The Azerbaijan circuit is not just anything for Formula 1 drivers, as it is a track that challenges the quality of the brakes, the power of the power unit and the driver’s skills at the wheel, because although it has a straight line in which cars exceed 320 kilometers per houralso features several challenging curves, including curve 8known as the entrance to the castle.
Baku, the city in which the street circuit is mounted, has the particularity of preserving parts of its ancient times, including the castle and the maiden’s tower, which is one of the main tourist attractions of the place and an iconic structure of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which is reference to the most complex part of the circuit.
Azerbaijan has the most difficult corner in Formula 1
George Russell has described the narrow curve, also known as the entrance to the castle, as the most difficult in the entire Formula 1 calendar, due to the fact that requires precision from pilots throughout practice, qualifying sessions and the race.
In this place they have remained the remains of the cars of Charles Leclerc and Robert Kubica, who couldn’t take the corner the right way and ended up giving their respective mechanics a lot of work in 2019.
Why is turn 8 in Azerbaijan the most difficult?
Turn 8 of the Baku circuit, in Azerbaijan, has been complex since its inclusion as part of the layout, and it is that it is a narrow alley through which the castle is accessed and in which it is impossible to pass.
This part of the circuit is 7.6 meters wide, which is why two cars fit in that space. In 2019 the single-seaters were more compact, so that three cars could fit, although seeing two or three cars in that space is impossible because of the way this curve attacks.
At the entrance of the curve, lThe pilots have to leave the car in a diagonal position to avoid the edges of the extremes and lose as little speed as possible. Whereas a conventional car would take this part at a speed of 10 miles per hour, Formula 1 drivers enter this alley at more than 100 kilometers per hour.
Throughout a career, drivers must pass this zone 51 times throughout a race, in addition to free practices and qualifications, for which the pilots pass through the entrance to the castle nearly 100 times over the course of a weekend.
If it is possible to take this curve correctly, little by little over 120 kilometers per hour, the pilots gain extremely important tenths of a second. Taking this curve with too much respect would mean losing valuable time in the race or in qualifying, and taking it without any respect and with slight distractions, is a guarantee of the entrance of the crane and certainly a lot of work for the mechanics.
