The dramatic and windswept rendition of Azerbaijan’s imposing national anthem acted as the portent for what was to come – an unexpected and fortunate first win of the year for the reigning World Champion, his team-mate devastated and deflated, the dominant driver left unsatisfied and two of the sport’s hard-chargers facing a dressing down from their irate team boss after their respective styles clashed in dramatic fashion.
Add in the jubilant Pink Panthers (one of them, at least), some standout results in the midfield and more than a fair share of clumsy errors, and this was a Grand Prix for the ages to cap a start to the season that has had three different victors from three different teams – and none of the races have been straightforward.
Mercedes lucks in, and lucks out
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Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas were able to hold a candle to Sebastian Vettel in qualifying or the first stint of the race, as the Ferrari driver streaked clear on Supersofts. Vettel’s first lap was outstanding, and his pace on the first lap post-restart was similarly stunning, as he subsequently maintained a three-second lead over Hamilton. Vettel was especially rapid through the fiddly middle sector of the lap, while Hamilton’s prospects deteriorated further when a mistake through Turn 16 cost him a second. Just as he tried to reel in the leader another error proved more costly – a lock-up into Turn 1 badly flat-spotted his Supersofts and he ducked into the pits, the gap having grown to eight seconds.
Ferrari kept Vettel out for longer before he too stopped, while Mercedes rolled the dice with Bottas, whose pace was initially slower but had kept more life in his red-banded rubber. In a reversal of the Australian GP, the timing of the Safety Car benefited Mercedes while Ferrari – realising the lead was already lost – understandably equipped Vettel with fresh Ultrasofts for the restart. Vettel’s do-or-die move at the restart left Mercedes in an unexpected 1-2, with Bottas putting in a perfect restart lap to gap Hamilton. But the errant piece of debris along the back straight proved his undoing in heart-breaking circumstances, cutting his right-rear tyre and ending his victory charge just three laps from home.
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For Hamilton, it was a gift of a victory and his insouciance post-race reflected his ill-feeling at profiting from his team-mate’s demise. “There were a lot of faults in the race, which is rare for me – but I struggled with the car, struggled with the tyres and that’s something I don’t take lightly,” said Hamilton. “In Australia we started on the right foot on the Friday and it progressed and got better and better. Since then, every weekend we’ve generally started a couple of steps – at least – behind the Ferraris and struggled to catch up. So whilst there has been a lot of work that has been done, we are still, today, performance-wise, we are still behind them.” In a close-run title fight the art of salvaging points from a difficult weekend can make the difference. Hamilton this year was on the wrong side of fortune (Australia), hampered by a grid penalty (Bahrain) and has had two successive weekends in which he was off the pace but picked up a haul of points through the misfortune of others, a dollop of luck, and in avoiding trouble. Bottas, meanwhile, can take solace in his own performance, even if it is not justly reflected in the standings. It isn’t a stretch to say the wrong Mercedes driver is atop the pile – and that could have ramifications later in the season.
Baku life, Baku reality
Red Bull was off the pace in Baku and extended the Supersoft stints of the scrapping Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen to give themselves a tyre advantage on the Ultrasofts should a Safety Car be deployed – only it was they who caused the re-appearance of the Mercedes AMG GT R. Neither Red Bull driver could live with the pace of the Ferraris or Mercedes, instead battling with the Renault drivers and each other, over fourth and fifth. When two drivers are so equally matched both in terms of pace and desire then it is little surprise that they frequently argue over the rights to the same piece of tarmac. An opportunistic Verstappen swiped the place from Ricciardo at the Lap 6 restart and on Lap 12 the pair brushed wheels through Turn 1 as Ricciardo strived to re-claim the spot, only for Verstappen to maintain his position into Turn 2. Ricciardo again tried on Lap 27 and defended aggressively into Turn 2 – but Verstappen used the single car width left to his benefit, keeping his RB14 ahead.
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As the Supersofts reached the end of their working life it was Ricciardo with the superior pace and on Lap 35 he finally recaptured the position – crucially giving him pit stop preference. But an inferior in-lap to Verstappen (who had a handy tow from Pierre Gasly) and warm-up difficulties on Ultrasofts meant the Dutchman unusually profited from the overcut and came out ahead. “We’re just going to have to pass him again”, came the instruction from Ricciardo’s matey engineer Simon Rennie, and the combination of the slipsteam and DRS brought Ricciardo closer to the rear of the sister RB14, despite a near-second gap at the duo exiting Turn 16. Ricciardo was setting up the move in typical fashion – the idea to use the cutback in similar vein to his 2014 Italian GP move on Sebastian Vettel, and using his supreme feel under braking to complete the move. Verstappen tried to break the tow and drifted right, then to the middle, as did Ricciardo, but as the Australian ducked left his team-mate, having edged back right, responded in equal fashion. On a dusty, slippery street circuit Ricciardo was sucked into the rear of Verstappen’s car, briefly lifting his opponent, as both skated into the run-off with terminal damage.
