Formula 1 is full of complex lingo and circuit-specific narratives that can confuse and baffle the occasional viewer or new fan. Why is the Hungarian Grand Prix known for its quali bias? What makes the Singapore Grand Prix the most physically challenging race? And why do teams take different rear wings for the Monaco Grand Prix?

With 23 circuits, there can be a lot to take in, so in partnership with Google Chrome, we’ve organised for you to join us in Lando and Oscar’s engineering briefings, where we’ll walk you through this weekend’s key trackside topics so that you can enjoy the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to its fullest.

There’s never a dull moment in Baku, and with the addition of a Sprint race to this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, that statement has never been more accurate. Other than the team having to get their heads around the new Sprint format – which we’ve handily explained for you here – you’re probably wondering what impact it will have on the weekend’s running.

The simple answer is quite a lot. The more complicated answer is below, but don’t worry, with the help of Henry Fidler, we’ve explained it in a way that those of you without a degree in engineering will understand, us included.

In our latest fan focused engineering brief, Henry covers everything from the decisions we’ll have to make around our setup, to the impact of Baku’s looooong straight, and he explains the new components we’ve brought with us as part of our first 2023 upgrade. Time to begin. Grab a coffee and follow us through the glass doors and into the Paddock Performance Centre. Take notes if you need them, but please keep them to yourself.

Engineer: Henry Fidler 
Event: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Circuit: Baku City Circuit

Background

We have a new Sprint format this weekend that presents plenty to think about – though the reality is that even without the changes to the Sprint format, this would be an immensely busy practice session and a weekend filled with tough decisions!

Our objectives for the weekend, and what we want to learn in FP1 are quite similar to what they would have been in any of the Sprints over the last two years – but replacing FP2 with the new Sprint Shootout session on Saturday morning does change things a little.

Our upgrades explained

The big thing for us to work on during FP1 is our new aero package. How does it behave? Does it correlate to what we expect in terms of how the car performs at different altitudes? Is everything stable?

It’s a big challenge at a Sprint event, irrespective of the new format, because you’ve only got 60 minutes of FP1 to answer those questions… alongside figuring out cooling levels in the bodywork and brakes, selecting the correct downforce level, understanding the tyres, setting stiffnesses and ride-height… 

The main part of our new aero package is on the underside of the car with an upgraded floor and diffuser, and both cars will run with that fitted from the start. We also have some updates for Baku around the rear wing and some options for the beam wing, so we’re going to try different things here across the two cars to maximise our learning before freezing the spec heading into qualifying.

Tyres

Tyres are interesting this weekend, because there’s the standard Sprint weekend tweak to the tyre allocation but also a new set of rules on how and when they can be used. We have the ‘normal’ Sprint weekend allocation of 12 sets – two Hard, four Medium, six Soft – but the restriction of only being able to use Softs in qualifying has now gone, while for the Shootout on Saturday, you can use only one tyre per session, and you have to use Medium in SQ1 and SQ2, and Soft in SQ3. That opens opportunities for people to do different things.

The choice of setups available

While Baku has a very long straight, with very high speeds, rear wing levels are not a simple decision, and in the past, we’ve seen different approaches taken. Running very low drag for higher speeds on that straight allows you to attack or defend better – but it isn’t necessarily the fastest way to get around the circuit, given the rest of the track, particularly around the castle, is very tricky and benefits from more downforce.

We do have a choice of rear wing levels available this weekend, though the reality is that, with only one session of practice, you do not want to spend a large part of the session in the garage swapping wings. So we expect we’ll run with the rear wing we introduced in Jeddah, rather than going with an ultra-low downforce variant. 

The impact of the Sprint

It’s also strategically interesting that your Sprint Shootout session only dictates where you start in the Sprint, and that Sprint finishing positions have no impact on the race. So, do you decide to prioritise Friday and Sunday, or give more weight to performance on Saturday? Do you save a set of new Softs for the Sprint if you’re a midfield car hoping a good start will propel you into the points? Are you now less worried about finishing poorly in the Sprint with a worn-out tyre?

There are a lot of considerations around where you want to have your best pace that will impact the structure of the weekend. It will dictate when you use your tyres, even from the start of FP1. There’s a lot of information we would like to have before making our decisions – but we don’t have it yet, given the unknowns around our upgrade package – but also because the track has been resurfaced!

This by itself would keep us busy, figuring-out what sort of resurfacing job has been done. One of the features of Baku in previous years was very bumpy end-of-straight braking zones. How much will resurfacing impact that? Do we now have something that’s flatter, and will allow us to run stiffer, or with lower ride-heights? How will that affect car behaviour? All questions we want to answer in FP1.

Brake cooling

Another issue that needs careful consideration in Baku is brake cooling. The 2km flat-out section from the final corner, over the start-finish line gives you very cold brakes going into T1. You’d like to reduce the cooling, increase brake temperature and give yourself more confidence in the braking zone – but that doesn’t work well for the rest of the circuit.

The circuit is so twisty, with so many braking zones in a short period from T3 around to T12, you need to give yourself some margin to ensure the brakes don’t overheat in the race – where you could easily be in a train of cars with limited airflow. So there’s a trade-off to be made between something raceable and something more performant. Just one more item on a very long list of things to decide before qualifying this afternoon!

Briefing complete. Time for Lando and Oscar to head out onto the track so we can collect some data and put our hard work to the test.