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Formula 1 heads to Azerbaijan this weekend for the second race around the streets of Baku. Last year, the city hosted its first race, in which Nico Rosberg became the maiden winner. Romain Grosjean finished the Grand Prix in P13 for Haas but says he is looking forward to getting back to racing this weekend.
"It’s going to be pretty exciting," the Frenchman said. "I think some parts of the circuit are going to be very tight for the wider cars, but some other corners are going to be really nice to drive. Straight-line speed is going to be a bit down. I think it’s going to be a really cool track to drive with these cars – braking late and carrying a lot of speed in the corners, and playing around with some pretty fast corners through the walls."
"I believe there’s always a lot of things you can bring from the past, even when the cars are different. We’ll look at what we did last year, what our setup was like, and what we could’ve done better in the race. I think we’ve got some ideas and we’ll apply that with the deltas of this year. There are always things we can learn and improve."
Grosjean also said that one major disadvantage of having a race in the city is the amount of plastic bags flying around. Indeed, last year saw plenty of bags scattered around the track, with one lodging itself in Grosjean's radiator which compromised his race.
"It was a really good race (last year). It’s a beautiful city and a beautiful track. The only downside we noticed was the plastic bags flying around – they actually cost us points in the race as one got caught in the radiator intake. Hopefully, that’s improved. For me, that was the only downside of what was a really good weekend.
"I would say (the track’s most challenging part) was the back end – going around the castle, up the hills, then going back down and the two last corners, which were actually pretty tricky. It’s the most challenging one. It’s pretty high speed and you’ve got to get the right balance in those corners as well as the braking. It’s pretty exciting when you get it right."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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