The track, designed by architect Hermann Tilke, winds through the picturesque streets of Baku. The endless straightaway (2 km or 1.2 miles) that leads back to the start permits the cars to reach very fast speeds.

In general, the entire track is run with the pedal to the floor, which is demonstrated by the fact that the wide open throttle time is equivalent to 56% of the race. In fact, in 2017 Lewis Hamilton managed to complete a lap going an average speed of more than 214 km/h (133 mph).

The circuit also has a lot of technical corners, like turns 8 and 15, where precision braking is key to avoiding contact with the walls, which are extremely close at these points.

The layout includes four 90° corners at the start that demand great effort on the part of the brakes, followed by other turns where the angels change continuously and as a consequence so does the use of brakes.

The 11 braking points each lap and the extreme length of the track (more than 6 km) require the drivers to use their brakes for almost 19 and a half seconds every lap, that is almost 7 seconds more than on Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, one of the most challenging tracks for the brakes.