Azerbaijan Grand Prix: The Hits / Misses by the editorial team

The TOP 3:

1. Pérez, proclaimed king of urban circuits

He is clearly the man of the weekend! Sergio Pérez clearly identifies himself as Max Verstappen’s number one opponent in a season where Red Bull seems untouchable without any complications.

The Mexican simply won both races over the weekend, starting with the Sprint on Saturday, where he appeared imperial against his competitors. The next day, he took advantage of the safety car to pass his teammate before leading a race full of composure.

He thus narrows the gap to Verstappen in the World Championship to 5 points, equalizing the Dutchman in the number of wins this season after his previous victory on the streets of Jeddah. The city circuits have found their new boss!

2. Leclerc finally rewarded

After a difficult start to the season, Charles Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari have finally bounced back in Azerbaijan. The Monegasque driver, on his part, secured the two poles of the weekend, for the first edition of this new Sprint format, outpacing the Red Bull drivers by a clear margin both on Friday and Saturday.

In the Sprint race, he took the luxury of surpassing Max Verstappen despite the difference in performance between his Ferrari and the gargantuan Red Bull, only giving way to a superb Sergio Pérez. On Sunday, once again he proved to be the best of the rest by clinching his first podium of the season with a third-place finish.

Here is something to boost the morale of the troops!

3. Alonso maximizes even more

For the first time since the beginning of the season, Aston Martin was not Red Bull’s main rival in this Grand Prix. Lawrence Stroll’s team paid a high price for their lack of engine efficiency on the long straight lines in Azerbaijan, in addition to the DRS issues that affected them from Friday. But despite this, Aston can rely on the magnificent Fernando Alonso!

The Asturian Bull once again unleashed its horns during the race to overtake the Mercedes cars and Carlos Sainz, in order to achieve the best possible result for its team. A master at tire management, the Spaniard fell just 8 tenths of a second short of Charles Leclerc’s superb 4th place… his first Grand Prix without a podium this year! This Sunday, it was difficult for the double world champion to do any better.

Read also: Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Key Figures

The FLOP 3:

1. Alpine, black is black

What a nightmare weekend for our French! For Pierre Gasly, an engine went up in smoke during his second lap on Friday morning, a track exit during qualifying in the afternoon, more troubles during the Sprint qualifying, and two races starting from the bottom of the rankings.

For Ocon, a car impossible to set up, a start from the pits for both the Sprint and the main race, and a Grand Prix that feels like a full-scale Free Practice session.

After the failure in Melbourne where the performance was up to par, Baku confirms Alpine’s setbacks during this period, hoping that this slump will be short-lived for the French company.

2. Sainz swimming against the current

If his results are honest from an accounting point of view, Carlos Sainz really seemed to struggle during his weekend in Baku. The Spanish driver also and above all suffers in comparison to his teammate Leclerc, who achieved two pole positions and a podium against the Red Bulls, whereas Sainz was beaten by a Mercedes on Saturday and a less competitive Aston Martin on Sunday.

Number 55 will have to quickly regain his composure or risk permanently assuming the role of water carrier for his Monaco teammate.

3. The repeated errors of De Vries

If it is normal for a rookie to make mistakes and “break some carbon” during his first season, Dutch driver Nyck de Vries has already worn out a lot of his capital in his first 4 Grand Prix races. A car in the wall during qualifying and the race, while Tsunoda manages to shine in an ill-fated AlphaTauri, and now the team’s star recruit is already under scrutiny for the upcoming Grand Prix races!

To say that the Red Bull clan is not known for its legendary patience would be an understatement. It is now up to De Vries to regain the credit and trust he has earned in recent seasons, which has led Red Bull to make the choice to recruit outside of its own development program for the first time.