Baku City Circuit Walk

About

Why this exists

Unlike the original Monaco guide — built the night before an actual visit and beta tested on the circuit itself — this Baku guide was researched remotely, not walked in person.

The racing line comes from public GPS data and the historical facts are sourced from race reports, but details like exact pedestrian access through the Old City haven't been confirmed on foot.

Treat it as a solid starting point rather than ground truth, and if you walk it yourself, corrections and reports are very welcome.

Made by Maris

Data engineer based in Estonia. Writing about tech at drumandbytes.com.

Found a bug or want to suggest something? Open an issue on GitHub.

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Fan-made walking guide — S/F line + all 20 corners of the Baku City Circuit

No corners visited yet — enable GPS and start walking.

Stored only on this device (localStorage) — no account, nothing sent anywhere.

Prev / Next — walk corners in racing order.

Tap any marker on the map to jump directly to that corner.

Sector tabs — skip between the four circuit sections.

▾ button — collapse the info panel to see more map. Reopens automatically at the next corner.

Tap GPS to enable live tracking. The app measures your distance to the next corner every few seconds using your device's built-in location — nothing is sent externally.

When you're within 40 metres of a corner, its marker turns orange. When you're within 25 metres of the next corner, the panel auto-advances.

Use the Auto button to turn auto-advance on or off — useful if you want to explore freely without the panel switching.

The screen stays on automatically while GPS is active.

Battery/CPU impact is negligible — same as having Maps open.

After first load, the app and map tiles work fully offline. This makes it useful as a general Baku GPS map even when roaming doesn't work — Azerbaijan is outside the EU, so data roaming may be expensive or unavailable.

GPS itself doesn't require internet — your device's location hardware works independently of mobile data.

Map tiles you've already viewed are cached automatically, or download the whole route now while you have signal:

This section runs through Icherisheher, Baku's UNESCO-listed walled Old City, along streets that are open to the public outside race week. Unlike the Monaco tunnel walkway, this hasn't been walked and verified in person yet — treat pedestrian access here as unconfirmed until someone reports back.

iOS: Open in Safari → Share → "Add to Home Screen". Opens as a standalone app with no browser chrome.

Android: Open in Chrome or Brave → install prompt or browser menu → Add to Home Screen.

Once installed, the app works fully offline and the screen stays on while GPS is active.

⛶ Fullscreen button available on Android and desktop — including when installed as a PWA. Hidden on iOS where the Fullscreen API is not supported.

Racing line GPS from bacinger/f1-circuits (MIT licence, OpenStreetMap source). Historical facts are original writing.

Unofficial fan project — not affiliated with Formula One Licensing B.V. or any circuit's organising body.

✓ GPS stays on-device✓ No cookies✓ Cookieless analytics only

Found a corner that's off? A fact that's wrong? Open an issue on GitHub — corrections welcome.

F1Baku City Circuit Walk

Walk all 20 corners of the Baku City Circuit, from the seafront to the Old City walls.

Start at the S/F marker on Neftchilar Avenue — that's where the race starts and ends each lap.

Enable GPS and the app follows you — auto-advancing to the next corner as you approach. Orange markers mean you're close. Use Auto to toggle this.

Works offline — once loaded, the map and app work without internet. Useful as a general Baku GPS map if roaming doesn't work.

Tap Help anytime for full details on all features.

⬇ Install as an app — Safari → Share → "Add to Home Screen" on iOS, or Chrome/Brave on Android. Works offline after first load.

No cookies. GPS stays on your device. Fan project — not affiliated with F1 or any circuit's organisers.

Baku City Circuit Walk — Azerbaijan GP Guide

A walking guide to all 20 corners of the Baku City Circuit, with GPS tracking, historical facts, and offline maps. Free, no tracking, works as a PWA.

