I am a big fan of Formula 1 and I am following the sport since 2007. I attended the 2016 Singapore Grand prix and I had an amazing experience. I was sitting at a location where the overtaking was not that great during the Grand Prix. Baku street circuit was on my radar because it provided great racing action since 2016. I couldn’t attend the grand prix because of Covid in the year 2021 & 2022. I finally decided to attend the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I decided to pick Absheron E stand because it provided great racing action in the past years. During 2023 season F1 implemented new schedule for race weekend. The race weekend featured for the first time 2 Qualifying -2 Races and only 1 Practice sessionsIt was a no brainer for me because there were so many competitive event during the race weekend. But unfortunately the 2023 race was complete lackluster because of lack of Red Flags and huge difference in performance between leading and other cars. There were similar result in Sprint and Main race. The Qualifying was very exciting because it was tough to predict who will finish on pole between Leclerc and Verstappen. Overall I had a great experience visiting Baku and Attending the race but unfortunately the race itself was not that exciting. Baku still is my favorite track and i will explain below the reasons why every F1 fan should visit Baku.
Geography
Azerbaijan is located at a very central location. Except Australia People from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa continent can reach Baku within 12 hours including transit time. Most of the major airlines flies to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s national carrier also provides flights to most major cities.
VISA
Azerbaijan provides online visa access to more than 100 countries. This visa policy makes it very easy to visit Azerbaijan. If you are formula 1 fan having not so powerful passport than It is a long process to go for race in North America or Europe.
Street Circuit
Azerbaijan track is located at a central location within the capital city of Baku. It is very convenient to access the track from your hotel in Baku. You are also enjoying the race from a close proximity because it’s a street track. If you are visiting any traditional track then it is tough to arrange transport because of overcrowding during the event. Most of the hotels are located far away from the track and you end up spending significant amount of money in transport and parking for 3 days. In case of traditional track the stands are located far from the track so the viewing is not that great if you are sitting anywhere expect the main grand stand. In Baku street circuit it doesn’t matter where you sit because you have great views of circuit and cars.
Baku Street Circuit Fan Zone
Baku Street Circuit Fan zone is located at the Baku Boulevard. You will get great views of Baku skyline from the Fan Zone itself. There is Caspian sea on one side of the Fan Zone and Race track on the other side of the Fan Zone. There are very few formula 1 tracks where you can enjoy great views of the city from the Fan Zone itself.
Baku Street Circuit Volunteer
The volunteers at the street tracks are very friendly and they will guide you if you have any issues. The volunteers also help you to take photos at certain landmark around the Fan zone.
Beautiful Track
The street track is designed to showcase both the modern and historical aspect of Baku. The track looks absolutely stunning in the background of beautiful Azerbaijan infrastructure. You can absolutely take amazing photos of the cars with ease because the stands are located very close to the track. You need to carry proper high speed lenses if you are sitting at the faster section of the track. You can take photos with ease if you are sitting at the slower section of the track.
BAKU Tourist locations
Most of the tourist locations in Baku are located near the circuit itself. This gives great opportunity to combine explore Baku along with Formula 1 race. Azerbaijan is a small country and most of the important tourist locations are located in Baku Itself. So if you are planning to visit an exotic country and experience formula 1 race also then Baku ticks lots of boxes.
Nightlife & Culture
Baku’s popular shopping & nightlife area is located in Nizami street. You can just walk from the street track to Nizami street and you can indulge yourself with amazing Azerbaijan cuisine. You can easily relax at one of the many cafes situated in Nizami street. You can try local desserts or you can indulge yourself in shopping at Nizami Street.
Expect the Unexpected –Baku Street Circuit
Baku Street circuit was added to the calendar in the year 2016. Initially it was called European grand prix and later the formula 1 race name changed to Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Baku street circuit is famous for providing exciting races for the fans. The race has a very high probability of safety car because the track is very unforgiving. Baku also has the longest straight in entire formula 1 calendar which gives opportunity for lot of overtaking. Even if the track doesn’t have long history but it has managed to create special place among fans. The track also provided some memorable moments in the past.
2016 – Perez remarkable drive
2017 – Riccardo Triple Pass
2018 – Alonso Double Punture & Redbull Collision
2019 – Leclerc hitting the narrow castle section
2021-Verstappen Puncture & Hamilton mistake
2022- Ferrari issues
Action Everywhere in the Track
Baku provides great action for fans from almost all the stands in Formula 1. I decided to choose Absheron E during my visit to Baku because this section of the track provides chance to see overtaking and also the Turn 1 Action. I managed to see some nice action at this location for the F2 race but the F1 race was not that eventful. Different stands around the circuit has different advantage and disadvantages I will explain about each stand below.
