The exhilarating streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, have long held a special significance for Red Bull’s veteran driver, Sergio Perez. Known affectionately as the ‘King of Baku,’ Perez’s connection to this distinctive street circuit runs deep. Over 500 days have passed since his triumphant victory here in April 2023, a period that has seen few on-track celebrations for the Mexican driver. Yet, in the cutthroat world of Formula 1, where true alliances are rare and self-reliance is paramount, Baku stands as Perez’s most loyal ally.
With an impressive record of two victories and five podium finishes from just seven starts – both track records – Perez can consistently rely on Baku to deliver a strong result, even when his season elsewhere might be mired in one of his all-too-frequent slumps. His formidable performance in Azerbaijan stands in stark contrast to his overall 2024 season. Across all 16 rounds thus far, Perez has yet to out-qualify or finish ahead of his formidable world champion teammate, Max Verstappen, in races where both drivers have seen the chequered flag. However, the first day of practice at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix hinted at a potential shift in momentum, with the ‘King of Baku’ appearing notably more comfortable and competitive than Verstappen.
While Verstappen claimed the fastest time in the initial practice session, Perez came astonishingly close to Charles Leclerc’s pace-setting lap in the evening session, missing out by a mere six-thousandths of a second. More significantly, Perez consistently demonstrated superior speed to his teammate during the crucial final hour of running. This advantage was evident both on the soft compound tires and during the extended runs on mediums later in the session, underscoring a promising start to his weekend.
Perez aptly characterized his Friday performance as a “good, solid day.” Verstappen, who had appeared uncharacteristically unsettled and ragged around the challenging Baku circuit, nonetheless expressed “quite a lot of confidence” in the team’s early showing, especially following a disappointing outing at Monza in the previous race. Despite Verstappen’s slightly slower pace compared to Perez on Friday, a deeper analysis of the data reveals clear reasons behind their differing performances.
Examining the fastest laps from both Red Bull drivers on Friday highlights a distinct difference in their car setups. Verstappen showcased significantly higher minimum speeds through the numerous 90-degree corners, carrying as much as 6 kph more speed in turns four and seven. Conversely, Perez exhibited a clear advantage on the straights, often by an even greater margin. This divergence was starkly visible as Verstappen, who was almost two tenths quicker than Perez heading into turn 16, found himself more than half a second adrift of his teammate by the conclusion of the lap. This setup dichotomy suggests a strategic approach by Red Bull, possibly testing different aerodynamic configurations or power unit settings.
It remains unclear whether these differences were due to varied power unit settings or if Verstappen was running a notably higher downforce setup than Perez. What is evident, however, is that Verstappen likely possesses more ultimate pace than he chose to reveal during Friday’s sessions. Red Bull also introduced a revised new floor for this weekend’s Grand Prix. It is plausible that the team strategically ran their most consistent driver, Perez, with a vastly different setup to Verstappen. This approach could be aimed at gaining invaluable data and understanding of the new components, a challenge that Mercedes seemingly faced with their similarly aggressive Spa-spec floor, which they ultimately opted to discard for the Baku event, highlighting the complexities of aerodynamic development and track-specific tuning.
A striking observation from Friday’s practice sessions was the significantly slower overall pace of the field compared to the previous year. Verstappen’s best time from the opening practice was over three seconds slower than his equivalent best in 2023, while Leclerc’s FP2 time remained more than a second off his 2023 benchmark. Drivers voiced widespread complaints about unusually low grip levels throughout the day. Leclerc himself attributed his practice-ending crash to venturing too far onto the dusty outer edge of the track on the approach to turn 15, emphasizing the tricky conditions.
Daniel Ricciardo, making his return to Baku for the first time since 2022, offered a plausible explanation for the sudden dip in car speeds. The RB driver explained, “I was hearing that they didn’t pressure wash the circuit, or something, and basically clean it like they normally would.” He elaborated, “So it started off really slippery and dirty. Mid-corner is really weak, traction’s poor. So overall level of grip is low.” This assessment was later corroborated by Pirelli, the official tire supplier, who confirmed that their pre-weekend inspection on Wednesday had indeed found lower grip levels on the street circuit compared to the previous year, likely due to the altered track preparation.
