Baku stays: F1 signs Azerbaijan GP through 2030
Street circuits come and go, but Baku isn’t budging. Formula 1 has inked a fresh long-term deal to keep the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the calendar until 2030, extending a partnership that’s quietly become one of the sport’s most reliable drama factories.
It’s easy to see why Liberty keeps the keys to the Old City. The Baku City Circuit was born as the European Grand Prix in 2016 and rebranded a year later, but the core appeal never changed: a needle-threading castle section that punishes the brave, plus a mega straight that turns the slipstream into a weapon. The recipe often cooks up chaos — and usually, a belter of a race.
Stefano Domenicali was typically effusive in announcing the extension, praising the city’s energy and the promoter’s execution while nodding to the unique layout that splices technical fiddliness with eye-watering top speeds along the Caspian shoreline. Translation: it looks great on TV, it delivers a show, and the fans in Azerbaijan actually turn up and make noise. That matters.
Baku’s highlight reel is stacked already. Charles Leclerc’s exasperated “I am stupid” radio after kissing the wall; Red Bull’s intra-team bowling drama that left Max Verstappen booting a tyre; Lewis Hamilton’s infamous “brake magic” lock-up at the 2021 restart. Even Mark Webber gave us a screamer. You don’t need to squint to remember the chaos — it’s baked into the place.
Sergio Perez remains Baku’s specialist. The Mexican is the only two-time winner at this venue, taking the flag in 2021 and again in 2023 with that smooth, low-drag touch he seems to unlock on these long-runway streets. This weekend presents a neat subplot: if Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, or Lewis Hamilton wins, they’ll join Perez in the two-victory club around here. And yes, that tells you plenty about this track’s unpredictability; it rarely crowns repeat rulers.
Beyond the headlines, there’s a sporting reason teams circle Baku in red. It’s a set-up compromise from the first garage door roll-up: skinny wings for the straight, enough bite to keep the rear in line through the tight middle sector, and a car that doesn’t bounce itself silly over the bumps. A gust of wind through Turn 15 or a fraction too greedy on the brake pedal and your weekend’s hanging from a TecPro barrier. No wonder safety cars phone in sick days elsewhere and pull double shifts here.
From a calendar perspective, locking in Azerbaijan to 2030 continues F1’s steady consolidation of marquee street events that photograph well and offer a different challenge to the classic European circuits. Purists will argue the sport needs fewer walls and more gravel, but even they’ll admit Baku’s produced more than its share of proper contests. The restart roulette alone is worth the airfare.
The local promoter, Baku City Circuit, has also matured. Early years brought the odd operational wobble; now the event runs slick, sponsors like the skyline backdrops, and the circuit’s footprint through the old town has become one of F1’s most recognisable postcards. That kind of identity is hard-earned and, in this business, invaluable.
What to watch this weekend? Tyre warm-up on a cooling track as the sun drops behind the buildings, slipstream trains into Turn 1, and strategy crews praying their undercut window doesn’t get nuked by timing of a safety car. Qualifying will hinge on who dares trim enough downforce to survive Q3 without skating; the race will be about patience… until it suddenly isn’t.
And if you’re keeping tabs on the record book: Perez is the yardstick here. But Baku doesn’t usually read the form guide, it shreds it. Which, frankly, is why it’s staying.
As Domenicali put it, the renewal reflects “the strong trust and commitment between Formula 1, the Azerbaijani Government, and the promoter,” while tipping his cap to President Ilham Aliyev, Minister Farid Gayibov, Anar Alakbarov and the Azerbaijan Automobile Federation for keeping standards high. Corporate speak? Sure. But on this one, the product tends to back up the pitch.
Eight more years of castle walls and last-lap lunges? We’ll take it.