Walking the Baku City Circuit

The Baku City Circuit is 6.003 km long with 20 turns — the fourth-longest circuit on the F1 calendar, behind Spa, Las Vegas, and Jeddah. It runs along the Caspian Sea seafront and through Icherisheher, Baku's walled Old City, before opening onto the longest straight in Formula 1. First held in 2016 as the European Grand Prix, it has hosted the Azerbaijan Grand Prix since 2017. Unlike Monaco's individually-named corners, Baku's are known by number — the one common nickname is "the castle section" for Turns 8 to 11, where the track squeezes past the Old City walls. Drivers make 71 gear changes per lap here, more than anywhere else on the 2025 calendar.

Start / Finish Line — Neftchilar Avenue

The pit straight sits on Neftchilar Avenue, along the Caspian seafront. It's also part of the longest straight in Formula 1, so cars cross the line already at very high speed on a flying lap.

Turn 1

A 90-degree left-hander, heavy on the brakes at the end of the long start/finish straight — at 170 metres from the line, the second-shortest sprint to the first corner on the F1 calendar, behind only Monaco's Sainte Dévote. On lap 20 of the 2024 race, Oscar Piastri swooped past Charles Leclerc here for the race lead and went on to win — McLaren's first Baku victory, and a result that put them top of the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 2014. On lap 40 of the 2018 race, Daniel Ricciardo ran into the back of team-mate Max Verstappen here while trying to pass, putting both Red Bulls out — their third coming-together of the afternoon. In 2021, Lewis Hamilton accidentally hit his "brake magic" button during a late restart, altering his brake balance and causing him to miss the braking point here, ending a run of 55 consecutive points finishes.

Turn 2

Another 90-degree left, straight off the back of Turn 1, leading onto the first DRS straight. In Q2 of 2025 qualifying, Oliver Bearman's rear end stepped out exiting this corner and struck the barrier — one of a record six red flags across that session, the most in F1 history.

Turn 3

A right-angled left with a wide escape road — one that sees plenty of visitors across a race weekend. On the penultimate lap of the 2024 race, Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz tangled while fighting for third place on the run down to this corner, both hitting the barrier at high speed and retiring on the spot. In Q3 of 2025 qualifying, Oscar Piastri missed the apex here and hit the opposite barrier.

Turn 4

The first right-hander of the lap, a 90-degree test. The track opens up slightly on exit, which can tempt drivers into the wall. In a single 2025 qualifying session, Nico Hülkenberg crashed here with front wing and floor damage, Pierre Gasly went off, and Franco Colapinto hit the wall nearby — all in Q1. Nico Hülkenberg had also retired here after hitting the wall on lap 11 of the 2018 race, and Franco Colapinto crashed here in 2024 practice too. Away from the track, Baku drilled the world's first industrial oil well in 1846, 13 years before Pennsylvania's famous one — the Nobel brothers made their fortune in Baku's oil boom, and roughly 12% of the Nobel Prize endowment traces back to it.

Turn 5

A left-hander, immediately compromised by the switchback that follows at Turn 6. Charles Leclerc locked up and crashed out here on his final lap of 2023's Sprint Shootout — and still secured pole position.

Turn 6

An instant switchback right after Turn 5, with the wall pinching in on exit. In 2025, championship leader Oscar Piastri jumped the start and triggered anti-stall, dropping to last place — then crashed here on lap 1 for good measure.

Turn 7

An acute right-hander as the track tightens further — tricky in low sun. On lap 17 of the 2025 race, Alexander Albon hit the rear of Franco Colapinto's car here, spinning him and bringing out the safety car; Albon was handed a 10-second penalty.

Turns 8–11 — The Castle Section

Turns 8 to 11 form the narrowest point on the entire Formula 1 calendar, at just 7.6 metres wide — barely enough for two cars side by side — running alongside the Old City's medieval fortress wall. Drivers commit to a single steering line through the sequence and hold it, since there's no room to correct a mistake next to the stone wall. On lap 11 of the 2021 race, Carlos Sainz outbraked himself into the Turn 8 chicane, dropping from 6th to 15th in one move. The Maiden Tower (Qız Qalası) looms over this section — nobody actually knows when it was built or what it was for; one legend claims a king built it to hide his daughter from a prophecy that a snake would kill her, only for a smuggled snake to do exactly that. Turn 11 is cambered and blind on entry, the last of the tight castle corners before the track opens up again near the top of the hill.

