verstappen would put him alongside Sebastian Vettel as the drivers with most wins for the team.
Red Bull have won 13 of the last 14 races and 20 of the last 25.
Aston Martin's Alonso is on 32 wins, his last coming in his home Spanish Grand Prix in 2013 with Ferrari, from a record 357 starts.
POLE POSITION
Hamilton has a record 103 career poles.
Red Bull have been on pole in every race so far in 2023 and the last four in total.
PODIUM
Alonso is chasing his fourth podium finish in a row.
POINTS
Ferrari have scored just 26 points from three races, making 2023 so far their worst start to a season since 2009 when they scored no points in the first three races.
MILESTONE
Red Bull have won the first three races of a season for the first time. They have led 92% of the laps so far (151 of 165).
Aston Martin have had three successive podium finishes, a first for the Silverstone-based team in its many incarnations dating back to Jordan Grand Prix.
-Reuters