Baku F1 circuit could ignite Vettel and Hamilton rivalry

The F1 circus rolls in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the second time this weekend, with fans hoping that the limitations of the circuit won't undermine the battle between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

It was Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's ousted ringleader, who awarded the race to Azerbaijan, but its debut last year was underwhelming.

But this year almost everything about F1 is different. There are new owners, new cars and a proper title race between Ferrari and Mercedes. Could it mean a different story in Baku this time round?

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It could be "the race we've been waiting for," says Johnny Herbert of the London Evening Standard, who believes it has the potential to "properly ignite this World Championship".

"We've had a captivating battle so far but, bar turn one in Barcelona, we've not had the wheel-to-wheel racing… But the unusual nature of this race – formerly the European Grand Prix – means this has every chance to be the flashpoint for the 2017 title race."

The circuit is split into three parts, he explains. "The ebb and flow of 2017 will materialise in that trio of sectors: the superior pace of the Mercedes against the Ferrari, which has shown itself to go well in tight sections."

Andrew Benson of the BBC is less hopeful.

The circuit is "a succession of humdrum right-angled corners, a fiddly bit around a medieval castle and a long, long, long straight.

"If it rained, things might be different – the kinks on the pit straight could become proper corners, for example – but in the dry it is one of the least inspiring tracks on the calendar."

But the battle for superiority between Hamilton and Vettel will be intriguing, and so will the technical battle between the Ferrari and Mercedes garages.

"Baku is the circuit for which the teams have the least information, as last year’s race was its first, and since the tyres and the technical regulations have since changed, everyone starts again with a blank sheet of paper," says website Formula1.com.

It's also the second-longest track on the calendar and the first anti-clockwise race of the season.