Turn 12

A 90-degree left with room on exit, leading to the highest point on the circuit.

Turn 13

The first of two left-hand kinks taken flat out, crossing the crest of the hill. Yuki Tsunoda hit the wall here during the 2023 sprint race, stripping his rear-left tyre; he retired the following lap after an unsafe pit release.

Turn 14

The second left-hand kink of the pair, still flat out over the crest. In one lap, the circuit passes preserved ruins of the Old City, Soviet-era apartment blocks, and glass-fronted modern skyscrapers — a cross-section of Baku's history in 6 kilometres.

Turn 15

Hard on the brakes as the track drops downhill into this left-hander — the exit wall here punishes any mistake. It's arguably Baku's most-crashed corner: Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa both crashed here in practice in 2016, and both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen crashed here in practice in 2021.

Turn 16

A fast left-hander that feeds the circuit onto the long run back to the start/finish line. The large exit kerb here can destabilise the car right before the longest full-throttle section of the lap, roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of flat-out running.

Turn 17

The first kink of the high-speed slalom into the final stretch, taken at full throttle. "Baku" likely derives from the Persian bād-kube, roughly "wind-pounded" or "gust of wind" — fitting for a seafront straight where crosswinds off the Caspian are a real factor at 300+ km/h.

Turn 18

Still in the slalom, flat out, threading between the walls. Baku's position on the historic Silk Road trade routes helped make it home to 70 different nationalities today — a legacy of centuries as a crossroads between Europe and Asia.

Turn 19

The penultimate kink of the slalom, cars already carrying huge speed. A Baku speed trap recorded 378 km/h (235 mph) in 2016 — the fastest speed ever recorded in a Formula 1 race.

Turn 20

The last corner of the lap, leading onto the DRS straight back to the line — part of the longest straight in Formula 1, at roughly 2.2 km along Neftchilar Avenue. On lap 19 of the 2017 race, Sebastian Vettel drove into the back of Lewis Hamilton's car behind the Safety Car on this stretch, then steered into him alongside — he was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty and apologised afterwards. In the 2021 race, Max Verstappen's left-rear tyre failed here at high speed while leading with four laps to go, triggering a red flag — eerily, Lance Stroll had suffered the exact same left-rear failure exiting Turn 20 just 16 laps earlier. Sergio Pérez went on to win from the restart.

Practical Guide: Walking the Baku City Circuit

Unlike the Monaco guide on this site, this Baku guide was researched remotely rather than walked in person. Practical notes for anyone visiting:

The racing line is drawn from public GPS data; the historical facts are sourced from race reports. Pedestrian access details, especially through the Old City section, haven't been confirmed on foot.
Azerbaijan is outside the EU — standard EU roaming rules do not apply. Data roaming can be expensive. This app works fully offline after first load.
Icherisheher (the Old City) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a normal pedestrian tourist area outside race week.
Start at the S/F line on Neftchilar Avenue and walk in racing direction toward Turn 1 for the most logical route.

About This App

Part of a small collection of fan-made circuit walking guides, starting with Monaco (built and beta-tested on site) and extended here to Baku (researched remotely — corrections welcome). GPS tracking uses your device's built-in location hardware — nothing is sent externally. No cookies — privacy-friendly, cookieless Cloudflare Web Analytics only. Works as a Progressive Web App (PWA) installable on iOS and Android for full offline use. Source on GitHub at drumandbytes/f1-walk. Unofficial fan project — not affiliated with Formula One Licensing B.V. or any circuit's organising body.

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Made by Maris

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