OXFORDSHIRE’S Formula 1 teams based in the county are gearing up for the second street circuit in succession.

Following the Monaco Grand Prix, attention now turns to the Baku circuit in Azerbaijan.

Alpine F1, based in Enstone, secured two points last time out in Monaco thanks to Esteban Ocon’s ninth place finish.

Looking ahead to the sixth race weekend of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Frenchman said: “It’s a very unusual circuit where, as we’ve seen in the past, anything can happen.

“It’s a circuit where you can see three or more cars go wheel to wheel down the straights, which on a street track is incredible.”

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His teammate, former world champion Fernando Alonso, added: “After two races in a row where it was quite tough to overtake, it’s nice to have a race where it’s more possible.

“I’ve qualified outside the top ten in my past two races here but gone on to finish inside the points.

“It shows anything can happen in what is usually a very unpredictable weekend.”

Meanwhile, George Russell, of Grove-based Williams, said the castle section has the ‘trickiest corner on the Formula 1 calendar’, adding a lot of time can be won and lost there.

His teammate Nicholas Latifi said the track was one where he had achieved podiums in Formula 2 and he was looking forward to the street race.