Darius

The realist...I call it as I see it

[Darius @dkeymani]

@blency_coctail_ @EvangelineWany1 @sam_makokha It's been going on for over an hour now

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

Formula 1® has electrified fans across the globe with the sights and sounds of the world’s best drivers carving up the track at record-breaking speeds.

Come follow the Baku City Circuit action today, at Humidor Bar and Lounge with good music by @djmistadru 

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

FORMULA 1 has over the years enabled the Greatest racing spectacle on the planet .

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

No Formula One driver has ever won in Baku twice so far, although the race was won twice by Mercedes (2018 and 2019) and Red Bull (2017 and 2021).

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

The first Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner was Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

AlphaTauri who looked competitive throughout practice in Baku – and they converted that pace into their best qualifying of the year with Pierre Gasly in sixth, two places ahead of team mate Yuki Tsunoda.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

The Italian team have looked quick in phases this season, but failed to string a run of form together. But in Baku, they’ve looked comfortable from FP1 onwards.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

Gasly – who is on a run of four races without scoring – nailed his second successive top-six grid slot in Baku, in between the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, while Tsunoda delivered his best Saturday performance of the season with eighth.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

This weekend Formula 1 is racing on a street circuit for the second race in a row and offers plenty of opportunities for overtaking as well as having the jeopardy provided by close walls, so let’s take a look at the different options available to the teams in Baku.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

On a smooth surface, a one-stop strategy looks to be the fastest route to the finish, but there is a bit of variety available in terms of how teams will go about it.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

The likely starting tyre is the medium as it provides a good level of grip and gives teams flexibility when it comes to their first stop, opening up an ideal pit window of between Laps 18 and 23.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

There’s no certainty over that final point, however, because nobody carried out their long runs during the same time of day as the race will be.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

The second stint would then be done on the hard tyre, as the C3 compound is a consistent one that the teams know well, and it doesn’t appear like it will degrade too much over the final 30 laps of the race.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

First practice and FP3 both took place at 1500 local time – when the race starts – and track temperature was up near 50C, but by the time of FP2 at 1800 , the track temperature had dropped by some 15 degrees to 20 Celsius.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

That means the tyres could react differently on high fuel in the heat that is expected on Sunday, and the drivers will be trying to protect the rears a bit more as traction is crucial in Baku.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

Ideally drivers would want to get as close to lap 15 or 20 , but could be needing to pit as early as lap 10 as their pace drops off, because it’s no good having the advantage of the extra grip off the line if you then give up more race time later in the stint.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

A two-stop race could also be considered for anyone looking to start on the soft tyre, allowing a more aggressive first stint.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

This is a possibility because all the teams other than Ferrari, AlphaTauri and McLaren have retained two sets of the hard compound for the race.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

Running up to ten laps on softs before fitting hards would allow two attacking stints of around 20 laps on the hard, or a longer middle stint and the ability to react if there is a Safety Car interruption at some stage.

#HennessyKE

[🅱️🅾️🅱️ 😉 @BobsonFadhili]

The two-stop strategies suggested are predicted to be a few seconds slower in overall race time, but can be factored in as an option based on overtaking being much easier in Baku than on many street circuits.

#HennessyKE