Given the unusually low natural grip and the consequent expectation of a high level of track evolution throughout the rest of the weekend, interpreting the long-run times from Friday becomes more challenging than usual. Nevertheless, certain trends emerged, with Ferrari appearing particularly impressive on the medium compound tires. While the Red Bull pair often found themselves circulating in the 1’49s and even occasionally dipping into the 1’50s, Leclerc and his teammate Carlos Sainz Jnr consistently maintained lap times in the low 1’49s and 1’48s during their longer runs, suggesting a strong race pace advantage.
Mercedes also showed encouraging signs, appearing closer to the Ferraris than either the Red Bulls or McLarens. The pace demonstrated by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell was particularly noteworthy. Despite carrying out their high-fuel runs on the hard compound tires, they managed to record lap times that were remarkably comparable to the Ferraris, who were mostly on mediums. Although Russell’s day was somewhat hampered by an unscheduled power unit change, prompted by an irregular oil sample, he remained optimistic about the team’s performance, especially his teammate’s strong showing.
“The good news is that Lewis was looking very quick out there,” Russell commented. “It encourages us that the car is strong, and we can be competitive this weekend. It looks very close between several teams, with Ferrari in particular looking strong. If we can make improvements overnight, though, we can aim to be in the mix for qualifying and the race on Sunday.” The tight margins evident among the front-running drivers suggest that qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could be an incredibly close affair, where even a few extra kilometers per hour could make the crucial difference of multiple grid positions. This scenario places a significant emphasis on strategy, particularly the potential advantage of securing a tow at the end of a lap down Baku’s notoriously long main straight.
Adding another layer of intrigue to the weekend’s dynamics is McLaren’s pre-race admission that they will “bias” their efforts towards Lando Norris, explicitly raising the possibility of deploying Oscar Piastri in service of his teammate’s championship aspirations. While the team has remained cagey about the precise extent of this support, questions abound. Will Piastri be instructed to provide Norris with a crucial slipstream, offering a flying start to his lap with a tow out of turn 16? Such strategic maneuvers could prove decisive in the Constructors’ and Drivers’ championships.
Red Bull, in contrast, has been far less ambiguous regarding Perez’s supporting role to Verstappen. If the reigning champions decide that Verstappen could benefit from similar assistance, there is little doubt that Perez would be expected to comply. Despite his promising start to the weekend, the ‘King of Baku’ might find himself in the role of servant this time around, prioritizing the team’s and Verstappen’s championship goals. The unique challenges of Baku, coupled with the intense championship battles, set the stage for a thrilling and unpredictable race weekend.
Combined practice times
| P. | # | Driver | Team | FP1 time | FP2 time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’46.608 | 1’43.484 | 31 | |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’45.922 | 1’43.490 | 0.006 | 40 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’45.859 | 1’43.550 | 0.066 | 41 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’46.173 | 1’43.950 | 0.466 | 46 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’46.282 | 1’43.983 | 0.499 | 43 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’45.546 | 1’44.029 | 0.545 | 45 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’47.184 | 1’44.093 | 0.609 | 39 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1’47.135 | 1’44.475 | 0.991 | 44 |
| 9 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’46.516 | 1’44.536 | 1.052 | 34 |
| 10 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 1’46.973 | 1’44.547 | 1.063 | 47 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 1’47.708 | 1’44.645 | 1.161 | 45 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’46.452 | 1’44.683 | 1.199 | 44 |
| 13 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’47.955 | 1’44.737 | 1.253 | 42 |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | 1’47.901 | 1’44.749 | 1.265 | 35 |
| 15 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’47.640 | 1’44.785 | 1.301 | 42 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 1’46.687 | 1’45.056 | 1.572 | 49 |
| 17 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’46.027 | 1’45.156 | 1.672 | 43 |
| 18 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’48.712 | 1’45.391 | 1.907 | 43 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | No time | 1’45.810 | 2.326 | 27 |
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’49.052 | 1’45.947 | 2.463 | 44 |