Azerbaijan Grand Prix – The Hits / Misses from the editorial staff

With a thrilling and spectacular finish, Baku once again lived up to its promises and it was Oscar Piastri who managed to stand out to clinch his second victory in F1. Here is the Tops/Flops of the editorial staff of this Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Logo Mi mini
Rédigé par Par

The TOP 3:

1. Piastri’s solidity, Norris’ catch-up: McLaren asserts its superiority

Slowly but surely, McLaren is reclaiming its status. The one lost more than 10 years ago, that of a regular contender for victory or even more if affinity. This weekend in Baku once again reaffirmed the giant step forward made by the oranges.

If Saturday was mixed with the avoidable mistake from Norris, trapped in Q1, Oscar Piastri did the job by positioning himself in second place behind an untouchable Charles Leclerc. In the race, while Norris was climbing back up rapidly, Piastri held his position behind Leclerc in the first part of the race.

Then at the pit stops, Piastri caught up with Leclerc on his out lap and dove into the first corner to take the lead of the race from the Monegasque and never let go despite the relentless pressure exerted by the Ferrari driver. This is the second career victory for the Australian driver.

On his side, Norris, with an offbeat strategy, snatched the 6th place from his title rival Max Verstappen in the final laps. A 6th place transformed into 4th after the crash involving Pérez and Sainz. The Briton therefore more than limited his mistake from Saturday.

For the first time since 2014, McLaren is leading the Constructors’ Championship and there is no doubt that we will have to rely on them to compete for both titles this season!

2. Williams’ progress

In dire straits at the beginning of the season, Williams is also bouncing back and riding a good wave for the past few Grand Prix, especially since Monza. If the track configuration clearly favors the British team, it is nonetheless worth highlighting the remarkable work done by Williams and its drivers.

Indeed, both Williams drivers made it through to Q3, securing the 8th and 9th positions after Hamilton was sent back to the pit lane. Throughout the race, the two drivers stayed in the points zone and secured a fantastic 7th place for Albon, just ahead of his new teammate Colapinto.

Ten points scored in a single move for Williams, who regains 8th place in the Constructors’ Championship from Alpine with a 3-point lead now.

3. Colapinto / Bearman, the shining rookies

They both deserved to be mentioned in this top 3! If we saw that Williams particularly shone this Sunday in Baku, Franco Colapinto is not to be outdone. Indeed, the Argentine driver outperformed his teammate Alex Albon in qualifying on Saturday, something his predecessor Logan Sargeant had never achieved in 36 Grand Prix races.

And the next day, Colapinto perfectly held his position by finishing this Grand Prix in the points, in 8th place, with superb battles and managing to stay ahead of the Mercedes of a seven-time World Champion, not too bad!

On his side, Oliver Bearman was also taking part in his second Grand Prix of his career. Stepping in at the last minute for the suspended Kevin Magnussen, the British driver once again impressed by outperforming Nico Hülkenberg over the entire weekend. The future team’s regular driver even saw himself rewarded with the 10th place point after the crash between Sainz and Pérez.

For the record, Bearman becomes the first driver in the history of the category to score points in his first two Grand Prix races with two different teams. Hats off, gentlemen!

The FLOP 3:

1. Verstappen / Red Bull, confirmed decline

How far it seems the time when Red Bull and Verstappen were putting fans to sleep during the Grand Prix with their domination by a margin of 20 seconds over the competition!

Dutch has been struggling for a little while now but this weekend was without a doubt the most difficult one in a long time, beaten by Pérez in qualifying for the first time since Miami last year. In the race, nothing was easier as “Mad Max” complained a lot about his brakes and was completely unable to keep up with the leaders’ pace.

Read also: Oscar Piastri: “One of the best races of my career”

On his side, Perez could clearly have claimed a high position in the Top of this Grand Prix. Author of one of his best qualifying performances in a long time, the Mexican, on his favorite track, kept pace with Leclerc and Piastri throughout the race, and a podium would have been a just reward given his regained pace this weekend.

Alas, there is always a but in recent months with Red Bull’s number 11: an accident more than avoidable with Carlos Sainz two laps from the finish ruined all his efforts to nothing. If the blame is shared as in any accident, Pérez has a nice share of responsibility and especially loses very big points again for Red Bull, which is overtaken in the Constructors’ Championship by McLaren.

But more than the points, it is certainly morally that the Mexican once again lost everything when he had everything to gain!

2. The missed opportunity for Charles Leclerc

Leclerc didn’t miss much to triumph this Sunday in Baku. But small details and judgment errors as the Monegasque called them, cost him and Ferrari the victory.

Author of a remarkable pole position on Saturday (the fourth consecutive in Azerbaijan), the Ferrari driver made a good start to keep the lead against Piastri. While managing during the first relay, number 16 then had more difficulty assessing the potential of his hard tires that he had not worn at all during the weekend. A mistake that cost him significant seconds in his pit lane exit lap, allowing Piastri to catch up with him before overtaking him at turn 1.

Leclerc then thought he could battle McLaren by staying in its wake, but it was another mistake that led him to destroy his own tires at the end of the race and have to settle for second place. A missed opportunity for the Monegasque’s team.

3. Alpine, the disaster continues

The Alpine have found the depths of the rankings again, the ones we thought the French team had left for good in the middle of the season. Esteban Ocon’s 100th race, his 150th in F1, has turned into a nightmare before it even started, forced to start from the pit lane.

The Grand Prix, despite a shifted strategy hoping for a safety car that never came, has not been better for the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix who has just had two absolutely dreadful Grand Prix races in a row and struggles to find motivation.

On his side, things have been slightly better for Gasly who finishes the race in an anonymous 12th place while admitting to have probably done one of his best races of the year. This speaks volumes about the path to be taken for the French team, overtaken in their fight for the 8th position in the Constructors’ Championship by their direct competitor Williams. Two teams on diametrically opposed trajectories.

Votre commentaire

Vous recevrez un e-mail de vérification pour publier votre commentaire.

Haut
Motorsinside English
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.