Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix starts today

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.

Unlike previous years, this year the opening ceremony of the audience will take place before the Pilots’ Parade. Immediately after the opening of the event, pilots will welcome spectators around the track during a tour in the City of Baku on a special transport.

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.

Throughout the entertainment zones, mobile actors will perform adding enthusiasm to the excitement of the races. Moreover, mobile performances, circus, balance shows and pantomime actors will add more fun.

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.