KHAZAR/BULVAR/SAHIL Grandstand
Absolute waste of money if you are going to sit on this stand. The cars actually travel at the fastest pace at this location so you just hear the sound of the cars whn the cars zip past you. The overtaking point is located far ahead of the location of the stand and you get the back view of the race start from this point. The tickets price are very reasonable at this location. If you are on budget then you can attend the race at one of these stands. The stand gives easy access to Fan Zone.
ICHERI SHEHER GRANDSTAND
The stand is located just after the tricky castle section. The cars travel at the slowest pace at the stand. This stand is dream for photographers. If you want to take photographs of F1 cars in the background of Baku castle then you must visit this stand You don’t see any overtaking at this stand & you will just see cars slowly accelerating towards the Azneft square. It becomes boring after watching all the F1 cards doing the same move again and again. The tickets are usually in the medium range. The fan zone is situated at the opposite side of the track. If you sit at this stand then it is tricky to reach fan zone.
Azneft Grandstand/ Filarmoniya Grandstand
These stands are located just before the cars accelerate towards the main straight of Baku city circuit. In the recent grand prix there are some incidents of cars colliding at the wall at Turn 15. You can see the turn 15 action from the stands. There is no chance of seeing any overtaking from this stand. It is also a great location for photographers and you can take great shots of cars taking the 90 degree turn at Turn 16.
Azneft stand is situated adjacent to the Fan Zone but if you are sitting at Filarmoniya stand then it is little tricky to access the Fan Zone. The tickets are usually in the medium range for these locations.
Absheron Stand
The Absheron Stand is the most premium Grandstand after the Paddock club. The tickets are usually priced between 700 to 800 USD. Absheron Grandstand starts from the driver’s prize giving ceremony area and extends till turn 1. The stand is located just next to the Fan Zone so you can experience the different activity at the Fan Zone in between races.
Absheron A- A stand is located just in front of the Driver’s prize giving ceremony. You will have great views of the ceremony and race start from this location. You can also experience pre-race start procedure different teams at this location. You can also enjoy pre-race dance ceremony at this location. You will get back side view of race start from this location. During the race the cars move very fast at this location and the overtaking spot is located little bit far towards the turn 1. The stand gives great opportunity to see Pit Stop. The stand is not very good for taking photos because the cars travel fastest at this location.
Absheron B – Absheron B is located next to the A stand. It is located little bit closer to race start and overtaking location. You will have great views of the driver prize giving ceremony at this place. You will also experience pre-race procedure of different teams at this location.
You will get to enjoy the pre-race dance ceremony much closer than Absheron A stand. you will get better view of race start from this location. You will have far greater chance of seeing overtaking at this location than stand A because it is located near optimum overtaking spot. The cars still travel at a very fast pace at this location. I feel Absheron B provide better overall action compared to Absheron A
Absheron C – Absheron C has two tiers. The stand is located just next to the Race start. The top stand of Absheron C has great views of cars moving along the entire long straight. You have decent view of Driver’s prize giving ceremony. You will also experience pre-race procedure of different teams at this location. The best view of pre-race dance ceremony can be enjoyed from this location. You will get best view of race start from this location. You have best chance of seeing overtaking from this location. You can see pit stops very easily because this stand is located at a central location. The stand is located very close to the overtaking region. The optimum overtaking region is Stand D. You will get closer look of drivers during the race start. I still feel sitting in the first tier gives better overall experience compared to second tier because you are too close to the action. Row 8 or Row 7 is optimum viewing position for most of the Absheron stands.
Absheron D – This is the best location if you want to see overtaking. The stand is not covered so if it is a sunny or windy day then you are completely exposed. You have very good front view of race start and back side view of pre-race dance ceremony. You don’t have any view of driver’s prize giving ceremony and you don’t have good view pre-race start procedure of different teams. All Absheron stands gives great views of pit stops. You will get to see action at Turn 1 also because this stand located little closer to Turn 1 compared to Absheron A,B & C. The breaking point of the cars is located around this stand. The breaking point at this stand is a heavy braking zone because Baku has a very long straight.
Absheron E – Absheron E is the ultimate location in the entire F1 calendar. You are basically sitting at the best spot to see both overtaking and turn 1 action. You are also sitting at the end of the longest straight of the entire F1 calendar which provides lots of overtaking. The cars actually slows down after braking near Absheron D and make a right turn. You don’t have any view of Prize giving ceremony from this location. After the race finished I rushed to the Abshreon A area to see the prize giving ceremony. You have good views of race start lights from this location. You have distant back view of pre-race dance ceremony from this location. The view of race start procedure is bad from this location. After the race start this is probably the best place to sit in the entire track because the cars break & takes a left turn towards turn 2.
I recommend everyone to take the sit in the last row of the Absheron stand because you can stand while watching the race without disturbing anyone and you will have better view from the top. If you sitting at the lower rows then you might not have good views of the race because of the high fences and concrete blocks. You can have better views of the pit stop from the higher rows.
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