The organisers of Azerbaijan’s first F1 race have revealed more details about the Baku City Circuit which will host this year’s European Grand Prix.
But the most striking feature of the track may be its slender width in places. The FIA International Sporting Code advises a minimum width for new permanent circuits of 12 metres, plus an extra 3m width at the starting grid. But Baku is a temporary circuit and it will be considerably narrower than this in places.
The circuit will measure just 7.6 metres wide at its narrowest point, Aziz Aliyev Street. At other points it will be over 70% wider, reaching a maximum of 13 metres. F1 cars are 1.8 metres wide and could increase to 2 metres next year. The FIA’s reference width for Hockenheim and Singapore is 9m, though as with most tracks their widths vary over the course of a lap.
The estimated average lap speed of 211kph (131.1mph) indicates a lap time of around 1’42.37. This would put the track towards the slower end of the current F1 calendar, but quicker than most street circuits plus the Circuit of the Americas and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez:
2016 F1 track average speeds
*Estimate
2016 F1 track top speeds
It is also expected to have a high top speed, with cars reaching 340kph as they pass the pits and reach the braking zone for turn one on Neftchiler Avenue. This would be the sixth-highest on the current F1 schedule:
Based on fastest times recorded at speed traps and intermediate points during qualifying
*Estimate
**Data from 2014
2016 F1 season
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