Matt traveled from Canada to Baku to attend this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Read his detailed review and tips for fellow fans considering attending this race.
- Photos supplied by Matt. Additional images: F1Destinations.com
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Having done a lot of research before attending this race, and appreciating the knowledge shared with me in advance (especially via this website), I wanted to return the favor by sharing my experience attending the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Hopefully, it will help some F1 fans considering visiting the wonderful city of Baku in the future.
Choosing Tickets
I did my research on the best place to buy tickets, wanting to avoid markup or scams, and ended up going straight to the source and buying directly from the Baku City Circuit app. The app was easy to navigate and was user friendly. The organizers offered an early bird special which gave a 20% discount, but you need to make sure you buy the tickets for “international buyers” (cheaper ticket prices are available for locals only). The initial payment did not go through, but this was fixed with a simple call to my credit card company and the second payment went through no problem.
Choosing where to sit was based mainly on my budget, but I also wanted to sit somewhere that allowed me to visually see the cars for as long as possible, rather than catching a quick glimpse as they flashed past and then spending most of the time watching on the big TV screen.
I found that the Azneft grandstand was the best choice in the end and really appreciated the views during the practice sessions and qualifying. The only downside was that on race day, I caught myself watching more of the race on the screen, especially all the overtakes into Turn 1, and found the live portion rather boring as you simply watched cars go by.
Turn 16 (where the Azneft grandstand is located) has the potential for lockups and mistakes, but this year was uneventful apart from a couple of close calls/drifts that you could only see if you were paying close enough attention. I chose seats as far left as possible and high up in the grandstand with the aim of being able to see the cars exit Turn 15 at the top of the hill and then take Turn 16 before heading on to the final straight. The pictures are shown from my seat number 87 in row 26.
Getting There & Finding Accommodation
For me, the easiest way to get to Baku was to fly via Istanbul. The airport is quite nice, but very expensive! I took the opportunity to stay in Istanbul on the way to Baku, which really helped with the jetlag situation as Baku is only one hour ahead of Istanbul.
I didn’t want to book a hotel until I could purchase my tickets, but for next time I realized that it would be prudent to book a hotel in advance with free cancellation, just in case. Accommodation options were quite limited by the time I was able to secure tickets. Nonetheless, my travel agent was able to get us a reasonable hotel based on our budget and also proximity to our grandstand. We ended up staying at the Winter Park Hotel, which was 10-15 minute’s walk from Gate D next to Azneft grandstand, and was also close to shopping and restaurants. Leading up to the race it cost around $130 USD per night. On race weekend, the price jumped to around $290 USD per night.
Azerbaijan Visa
The Azerbaijan visa application process was incredibly simple overall, but the payment was the trickiest part! We subsequently found out that many people had issues making the visa payment. After phoning our credit card company, we discovered that the ‘vendor’ was actually blacklisted by our credit card company. They had to downgrade the security level to allow the payment to go through, and then immediately returned it to the previous level. Finding this solution took some time, and I hadn’t read about this particular issue in any of the forums or articles about applying for an Azerbaijani visa.
Currency
The currency exchange center in Canada deemed the Azerbaijani manat to be an “exotic” currency and suggested bringing USD to convert to local currency in Baku. Perhaps there was also the option to buy manats in Istanbul, but I didn’t check. Changing USD for AZN was straightforward, but the process for converting AZN back into USD was more complicated. I had to provide my passport, have a form filled in for me in the local language, and then retain a receipt of the transaction.
Organization & Trackside Experience
I want to start off by saying that overall, this was a very well run event. I never felt inconvenienced, poorly treated, or disappointed in any way. I would 100% return to this event and am quite tempted to try and go again next year!
Everyone’s experience will differ based on expectations, personal preferences, and what they’ve come to expect based on other F1 races or sporting events, so these are just my observations. We did not arrive until Friday, so we missed the Pit Lane Walk. From speaking to other fans that went, it sounded quite disorganized and chaotic, so I’m not sure we missed out on much!
Another common remark was that the merchandise offer was disappointingly lacking. Nothing compared to what I saw available at Suzuka, but perhaps that’s a result of the temporary street circuit setup. The merch available was incredibly overpriced. I wanted to buy something but could not justify the extra cost.
