The urban circuit of Baku, through the streets of the beautiful capital of Azerbaijan, is one of those challenging tracks, called “hands-on”, in which the mechanics take second place to the skill of the pilot. A good opportunity for Fernando Alonso to take another step towards the long-awaited victory 33, after three consecutive podiums at the start of the championship.
“We are happy, but this is only the beginning of this project. We all agree that we are here to win. Being on the podium is fantastic and something probably unexpected, but we don’t want to stop here,” said the two-time Spanish champion. of the Azerbaijan GP that starts this Friday (free practice 1 at 11.30 and qualifying at 15.00).
Fernando Alonso has competed four times at the Baku circuit, with great performances: while with McLaren he was 9th in 2017 after starting 19th, and 7th in 2018, and after the F1 sabbatical, he returned with Alpine in 2021 with a formidable 6th place thanks to a masterful start that is still remembered for his three passes in one go, and a 7th in 2022.
“In the slow curve we are going well and here there are slow curves”, Alonso smacks his lips, thinking of the good expectations that an uncertain route generates in its 20 curves, the majority of which are slow, favorable to the Aston Martin, and where the slightest error is a accident against the fences, and in which curiously no one has repeated victory: five editions, five different winners (Verstappen 2022, Pérez 2021, Bottas 2019, Hamilton 2018 and Ricciardo 2017). Will it be Alonso 2023?
In addition, this fourth grand prix of the year opens its weekend format, with the news introduced by the organization on Tuesday in its F1 Commission. The novelty is the introduction of an express classification, the Sprint Shootout, of half an hour, to determine the grid of the Sprint race that takes place on Saturday. So there will be two qualifying sessions, this Friday (the usual one hour) to set the grid for Sunday, and Saturday morning for the Sprint.
“It’s a challenge. It’s a complicated format, especially getting into the car straight into qualifying on Saturday,” Alonso said about it. “Of course, it’s the same for everyone. If I were at home, I’d like this format more. When I wasn’t in Formula 1 I didn’t see the free practice sessions; only qualifying and the race. I think it’s interesting. We’ll risk more”, promises the Asturian .
