It’s well known that the seaside can be windy, but the gusts that sometimes batter Baku during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix are no joke. This is something reporter Gerard Bos noticed on Saturday morning in the paddock, where not all materials proved to be resistant to the strong ‘woei’. So, don’t underestimate its influence on driving behavior.
Baku, beautifully situated on the shores of the Caspian Sea, offers stunning views both during the day and at night. With a magnificent old city center, a similar boulevard, and a nice mix of ‘folk’ neighborhoods and modern high-rises. But in the whirlwind of architecture, the real wind has also found a place. Because in cities like this, it can be literally and figuratively stormy.
Although the temperatures are fine, between 20 and 25 degrees over the past few days, you notice that wind can suddenly leave a mark on the weather. Already in the night from Friday to Saturday, it was stormy, and in the morning, gusts of 80 kilometers per hour caused signs, chairs, and tables to topple over. This becomes evident on the way to the metro that takes you to the circuit. There it is momentarily calm, but in the paddock, it’s a different story.
There, it turns out that several items – umbrellas at seating areas, for example – have metaphorically lost their lives. So, teams and drivers should brace themselves. On this Saturday, the wind will have more of an influence during the third free practice and the qualification than it did on Friday. After all, a street circuit involves a lot of turning and twisting, driving in all sorts of directions. So, one moment you’re against the wind, then with it, and elsewhere in Baku, the wind comes from the side.
Perhaps the wind will relatively die down – that can also happen quickly in coastal cities like Baku. If not, it will certainly influence the driving behavior of Max Verstappen and his colleagues on Saturday.
