F1: Baku Grand Prix – as it happened

/By Azernews/

By Amina Nazarli

The eighth round of the European Grand Prix successfully wrapped up on the cost of the Caspian Sea -- Baku, where Azerbaijan’s capital demonstrated how to stage a new Grand Prix, treating race fans and the F1 fraternity to the warmest of welcomes and to a truly remarkable circuit.

The largest city on the Caspian Sea has always impressed with its natural and cultural beauty -- the gorgeous European architecture backing out onto the blues of the Caspian.

In the past years Baku has been staking its claim as a major cultural and entertainment player. After major international events such as Eurovision 2012, Baku European Games 2015, Baku welcomed one of the oldest and most prestigious races in all of motorsport -- Formula 1 European Grand Prix holding in the capital on June 17-19.

Azerbaijan's inaugural Formula 1 race in Baku was a visual feast. During this weekend the capital of Azerbaijan lived in a particular rhythm, where there was everything -- adrenaline, ultra-high speed, bright racing car “flying" around the track at crazy speeds, and finally a huge bottle of champagne at the finish.

Narrow, with short stretches of track between corners lined with barriers, Baku became unique and was not an easy race to win, even with the fastest car. The driver played a larger role here than at many venues and those in the know say that it’s a very fast track with very fast turns.

Baku City Circuit passed through the city center, including the most picturesque areas that was previously planned by the race organizers. During the race, the cars moved parallel to the beautiful seaside boulevard and around the ancient part of Baku -- Old City, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Thus, spectators and guests could see the modern and the ancient monuments of the capital, and the splendor of the boulevard.

Competitions in Baku were distinguished by their uniqueness. Along with Monaco and Singapore, Baku also hosted the race on the street circuit, prepared by famous architect Hermann Tilke. This is the fastest city track and is the second longest track after the Belgian Spa. Maximum speed here is 340 km/h, with the calculated average speed of 208 km/h.

The length of the race track, where 11 teams each with 2 pilots, competed for the best title, was 6 km and had some pretty serious changes in altitude, ascents and descents. The width of the widest portion of the track was 13 meters and the narrowest section was 7.6 meters.

The pilot, who was the best to cope with this challengeable task became Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg dominated Sunday’s Baku Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Force India’s Sergio Perez to victory at the new Baku City Circuit. With Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth, Rosberg extended his championship lead over his team mate to 24 points.

The German took his fifth victory of the season in the inaugural Grand Prix in Baku, and he did it in Grand Slam style, having led every lap from pole position and captured fastest lap.

Commenting his victory Rosberg said: "Everything went perfectly. Everyone expected accident in the first corner, but we were able to avoid it,” he emphasized. “Thank you for all Azerbaijan! Wait Formula next year!”

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished second for the second successive race with Force India's Sergio Perez scoring his second podium in three races with third.

Vettel said this is great pleasure to compete on the magnificent track in Baku.

“Very fast turns, very fast track, we worked and won a second consecutive podium after Canada. Here you need to be aggressive and get a lot of curbs,” he said.

Sergio Perez admitted, he knew in advance he could claim the stunning result in this track.

For Azerbaijan Formula 1 with its half a billion audience -- the show inferior in popularity only to the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup -- has a special significance. It is an opportunity to present to the world a modern, open and secular Azerbaijan.

Overall, it was also an incredible experience for the capital in terms of tourism potential, as the Baku Grand Prix tickets were purchased in 42 countries, coming from Russia, the UK, other European and Arab countries.

The Baku street circuit was not only a fairly exciting race, but also unforgettable entertainment programs. Tourists enjoyed a wide range of cultural, sightseeing and entertainment programs. Conducting exciting and colorful events in the fan village, autograph sessions of pilots, concerts of stars of world pop music icons including Chris Brown, Enrique Iglesias and Pharrell Williams, and, of course, the participation of world-renowned drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and others, gave Formula 1 in Baku the special status and interest.

The Opening Ceremony was remembered with colorful programs and a carnival parade under the music of Azerbaijani composers. And the show ended with a procession of the state flags around the Earth that became the impersonation of the fact that sport is peace.

President of Formula One Management, Bernie Ecclestone admitted that Formula 1 in Baku surpassed all his expectations.

After the race, some celebrated the victory of their team, some experienced hurtful defeat of favorite riders, emitted from a line or missed the podium, someone started preparing for the next competition ... But the main thing is that Formula 1 in Baku has become a common holiday of the fans, teams and riders.