Azerbaijan: Flashback 2018 and Prediction of the Winner
For two years, the Baku street circuit has offered us thrilling Grand Prix and unexpected winners. Will the 2019 season break this trend? Who will be the lucky winner on Sunday evening in a race that can be lost up to the last corner? The Motors Inside editorial team makes its prediction at the end of the article after taking a look at the 2018 edition.
2018 in broad strokes
Hamilton happy winner, Bottas in tears and turmoil at Red Bull
How to summarize the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a few lines? Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari seemed to be heading towards an easy victory on the streets of Baku, but a second Safety Car intervention ruined the German’s race just after he stopped for his first tire change, leaving the lead to Valtteri Bottas who benefitted from a free pit stop, capitalizing on the circumstances.
Circumstances caused on the 40th lap by the collision between the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. The Australian, faster, tries to overtake his teammate who zigzags in front of him, both missing their braking point and ending up in the barriers after a memorable collision that sealed Ricciardo’s future at Red Bull.
Bottas is well on his way to winning his first race of the season, but the Finn’s bad luck strikes again. Indeed, the Mercedes driver cannot avoid debris from the two Red Bulls at the end of the straight after the race restart (the Safety Car having stayed on track for a long time after Romain Grosjean lost control of his Haas into the wall during the stoppage…) and loses control of his car after a puncture.
The victory goes to the lucky Lewis Hamilton ahead of a resurged Kimi Räikkönen, who came back from way behind after his first lap collision with Esteban Ocon, and the crafty Sergio Pérez in his Force India. Valtteri Bottas, in tears under his helmet, unfortunately hasn’t finished with a season in hell.
The editorial team’s prediction
As is now customary, the writers at Motors Inside have racked their brains to try to predict the winner of the race this Sunday. After much thought, Charles Leclerc emerges as the clear favorite to lift the winner’s cup, even though Lewis Hamilton is the team’s choice for pole position on Saturday.
