Baku. 27 April. REPORT.AZ/ The Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix starts today, April 27.
Report informs, this will be the fourth race of the season. Auto sports fans will focus their attention on the Land of Fire after Australia, Bahrain and China. German pilot of Mercedes-Benz Sebastian Vettel won in the first two previous races. Generally, season 21 consists of Grand Prix races:
| Date | Grand Prix | Track | Length (meters) | Circuit |
| March 23 – 25 | Australia | Albert-Park | 5303 | 58 |
| April 6 – 8 | Bahrain | Sahir | 5412 | 57 |
| April 12 – 15 | China | Shanghai | 5451 | 56 |
| April 27 – 29 | Azərbaijan | Baku | 6003 | 51 |
| May 11 – 13 | Spain | Barcelona | 4655 | 66 |
| May 25 – 27 | Monaco | Monte-Carlo | 3337 | 78 |
| June 8 – 10 | Canada | Montreal | 4361 | 70 |
| June 22 – 24 | France | Le Castellet | 5842 | 53 |
| June 29– July 1 | Australia | Spielberg | 4318 | 71 |
| July 6 – 8 | Great Britain | Silverstone | 5891 | 52 |
| July 20 – 22 | Germany | Hockenheim | 4574 | 67 |
| July 27 – 29 | Hungary | Hungaroring | 4381 | 70 |
| August 24 – 26 | Belgium | Spa | 7004 | 44 |
| August 31– September 2 | Italy | Monza | 5793 | 53 |
| September 14 – 16 | Singapore | Marina Bay | 5065 | 61 |
| September 28 – 30 | Russia | Sochi | 5848 | 52 |
| October 5 – 7 | Japan | Suzuka | 5807 | 53 |
| October 19 – 21 | USA | Ostin | 5513 | 56 |
| October 26 – 28 | Mexico | Mexico city | 4304 | 71 |
| November 9 – 11 | Brazil | São Paulo | 4309 | 71 |
| November 23 – 25 | Abu Dhabi | Yas-Marina | 5554 | 55 |
Sebastian Vettel took the first place in ranking of the pilots. He has 54 points. Mercedes pilots close up the trio. Lewis Hamilton, the winner of last year's world championship, is the second with 45 points. He is ahead of his team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 5 points. Daniel Ricciardo, the winner of the Grand Prix of the 2017, is in the 4th place with 37 points.In total, 6 pilots came to Baku without a score.
| Place | Pilot | Team | Number | Australia | Bahrain | China | Point |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 54 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 44 | 2 | 33 | 4 | 45 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 77 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 40 |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 3 | 4 | DNF | 1 | 37 |
| 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 7 | 3 | DNF | 3 | 30 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 14 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| 7 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 27 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 22 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 33 | 6 | DNF | 5 | 18 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 10 | DNF | 4 | 18 | 12 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 20 | DNF | 5 | 10 | 11 |
| 11 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 22 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 55 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 3 |
| 13 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 9 | DNF | 9 | 16 | 2 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Force İndia | 31 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 1 |
| 15 | Sergio Pérez | Force İndia | 11 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 0 |
| 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 16 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 0 |
| 17 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 8 | DNF | 13 | 17 | 0 |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 18 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| 19 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 35 | DNF | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| 20 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 28 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 0 |
Winner of previous year's Constructors Cup is Mercedes team. German representative has 85 points. Ferrari is in second place with 84 and Red Bull has 55 points.
| Place | Team | Country | Point |
| 1 | Mercedes | Germany | 85 |
| 2 | Ferrari | Italy | 84 |
| 3 | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | Austria | 55 |
| 4 | McLaren Renault | Great Britain | 28 |
| 5 | Renault | Great Britain | 25 |
| 6 | Scuderia Toro Ross Honda | Italy | 12 |
| 7 | Haas Ferrari | USA | 11 |
| 8 | Sauber Ferrari | Switzerland | 2 |
| 9 | Force İndia Mercedes | India | 1 |
| 10 | Williams Mercedes | Great Britain | 0 |
In three days Baku will host Formula 2 along with Formula 1. For this reason, the Grand Prix's calendar covers both. Free races at Formula 1 will be realized on April 27. The first free ride will take place from 13:00 to 14:30, the second one from 17:00 to 18:30. On April 28, the third free ride will take place from 14:00 to 15:00, and the tour will take place from 17:00 to 18:00. Next day, a pilot parade will be held from 14:40 to 15:10. The State Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan will sound at 15:56. Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018 will be started at 16:10. The race will cover 51 circuits or 120 minutes.
