Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) explains: These are the key sections in Baku

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will take place this week on the streets of Baku as early as Saturday (due to a public holiday in the country on Sunday). What does it take to deliver a strong performance on the Baku City Circuit? Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg explained in his media session ahead of the race weekend: “Of course, you need good top speed, and good aerodynamics help with that.” Especially when the engine isn’t the most powerful, as is the case with Audi.

The key: exiting the corners well

But the circuit is divided into two sections. Alongside the fast straights, there’s also the slower old town section. Hülkenberg: “Of course, the circuit is designed more for low speeds, so in my opinion it’s quite demanding in terms of traction: you have to come out of all the slow corners well to build up good speed on the straights.”

Hülkenberg: “The braking is actually quite intense. There are a few really heavy braking points here. And it’s quite a long lap with lots of corners, and, as always, you have to piece all the sectors together into a whole.” At just over six kilometres (6.003 km), the Baku circuit is one of the longest on the calendar and is particularly tricky due to its hybrid nature. The first part of the circuit is characterised by long straights and right-angled corners, whilst the second part runs along the castle walls in a narrow, twisty and slow section.

Technically demanding

Hülkenberg: “Like every circuit, this one has some more challenging corners and some easier ones. The middle sector, where all the really tight, twisty sections are – where it gets so narrow around the fortress – is technically demanding and probably a key part. But the first sector, too, with all its hard braking points: that’s where you can gain or lose quite a lot of time. It’s a technical circuit.”

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