Double points finishes at BakuDouble points finishes at Baku

NetApp is our global hybrid cloud storage partner, with solutions that perform across a diverse environment allowing us to gain insights on weather-related data as well as telemetry data. Together, we explore how weather can affect track conditions this weekend.

While Azerbaijan is historically referred to as the 'Land of Fire', Baku itself is unofficially the 'City of Winds'. Rain has never affected proceedings at Baku City Circuit, but the wind certainly has.

Large buildings surround the circuit, and trees can deposit leaves or even branches onto the track when the wind picks up. A large gust can unsettle a car – which makes this circuit with walls waiting at every corner all the more challenging. Wind speed and direction can also drastically affect the DRS effect and braking distances into Turns One and Three.

Unpredictable elements, such as Safety Cars, red flags and Virtual Safety Cars, can make a Grand Prix more exciting but strategy calls for the teams far more challenging.

If those on the pitwall can react to an incident quickly, they can anticipate a Safety Car, a Virtual Safety Car or, if the incident is serious or a barrier is damaged, a red flag. Teams will prepare for each of these scenarios. They will monitor gaps between their cars and those immediately around them to decide on a course of action based on a 'window', considering the pit time loss while cars are travelling at slower speeds.

If there is a sufficient gap to the car behind, or it is around the time of a scheduled pitstop, a team is more likely to opt to pit, minimising the loss of track position. If a red flag is anticipated, leaving the car out is the better option as drivers can change tyres during a race stoppage.

The ease of overtaking at a circuit and the offset between tyre compounds are also factored into these decisions, as teams must consider whether to prioritise track position or tyre life.