F1 | Megaride Simulation: Rear Tyres Suffer in Baku

After the surprising Italian weekend in Monza, with the unexpected victory of Ferrari, the F1 Circus returns to the track on Sunday for the Azerbaijan GP on the street circuit in the capital Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The Azerbaijani circuit is particularly difficult to interpret due to its three very different sectors: the first characterised by 90-degree bends, the second particularly tortuous and narrow and the third consisting of a straight of almost 2 km.

It is clear, therefore, that the final setup will have to be a compromise between low aerodynamic resistance, necessary to fully exploit the long straight of the third sector, and a good balance, to optimize the passage of the second more technical sector. The characteristic curve of the track is certainly the 8, a particularly tight curve that runs alongside the city castle.

• The most stressed tyres are the rear ones, in particular the right rear due to the large 90° bends of the first sector and the long straight of the final sector, which require high traction effort and can be subject to overheating phenomena especially in the more driven sector. The front tyres are less stressed in the second sector.
• For this weekend Pirelli has chosen the softest set available: C3-C4-C5, thanks to the low severity of the asphalt on the tyres.
• As with all street circuits, this one in Baku is also expected to see a high evolution of grip throughout the weekend with grip gradually increasing.

Megaride Chart, GP Azerbaijan

Photo by: MegaRide

The expected wear on this track is very low, as can be easily seen from the graph. The rears are the ones most stressed and at risk of overheating due to the high traction required by the circuit.

A variable that should not be underestimated is certainly a possible entry of the safety car due to the walls very close to the track and the few escape routes. The probability of a red flag that would cause the temporary interruption of the competition is not low either. The strategies in the pits, therefore, will have to adapt to these possibilities, even if overtaking on the track is certainly not impossible thanks to the long final straight.