Pre Race
Bring it, Baku!
Oh, Baku! We’re back in the beautiful city with its historic streets that, once a year, transform into one of the most spectacular circuits of the Formula 1 season – with narrow sections and unforgiving walls combined with one of the longest straights on the calendar. Nico Hulkenberg is more than ready to take on the challenge after missing the Italian Grand Prix at Monza due to a technical issue with his Sauber machine.
“The Sunday in Monza was obviously one to forget, but the team has focused on understanding the issue to make sure it’s fully solved. On the positive side, our car has shown promising pace, which gives me real confidence heading into Baku. Street circuits can be tricky as you need to be sharp, managing the traffic, and making the most of any opportunities. It’s a different challenge from a traditional circuit, but if we get everything right we’ll have a chance to score points and deliver a strong weekend again,” says Nico Hulkenberg.
The event is already underway. The German secured P12 in his best Free Practice session on Friday and remains optimistic ahead of Sunday’s big race.
“Looking at the lap times, there’s still some work to do, but overall, it was a solid baseline to build on. Now it’s about fine-tuning things ahead of the next two days,” he adds.
FP3 takes place on Saturday, followed by Qualifying. The 51-lap Azerbaijan Grand Prix goes green on Sunday at 15:00 local time (GMT +4).
Want to follow the action live? Watch every session on the official Formula 1 app.
Fun to know:
- With its looooong straight and extremely narrow corners lined with unforgiving walls, the 6 km Baku Street Circuit is known for yellow flags – with the chance of a Safety Car as high as 57 percent.
- At its narrowest point – the Turn 8/9 ‘Old Town’ complex – the circuit is just 7.6 metres wide.
- It’s a bit like Monaco – only with way more battles. Unlike the Mediterranean street circuit, Baku offers plenty of overtaking opportunities – in fact, there were 66 of them in 2024.
Qualifying
Hulk VS. Wall!
Update from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, where Saturday’s qualifying turned into a wild affair with no fewer than six (!) red flags – one of them unfortunately caused by Nico Hulkenberg, who lost grip and hit the wall in Q1. Yep, the fast city circuit with its narrow turns and unforgiving barriers showed no mercy, and with P17 on Sunday’s starting grid, the German Formula 1 ace and Admin By Request ambassador has plenty of work ahead – but he remains positive.
“It was a disappointing session, no doubt. For the first time all weekend, I struggled quite a lot with front locking, and that made it tough to put a clean lap together. Up until qualifying, things had been going well, so it’s frustrating to miss the mark when it mattered most,” said Nico Hulkenberg.
“It’s obviously going to be a challenge starting from where we are, but crazy things can happen at this track and we’re here to fight. The car has felt decent all weekend overall, and if things open up in the race, we’ll try to take full advantage. We’ll reset tonight and give it everything tomorrow,” he added.
Full steam ahead, Nico! Anything can happen tomorrow, but one thing’s for sure: we’ll be cheering you on in front of the TV when the lights go out for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at 15:00 (GMT +4).
Wanna follow live? Watch the race on the official Formula 1 app.
Race Day
“There weren’t many opportunities”
A frustrating Sunday in Baku for Nico Hulkenberg, who finished outside the points in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a race that never produced the kind of chaotic moments street circuits are usually known for – and which could have opened the door to opportunities for the German racing driver, who started from 17th on the grid.
“It was one of those races where things just didn’t fall into place. I always seemed to be on the wrong side of the timing, losing out here and there. The highlight was definitely the restart – I managed a nice double overtake into Turn 3, which was rewarding. But after that, I was stuck behind Franco Colapinto and Lance Stroll for most of the first stint. We lost a lot of time there, and that was really the make-or-break moment,” Nico Hulkenberg said.
“The pace at the end was good, but by then the race had already slipped away from us – qualifying and the early laps left us with too much to recover. There weren’t many variables or opportunities to shake up the order today. It wasn’t our strongest weekend, but we’ll take the lessons on board and focus on executing better next time out.”
Baku is in the books! Next up is the Singapore Grand Prix – the original night race – on October 5 🇸🇬
📸 Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber
