Tuesday 8th March 2016

100 days until Baku GP

Azerbaijan hosts its first F1 race this year (on a UNESCO world heritage site); Alonso is the first driver to pay a visit

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Formula 1 has a host of iconic street circuits in its calendar, from the well established tracks like Monaco and Australia to newer locations including Singapore. 2016 will see another street track added, this time the historic streets of Azerbaijani capital Baku. Can it join the ranks of other successful F1 street circuits?

Make your own overtaking jokes here

Many will certainly be hoping so, given Baku has already had its fair share of controversy to overcome. Not only will it have to uphold the title of European Grand Prix, but the Baku circuit will also run through a UNESCO world heritage site. The Icheri Sheher old city will have its cobblestones paved over for the race and the tarmac removed after to restore its traditional charm... There's also no guarantee that the European Grand Prix will stay at Azerbaijan - see the Valencia circuit that hosted the event for just four years between 2008 and 2012.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan is currently suffering due to the fall in global oil prices, which potentially puts the construction in doubt. And the ticket prices are set to be extortionate given the average Azerbaijani salary, so we've heard. Finally, and perhaps most relevantly for all fans, is news that the circuit has been designed by Hermann Tilke. Yes, the man who has a reputation for rather dull tracks. Can he make a success of the 3.7-mile Baku track?

Tilke designed track, if you're interested

But let's not be too negative on a new event just yet. Today is significant as the first time any F1 driver has visited the site, this time the new European Grand Prix ambassador Fernando Alonso. "I have been really impressed with everything I have seen today. I feel absolutely confident in saying that Baku City Circuit is going to be the most memorable circuit on the F1 calendar this year" he said, having been shown round the paddock in progress and the layout around the old city walls.

With just over three months until the Baku Gran Prix, expect more details about circuit layout and the race as June approaches. Naturally Azerbaijan is making a lot of noise about its first Grand Prix, so it will be intriguing to see how fans respond to it. Would it be on your list of Grand Prix to visit? Would it be on your list of Grand Prix to watch with the new Channel 4 F1 team? Let us know!

Watch the video here.
 

[awooga]

I've been living out in Baku on and off since 2013 and the F1 Grands Prix is just one of several coups that the government have had / paid for to try and promote the country. They're very keen to make Baku the new Dubai - there's lots of high end shopping here (too expensive for 98% of the population), showrooms by Jaguar / Ferrari / Aston Martin (right next door to it) / Lamborghini and lots and lots of AMG G Wagons / RRs and Maseratis on the streets here.

The circuit will be <ahem> interesting. There's a couple of massive long straights down the Bulvar (or Boulevard next to the Caspian Sea) and then some 90degree bends to take you through the old town, uphill, the bit that's currently being resurfaced to get rid of the cobbles. Looks to me like they're removing the cobbles rather than just surfacing over them.

Can't say how expensive tickets will be, but there was a similar scare last year when the European Games was held here and in the end you could get tickets for many of the events for peanuts, even the opening ceremony was about £50 for good tickets.

Azerbaijan is yet to develop a tourist visa - if you're russian, georgian or turkish then you get in without snags. They'll likely use the pre-purchase receipt of a Grand Prix ticket as the letter of invitation and ask you to pay a $ visa fee on arrival at immigration, which is what they did for the European Games last year.

It's a fabulous city, full of pubs, bars, culture, jazz, fireworshipping temples and a great blend of modern and ancient. It might be Islamic, but it's more Turkish / Persian than anything else and the people are pretty friendly once you get past their initial reservations.

PS It'll be HOT in June and the wind never stops. It is always blowing a hooley here, mild breeze on a good day. Bring a windproof jacket for the evenings. Feel free to PM me if you have any random queries.

Haven't decided if I'll make it out for the Grand Prix myself yet - my visa is still valid then, but I won't have my apartment by then. My mates live too far out to make it worthwhile, so I might just look at a cheap hotel. Flights are cheaper if you go through Azerbaijan Airlines or Turkish rather than BA. Sadly, it's just a redeye out from Heathrow T3 though.

[dvs_dave]

As long as Bernie gets his bung, that's all that seems to matter these days, regardless of the financial mess the track is left in.

COTA anyone?

[Blackbird425]

The ticket prices have been published on both Book F1 and the official F1 web site for some time. General admission of £68 not too bad.

You'll get mugged at immigration for £100 though

[ribiero]

WOOHOO awesome, fantastic news!! 100 days to BAKU!!!!



That means it's now 100 days to the finest race on the planet..


LeMans!!

[numtumfutunch]

awooga said:

The circuit will be <ahem> interesting. There's a couple of massive long straights down the Bulvar (or Boulevard next to the Caspian Sea) and then some 90degree bends to take you through the old town, uphill, the bit that's currently being resurfaced to get rid of the cobbles. Looks to me like they're removing the cobbles rather than just surfacing over them.

Thanks for posting, sorry for the edited quote, it was all good but the paragraph I selected was the bit Im most interested in.

I too expected to hate everything about this GP but looking at the video presentation Baku is a lot more attractive than I imagined and the circuit did seem to have the potential for a bit of excitement too so can you expand a bit in the "interesting" bit. In my experience interesting covers a wide spectrum of interesting

Cheers

[LindsayMac]

Granted I left Baku pre 2013 and possibly it has improved. Definitely very low on my list of cities. All smoke and mirrors in general, lovely building fronts that are only a facade over an old square soviet style building. Very corrupt society, especially the Police. I can imagine the out in the countryside people will be very very poor, shame the money is not spent in raising the standards for all, instead of the few. High risk of future uprising one would expect. Can be very dangerous for pedestrians, as the locals "think" they can drive and reach absurd speeds in the centre of Baku, especially late at night on the weekends. The year prior to my working in Baku there was huge amount of fatalities on pedestrian crossings so you can image what the open road was like. Really in some respects it is sad to see F1 going to such locations, purely to line their pockets I would imagine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCs_x1Kxqeo

Watch the clip this was in 2015.........you get my drift.

Edited by LindsayMac on Tuesday 8th March 17:20

Edited by LindsayMac on Tuesday 8th March 17:24

[awooga]

numtumfutunch said:

awooga said:

The circuit will be <ahem> interesting. There's a couple of massive long straights down the Bulvar (or Boulevard next to the Caspian Sea) and then some 90degree bends to take you through the old town, uphill, the bit that's currently being resurfaced to get rid of the cobbles. Looks to me like they're removing the cobbles rather than just surfacing over them.

Thanks for posting, sorry for the edited quote, it was all good but the paragraph I selected was the bit Im most interested in.

I too expected to hate everything about this GP but looking at the video presentation Baku is a lot more attractive than I imagined and the circuit did seem to have the potential for a bit of excitement too so can you expand a bit in the "interesting" bit. In my experience interesting covers a wide spectrum of interesting

Cheers

No problem - interesting as in the Bulvar is a long long long straight, so do they set the cars up with minimal downforce for that or do they come up with a compromise for corners through the old town, where it's as tight as quite a lot of monaco, with zero run off and, as I said, some very sharp pure 90 degree turns with an uphill on some of them. I can't see the video where I am (bandwidth on a ship is too slow) but I did watch a version of it last year so I know the route. It's a bit like Monaco, just with a 2 mile straight blat. Reckon most of the overtaking will be done on DRS.

I still reckon half the Baku drivers could beat an F1 driver off the lights in their ladas. Or at least you would have Lewis just starting to dump his clutch and there'd be a lada driver behind him already tooting the horn.

It is a beautiful city - mostly plastic facades on soviet era buildings, but it does look pretty until you see the backs of those buildings. Made a damn fine job of it, bar some of the building regs that caused a serious fire last May in one of the facaded tower blocks. Apparently the president's wife likes Paris so much she wanted to try and create it here. The old town though is just naturally beautiful and they've done a great job keeping it that way. The F1 route goes right up past the symphony / concert hall and the gardens next to it and it is stunning, just a bit tasteless in standard Persian style.

[SpudLink]

LindsayMac said:

Granted I left Baku pre 2013 and possibly it has improved. Definitely very low on my list of cities. All smoke and mirrors in general, lovely building fronts that are only a facade over an old square soviet style building. Very corrupt society, especially the Police. I can imagine the out in the countryside people will be very very poor, shame the money is not spent in raising the standards for all, instead of the few. High risk of future uprising one would expect. Can be very dangerous for pedestrians, as the locals "think" they can drive and reach absurd speeds in the centre of Baku, especially late at night on the weekends. The year prior to my working in Baku there was huge amount of fatalities on pedestrian crossings so you can image what the open road was like. Really in some respects it is sad to see F1 going to such locations, purely to line their pockets I would imagine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCs_x1Kxqeo

Watch the clip this was in 2015.........you get my drift.

Edited by LindsayMac on Tuesday 8th March 17:20

Edited by LindsayMac on Tuesday 8th March 17:24

You might have considered warning people that link was showing a fatal RTA. I wasn't expecting it, and wouldn't have watched it if I'd known.

Edited by SpudLink on Tuesday 8th March 21:12

[DCLXIV]

Sorry, I'm sort of busy watching Le Mans that weekend.

[cailean]

How is that Europe? And yes, it is Le Mans weekend

[jcl]

Does anyone really care about F1 anymore?

It's a corporate joke.

[coppice]

We have a (so called )Grand Prix in the country nobody has heard and whose motor sport involvement has remained remarkably low profile. Let the church bells ring out- we have a Grand Prix in Azerbaijan but the French GP (which sort of started this racing stuff in the first place )is no more. You couldn't make it up really....

[Quhet]

jcl said:

Does anyone really care about F1 anymore?

It's a corporate joke.

This.

I've completely lost interest in it over the past 4 or 5 seasons. Too much dicking around it from Bernie

[torchy6]

Another poor country who's corrupt government have been suckered by Ecclestone into spending millions of other people's money on this fake prestige event. The only effects it will have is making the country poorer and already bloated purveyors of this so called sport richer.

[Mabbs9]

European GP, they had the European Games too. Am I the only one wondering why both of these would be held outside Europe?

[awooga]

Mabbs9 said:

European GP, they had the European Games too. Am I the only one wondering why both of these would be held outside Europe?

Don't forget winning the Eurovision Song Contest too! Then subsequently hosting it.

[Fats25]

Well I'm interested in this. Am not a massive F1 fan (but the Mrs is), but is another City to have a look around, and being so close from me (I live in UAE) is something I am going to look into attending. Weirdly is a 2 hour flight there, but 4 hours on way back - no idea why.

A quick look shows flights are ok pricewise (approx 150 quid return) but hotels are fairly expensive (around 450 quid per night for Kempinski) - I guess we have left it a bit late to find the best rates.

If Awooga or anyone else has any recommendations on a decent reasonably priced hotel, it would be most welcome.

Thanks

[awooga]

Fats25 said:

Well I'm interested in this. Am not a massive F1 fan (but the Mrs is), but is another City to have a look around, and being so close from me (I live in UAE) is something I am going to look into attending. Weirdly is a 2 hour flight there, but 4 hours on way back - no idea why.

A quick look shows flights are ok pricewise (approx 150 quid return) but hotels are fairly expensive (around 450 quid per night for Kempinski) - I guess we have left it a bit late to find the best rates.

If Awooga or anyone else has any recommendations on a decent reasonably priced hotel, it would be most welcome.

Thanks

Hotel, food and drink prices have generally remained at the same Mannat price for the last six months since the currency devaluation. I stay with work at the new Holiday Inn near Freedom Square (where the pits will be) for what works out at £80 per night. I'm sure they'll be putting their prices up for the Grand Prix though. Last year, when I was working out here with a different (and skinter!) company, we used the Austin and the Sapphire, both close to Fountain Square and the boulevard and they were about £60 per night. Last year, the mannat was worth 0.6 of a £, now it's 2.2! Beer remains about 5 mannat a half litre in most ex pat bars and around 2 or 3 mannat in the back street character bars.

[Fats25]

Thanks for the response. The Holiday Inn is full - but there are other options.......

Just a thought though.

I know that Azerbaijan is a predominantly Muslim country, and Ramadan is from June 5th to July 5th 2016 (give or take). How is Ramadan observed in Azerbaijan? Will there be beer in the streets and bars during the day? Or after dark? Or not at all?

A quick google probably answers my own question!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293933-i934...

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/euro...

Edited by Fats25 on Wednesday 30th March 08:56