Calendar of Azerbaijan Grand Prix
April 27
11:00 - 11:45. "Formula 2" - Free-ride
13:00 - 14:30. "Formula 1" - First free ride
15:00 - 15:30. "Formula 2" - Sequencing tour
17:00 - 18:30. "Formula 1" - Second free ride
April 28
12:00 - 13:05. "Formula 2" - First race (29 circuits or 60 minutes)
14:00 - 15:00. "Formula 1" - Third free ride
17:00 - 18:00. "Formula 1" - Sequencing tour
April 29
13:10 - 14:00. "Formula 2" - The second race (21 circuits or 45 minutes)
14:40 - 15:10. The parade of pilots
15:00 - 15:25. Opening ceremony
15: 56-15: 58. State anthem
16: 10-18: 00. "Formula 1" - Grand Prix (51 circuits or 120 minutes)
Along with the race, Azerbaijan Grand Prix will also have entertainment.
"Formula 1" Fan Zone will be presented new entertainments to auto sports lovers along the Seaside Boulevard on April 26-29. The event will be held on April 26 from 12:00 to 21:00, on April 27-28, from 10:00 to 19:00 and on April 29 from 10:00 to 14:00. In addition, musical entertainment program will be held on April 27-29 at the Baku Crystal Hall.
Four-day ticket buyers will participate in Pit Stop Trip on April 26 from 14: 00 to 15: 30. During the walk, the audience will see how the F1 teams prepare for the race in the garages, entering the Pit Stop.
The entrance to Pit Stop Trip will be from Absheron tribune in "Formula 1" Fan Zone.
Moreover, autographed sessions will take place at the Formula 1 zone in the Fan Zone at 11:00 am on April 27-29, with the participation of all pilots participating in the current Grand Prix. Autograph sessions will be held at various hours from April 11 to 9 with the participation of all pilots in the Fan Zone. During the sessions, fans will be able to take pictures and autographs face-to-face with their favorite pilots.
This year, the audience will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the Baku City Population, along with the new pilots of Formula One. On April 28, a new question-and-answer session will be held with F1 pilots from 15:30 to 16:00 in the Fan Zone.
Also, after the races on April 26-28, the track will be open for the audience. Special buses will also be available during the tour. The audience can get down to the stops at different places of the tour and familiarize with the peculiarities of Baku City Circuit.
Shortly afterwards, the hymn ceremony will be held before the start of the race. After the performance of the anthem of Azerbaijan, the pilots will approach the bolids located on the grid line and will make their final preparations for the race. According to the new rules, this year there will be no grid girls and pilots will be accompanied by 7-10 year old children only at the hymn.
The audience will be able to compete in simulators owned by Baku City Circuit and Formula 1 located in "Formula 1" Fan Zone. The audience with the highest results in these competitions will be awarded. In addition, various types of entertaining games, including pit-stop competitions will also be held.
All ticket holders will be able to participate in concerts and entertainment programs from April 27 to 29 for free. On April 27, Jamiroquai band will get on stage and then an entertainment program will be held with DJ Afrojack at night. Axwell Λ Ingrosso and Christina Aguilera will perform on April 28. Dua Lipa and Martin Solveig on April 29. This year concert program will be held at Baku Crystal Hall. Special buses will be operated between Azneft and Crystal Hall for convenience of visitors.
A special driving school will be organized for the youngest guests of the race at weekend. Here, children will be able to learn traffic rules in a fun and free environment. In addition, the entertainment center will be operating in the form of a helmet for the younger audience. Children will enjoy a full range of interactive and educational games.
Different backgrounds, including the "Formula 1" Grand Prix podium and hashtags with sculptures and mascots of pilots depicting them, wall and surface paintings, tracks, race tracks, national ornaments and retro cars will be presented for taking selfies and photos.