Trackside food options were fine, BUT the organization was terrible. It wasn’t clear where you had to pay and where you had to pick up your meals, and the vendors were giving out incorrect change. I found it faster and easier to pay with cash, but we were short changed on several occasions, seemingly on purpose. There was no ticketing system after you’d ordered, so you had to hope that the vendors would recognize your face and remember your order!
Here are some sample prices for food and drink in the fanzone at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix:
- 4 manat for still water ($2.35 USD)
- 6 manat for soft drinks or fries ($3.50 USD)
- 8 manat for a hot dog ($4.70 USD)
- 10 manat for Heineken 0% 330ml or ice coffee ($5.90 USD)
- 12 manat for Heineken 500ml or a hamburger ($7.05 USD)
- 14 manat for a cheeseburger ($8.25 USD)
- 20 manat for an individual pizza ($11.75 USD)
We did not attend the concerts at Crystal Hall, but I heard that the communication about the free shuttle buses to the venue was provided at the last minute, and that the actual organization of the buses was very chaotic. I vaguely recall seeing a notification on the Baku City Circuit App around 18:30 on Friday about the shuttle buses and the three places where you could take them from. It took around 1 hour to walk from the circuit to Crystal Hall, and I heard that may have been quicker than the shuttle buses, which got stuck in traffic gridlock.
I only observed two water stations at the track, and on Friday one of them wasn’t working for most of the day. Security was inconsistent in letting you bring empty water bottles into the circuit. My Nike sports bottle was interpreted as a “thermos” but finally a senior guard said it was fine. In the end it was more convenient to stock up on the water bottles sold around the track. Note that you were asked to remove bottle caps if you were seen bringing bottles into the grandstand.
Security checks were strictest on Sunday, but we went early to avoid the queues and never had any significant holdups entering the circuit the whole weekend.
Race Tips
On Friday and Sunday I was able to watch the cars race at street level between Azneft and Bulvar stand in the General Admission area. This was an incredibly cool perspective to see and free to watch by anyone. Unfortunately, this vantage point was blocked off on Saturday, probably this had something to do with organizing the queues for the buses to the concerts, but I’m not sure.
After the race on Monday, the track was accessible and it was cool to walk around and stand right where the cars had been racing less than 24 hours before! I strongly recommend staying around in Baku for a few extra days (pre- or post-race weekend) to soak up the atmosphere and do some sightseeing.
It was really hot at the track on Friday and Sunday, especially in an uncovered grandstand. Saturday was cooler with cloud cover until qualifying. We brought some small towels with us, soaked them in water and were able to get some relief when temperatures were highest.
Baku Travel Tips
I had pre-booked a cab through our hotel with a fixed rate, which was fine. But the cab driver was trying to make some extra money from us! He asked if we needed a sim card or to exchange money, and stopped at a nearby gas station close to the airport.
I already had an eSim set up – AirAlo worked well on my Android phone, but the connection was spotty on my wife’s iPhone. This gas station charged double the price for a sim that you would pay in the city, and the exchange rate was also a bit worse than most places. Just be aware that cab drivers are looking to earn extra money at the expense of travelers! In fact, I heard that many cabs in the city are scammy, especially the ones that look like black cabs from London (Bolt rideshare is very affordable and safe in Baku – Editor). I did not use any public transportation, but it seemed quite easy to navigate. Taking pictures in the Metro is apparently a big NO and could land you in trouble.
The waiters at one restaurant we went to also claimed that the 10% service fee included in the bill was a tax, and were looking for an additional tip. We had already been to two restaurants in the same area that had no service fee or tax, so we figured that this restaurant was just looking to get more money from unsuspecting tourists.
Leaving our hotel at the end of our stay, we booked a cab to the airport via our hotel. We were told by the front desk that the fixed price was 30 manat ($17.65 USD), but the driver charged us 40 manat ($23.50). We were in no mood to argue at 3:30am, so we just paid up.
Conclusion
We found Baku to be well set up for tourists. There was lots of restaurants to choose from, and we were able to get by with English most of the time. Don’t be afraid to try the local cuisine and local beverages. I found the Xirdalan beer to be very tasty!
Overall, I would 100% recommend attending the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Make sure you stay a few days extra to do some sightseeing! I would return here in a heartbeat, and would also recommend visiting Baku as a tourist destination in its own right. There’s plenty to see and do even without Formula 1 in town.
