Azerbaijan – Race: Bottas Resists Hamilton, Fourth Jackpot for Mercedes!

The 1001st Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1 took place under optimal weather conditions! Mild and even warm weather allowed the drivers to fully express their potential on this urban circuit laid out in the heart of the city of Baku, Azerbaijan.

10 minutes till we go racing ⏰

Here’s the weather situation 👇#F1 🇦🇿 #Azerbaijan pic.twitter.com/TMufuVnxOP

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019

The race promised to be epic, both for the leaders and the midfield teams. On the grid, there were only 17 cars: the two Saubers were relegated to the back of the grid for Giovinazzi and from the pit lane for Räikkönen, penalized after the qualifying session. By default, race strategies were set for a single stop, adaptable as the probable Safety Car interventions occurred. The Mercedes were leading from the front row and had to secure their start to best manage the upcoming race.

No waves at the start!

At the start, Bottas missed his launch and saw Hamilton pull alongside him in the first corners.

No risks taken by the Mercedes drivers: the Englishman then gently settled behind the Finn. The rest of the pack emerged from the first corners without incident.

It’s lights out in Baku, brakes already smoking in the flame city 🔥 #F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/3E9cy1U3j0 — Formula 1 (@F1) 28 April 2019

Quickly, a significant gap formed between Bottas and Hamilton, who was holding up Sebastian Vettel, relegated to more than a second behind. Behind them, the positions remained relatively unchanged. Noteworthy, though, was the good start by Daniel Ricciardo, who was quickly threatened by Leclerc. The Monégasque easily managed to overtake the Renault bearing number 3.

By the fourth lap of the race, there was a 2.6-second gap between the two Mercedes. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen managed to overtake Sergio Perez in the slipstream at the end of the straight on the 6th lap, gaining the 4th position. Equipped with medium tires, Leclerc continued his comeback, already 6th after overtaking Norris. The Ferrari hopeful arrived on Perez’s tailpipe, passing him smoothly at the end of the straight.

LAP 7/51

Charles Leclerc has got his work cut out – starting from 8th, he had a tricky getaway and is weaving his way back up#F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/y6FY0vGV9J

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 avril 2019

Meanwhile, Kimi Räikkönen stopped at the pits to change his tires, betting on a Safety Car intervention. Many drivers then attempted an off-strategy move, also changing their tires at this stage of the race. Vettel’s Ferrari, already more than 6 seconds behind Hamilton, didn’t seem able to keep up with the Mercedes pace. In contrast, Leclerc was securing the fastest provisional times. The Monegasque was speedy and gradually gaining on Verstappen. The straight and its slipstream allowed the Ferrari driver to pass him easily.

From the 10th lap, Pierre Gasly moved into the top 10! It was an impressive comeback for the Frenchman, who had started from the pits. On the 12th lap, Leclerc was tailing… his teammate, who was quickly called to the pits to avoid any tricky situation. The Monegasque maintained a steady race pace and was setting the fastest times. Equipped with medium tires, as a reminder, he found himself in 2nd place after Bottas entered the pits and was targeting Hamilton for the lead. This was accomplished by the 14th lap while the driver of the Mercedes #44 entered the pits.

Also fitted with yellow sidewall tires, Pierre Gasly found himself in 6th place and ahead of his teammate after his stop. The latter, helped by the team order, overtook the Frenchman whose pace was slightly less due to the more worn tires. The 20 laps of the race were behind the drivers, and it was time for Hamilton to string together good laps and close to within 2 seconds of Bottas.

Ricciardo’s blunder on Kvyat!

The start of the second part of the race focused on a long-distance duel between Leclerc and Verstappen for fourth place. Still on track with his starting tires, the former Sauber driver stretched his stint to the maximum, but was officially caught by Bottas on the 30th lap.

The Finn took the lead effortlessly DRS on the 31st lap. At the same time, Ricciardo missed the braking point and collided with his opponent, Kvyat’s Toro Rosso. The two drivers didn’t touch during the action but did in the escape route, due to the Australian driver’s poorly controlled reverse maneuver. Car damaged in the incident and retirement for Ricciardo, Kvyat rejoined at the back of the pack, 17th, before withdrawing definitively a few minutes later.

In front, Leclerc was overtaken by Hamilton and then by Vettel one minute and 40 seconds later, still on that famous main straight. The driver from the Principality finally stopped after 35 laps. The timing of the tire change was poorly handled: Leclerc rejoined right behind Gasly, in 6th position. And the Red Bull driver was not willing to let him go: the battle lasted a few moments before Leclerc passed in the third corner.

Last assault by Lewis Hamilton, in vain!

With 15 laps to go, Leclerc had this mission: catch Verstappen, 4th, 20 seconds ahead of him. The leading quartet was still in this order: Bottas-Hamilton-Vettel, this trio within just 3.8 seconds of each other, with Verstappen 3.6 seconds further back.

Behind Gasly in 6th, Pérez was leading the rest, just a second ahead of Norris, two from Sainz in 9th, with Stroll a bit further back in 10th. In 11th, Räikkönen nevertheless benefited from Gasly’s retirement! An engine problem affected the Norman driver, who stopped in a runoff area. Bad luck for the French team: Romain Grosjean retired at the same time, also due to a mechanical problem: he was in 15th position anyway, out of the race in a Haas that hasn’t been performing for several races!

⚠️ VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR (LAP 40/51)

Pierre Gasly pulls over to the side of the road from P6 😓

GAS 📻: “I lost power” reports the Frenchman #AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/lKSrOrSDz3— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019

As part of the hunt for the fastest lap, Charles Leclerc made a new pit stop to switch to fresh tires at the end of the 47th lap.

LAP 48/51

Ferrari have pitted Leclerc to go for fastest lap on new softs – but Hamilton’s just snatched it

If he keeps it and the cars finish as they are, HAM and BOT would be on exactly equal points…#F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/Fb0Ghvo4Hm

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 avril 2019

At the front of the race, the battle intensified between Bottas and Hamilton, who managed to come within less than a second of his teammate. The Finn still succeeded in holding him off, despite the Briton using DRS. On his side, a successful operation for Leclerc, who set the fastest lap on the 50th lap!

Valtteri Bottas held on until the end and crossed the finish line as the winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix! Even stripped of the fastest lap by Leclerc, there is no doubt that the Finn was quite satisfied with this victory in Baku, as a revenge for his 2018 puncture!

Lewis Hamilton took second place, one and a half seconds behind the winner. Third, Sebastian Vettel finished eight seconds behind after losing ground at the end of the Grand Prix. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc completed the top 5, with a bonus point for the latter.

Sixth in the end, Sergio Pérez, the specialist of this very particular street circuit. Sainz, Norris, Stroll, and Räikkönen took the positions between 7th and 10th, in that order.

Here is the full ranking of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix:

FINAL CLASSIFICATION: Round 4, Azerbaijan

Bottas wins and takes the drivers’ championship lead 🏆#F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ZS4JTzooLc

— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 avril 2019