F1’s most daring overtaker and its most aggressive defender had earlier danced on the tightrope but this time they both fell, the intensity of the scrap at odds with the fact it was only for fourth. Red Bull’s management was livid and both drivers were hauled in to explain their actions; by the time they emerged a party line was being observed. The stewards investigated and reprimanded the pair, explaining “both drivers contributed to the collision. The driver of Car 33 made two moves, both of which were relatively minor. The driver of Car 3 admitted he left his move to overtake on the left, too late. It was obvious to the stewards that although the incident had its origins in the moves by Car 33, the driver of Car 3 also contributed to the incident.” The big question is what happens next. An apology and news management makes it seem all is fair in love and war, but having a defined set of rules going forward is another matter. Ricciardo’s title prospects are surely already hanging by a thread and Verstappen’s, 52 points down, even bleaker. Can they be contained within the same team without one – or both – changing styles, whether through their own initiative or under instruction by management? Putting aside the clash for one moment, the pace of the RB14 in Azerbaijan did not augur well for their hopes of competing for the title…
Podium-bound Perez/Force India strike again
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Whenever an opportunity presents itself to a midfield team it is frequently Force India and Sergio Perez who grasps it. It happens too often to be a coincidence – and it is what made last year’s mishap all the more jarring. Perez dropped back with damage early on but ran a long stint to profit when the Red Bulls collided, finding himself fifth – though was theoretically on the back foot due to using Supersofts rather than Ultrasofts. Perez nonetheless picked off the ailing Vettel, kept him at bay, and then benefited from Bottas’ puncture. Third place was a fine reward – many could stake their claim for the position, but it was Perez who pulled it off.
It is I, Leclerc
The start to Charles Leclerc’s F1 career was topsy-turvy, with mistakes at crucial phases in qualifying and in the race compromising his prospects – but in Baku he starred. Not only was Sauber more competitive around the city streets, but so too was Leclerc, and the combination married in perfect fashion. Leclerc’s Q1 lap was stunning, and in race trim he looked fully at home among more esteemed company, keeping his head down while others lost theirs. It was in Baku last year that he fully announced himself to the world, dominating the F2 weekend just days after the tragic passing of his father. His resolve and application in such circumstances was awe-inspiring. It was fitting that his maiden F1 points came at the venue – and also a testament to his personality that he immediately apologised for excitedly swearing over the radio in celebration.
Making hay while the sun shines… or not
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There were several feel-good stories for some drivers; Carlos Sainz Jr. stayed out of trouble to record Renault’s best F1 result since its comeback, Fernando Alonso performed brilliantly to recover to seventh after his double puncture on the opening lap, while Lance Stroll’s strong pace at low-grip venues came to the surface again as he recorded eighth – his and Williams’ first points of the season. Stoffel Vandoorne, too, rescued points from a race where he had “zero chance” mid-distance, and also kept McLaren fourth in the standings – not bad for a team yet to reach Q3. Another to benefit from the chaos was Brendon Hartley, taking a point on a difficult weekend for Toro Rosso.
But elsewhere? A case of what if, what should have been, and how did that happen.
Kimi Raikkonen took second but his messy qualifying laps left him out of position, which led to his first-lap clash with Esteban Ocon. Had Raikkonen put it on the front row it would have aided his and Ferrari’s prospects at covering Mercedes – and perhaps the win battle would have had a different outcome. Ocon was well primed to lead the midfield but needlessly turning in on Raikkonen brought his race to a conclusion after just three corners. Ocon blamed Raikkonen but stewards coyly pointed out that “a driver should not assume another car is not in his proximity just because he cannot see one”. Translation: go and sit on the naughty step and look at the trophy that could have been yours. Lesson learned. No sooner than whispers arose that Nico Hulkenberg could end his wait for a podium he went and put his Renault R.S.18 in the wall at Turn 4, a combination of rear locking and the windy conditions. “Nico had some misfortune, but it was his only mistake last year and if it has to be his only mistake again this year, he will be more than forgiven,” pointed out team chief Cyril Abiteboul.
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Haas could easily be fourth in the standings but instead is eighth, a messy race for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen compromising prospects. Magnussen sustained damage after a Turn 2 assault by Marcus Ericsson and copped a puncture when he put Pierre Gasly in the wall along the pit straight, an incident that enraged the Frenchman 24 hours after his terrifying qualifying incident. It was an unnecessarily and unacceptably dangerous move by Magnussen, whose 10-second time penalty was light in the circumstances. For a driver refreshingly so well-versed and appreciative of the history of motorsport, you’d think Magnussen would be fully aware of the consequences of contact at 300km/h. It also, potentially, although unconfirmed, resulted in the debris that ended Bottas’ race, for the two incidents occurred at near-identical points of the track. Romain Grosjean, meanwhile, was directly behind Perez when he dropped the car through Turn 14 while warming his tyres. “I bumped into a switch that I’d moved by two positions. When I touched the brakes, the brake balance was locked rearward – it just locked the rear wheels.” Grosjean’s stricken Haas necessitated the use of a recovery vehicle in an awkward location. With drivers on cold tyres – and with Grosjean having already proved dropping it was possible – it was a slightly uneasy sight (in light of previous incidents) and it is hard to disagree with Hamilton’s suggestion that a red flag was warranted. Sergey Sirotkin was another to feel he missed out on points, having been squeezed between Alonso and Hulkenberg, and his three-place grid penalty for rear-ending Perez at Turn 2 appeared harsh – especially considering Magnussen heads to Spain scot free.
The new Brit pack is coming
The Formula 2 races in Baku resulted in victories for Thai-licensed Alexander Albon and Mercedes-backed George Russell. Both displayed exemplary racecraft and Russell was dominant in race trim, echoing the previous Baku successes of Antonio Giovinazzi and Leclerc. An errant Nyck de Vries cost him a potential Feature race win but Russell sought redemption in the Sprint race, charging forwards from 12th position. McLaren F1 reserve Lando Norris holds a 14-point title advantage, despite a low-key weekend with more than one error, while Renault F1 reserve Jack Aitken also caught the eye with a charge from the pit lane to second in the Feature Race.