Europe – Race: Rosberg wins the race, Pérez does it again!

The excitement was high in Baku during the grid formation of the 22 drivers on the track. For the first time in its history, Formula 1 was discovering this six-kilometer urban circuit in the heart of the Azerbaijani capital, a Central Asian state, but named the “European Grand Prix” for the occasion.

Once again, the weather was mild in the Azerbaijani sky. The sun was shining, 33 degrees in the air and 46 degrees on the track!

The scenery remains just as unusual with this passage along the old town’s ramparts.

ONLY IN BAKU:

12th century tower 🌍

21st century machines 🔧#EuropeGP 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/0c7l6FKBO8

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 juin 2016

On the grid, Nico Rosberg was indeed in Pole position, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. After his failed qualifications, Hamilton had a lot to do from 10th place.

HAMILTON (P10): “It’s going to be tough out there – I just want to go the distance” #EuropeGP 🇪🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/EIpDbonNmE

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

At the very bottom of the standings, Kévin Magnussen started from the pits after adjustments in Parc Fermé. It must be said that the Renault team had experienced a catastrophic qualifying session. Charitably, the French team offered to console Toyota, which thousands of kilometers away lost the victory in the final lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the benefit of Porsche.

Sending hugs 💛 https://t.co/as6EkJQvBg

— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

The start of the formation lap allowed us to see the tire choices of the drivers. Only Hülkenberg, Werhlein, and Ericsson were equipped with soft, yellow-banded tires. The rest of the pack started on super-soft tires.

The formation lap proceeded without major issues and the drivers took their positions.

The five red lights went out, marking the start of this Grand Prix!

Nico Rosberg defended his position well and resisted Ricciardo’s first attack. Behind them, a few mistakes were noted, including a contact between Hülkenberg and Gutierrez, but no competitor was really left stranded.

FLASHBACK: Here’s a close-up of the trouble between HUL and GUT on the opening lap #EuropeGP 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/kNJVpKlmFz

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

At the end of the first lap, Rosberg kept the lead ahead of Ricciardo, Vettel, Räikkönen, and Pérez, who had already climbed to 5th position. They were followed by Massa, Verstappen, Kyvat, Bottas, and Hamilton, who had not gained any positions at the start.

Some offensive strategies on the tire side!

Surprise in the early laps, Hamilton was staying far behind, only overtaking Daniil Kyvat who was himself excluded from the top 10 in favor of Romain Grosjean. The action was taking place in the middle of the pack: Verstappen and Bottas found themselves together after their disputes in Qualifying. Hamilton took advantage of the tussle to pass the young Dutchman in the fifth lap, at the first corner. Verstappen headed to the pits at the end of this lap to -already- change tires.

In the leading positions, Vettel overtook Daniel Ricciardo in the same corner through slipstreaming. The two Red Bulls were really playing offensively: Ricciardo stopped in turn on the seventh lap. Meanwhile, the two Ferraris exchanged a plastic bag (!) that got lodged under the wing of Vettel and then Räikkönen.

UP-CLOSE: Even in the heat of battle, VET still has time to think about recycling 👍#EuropeGP 🇦🇿 pic.twitter.com/z46w4VsVXo

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

Surprisingly, most of the drivers stopped well before Pirelli’s predictions. Even Vettel was surprised by his team’s choice when they suggested he make his stop on the 10th lap, a proposal he eventually pushed back by several laps to stay in second place.

Rosberg remained in the lead ahead of Vettel, Pérez, Bottas, Hamilton, Hülkenberg, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Wehrlein, and Räikkönen.

Only Ricciardo and Räikkönen had made a pit stop at that precise moment. The race leader even took advantage of it to improve the lap record. The German already held a 15-second gap over his first pursuer, Sebastian Vettel.

Meanwhile, the quadruple world champion’s teammate suffered a setback. Kimi Räikkönen received a 5-second penalty to his final classification, deemed guilty of crossing the pit entry white line. A tough penalty to swallow for Iceman, who was following the driver ahead of him.

<LAP 14/51: Stewards confirm a five-second penalty for RAI for crossing the line in the pit lane #EuropeGP 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/4eFMNV29IO— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 June

Thin consolation as he regained several positions in the standings by overtaking Hülkenberg on the track, and benefiting from Lewis Hamilton’s pit stop, who finished his stint in agony due to the difficult state of his tires.

Offensive, Räikkönen passed Daniel Ricciardo on the outside to position himself as the first driver in the standings with one stop.

On the 20th lap, Bottas, who had climbed up to the temporary third place, followed by Vettel and finally Rosberg on the 22nd lap, completed this first wave of pit stops, with the exception of the surprising Pascal Wehrlein. Hamilton on his side took the opportunity to virtually overtake the Williams, then the Red Bull of Ricciardo, this time on the track. The pack was then moving towards the mid-race point.

Räikkönen under pressure, Hamilton’s Mercedes at an easy pace

On the 25th lap, the top 10 was as follows: 1-Rosberg, 2-Räikkönen, 3-Vettel, 4-Pérez, 5-Hamilton, 6-Massa, 7-Bottas, 8-Sainz, 9-Alonso, 10-Button. Disappointment for both Red Bulls, dropping out of the top ten with a second premature stop.

Logically, the Scuderia ordered Kimi Räikkönen to let Vettel pass due to his penalty. This race incident gave us a quite delightful moment during the radio exchange between the driver and his engineer Dave Greenwood.

DV: “Thank you Kimi, thank you.”

KR: “OK, fine but now tell him to attack!”

Iceman is right to hurry, the threat of Sergio Pérez is indeed less than five seconds away, the podium is at stake.

Behind the Mexican, Hamilton was running at a modest pace. The Englishman was actually, according to his team, a victim of a battery recharge problem. Another issue on Sainz’s Toro Rosso, as he was forced to retire due to a suspension failure. The two Toro Rossos were the only retirements in this extremely calm race by the 35th lap.

Hamilton brought some excitement by bluffing with his engineer Peter Bonnington and the FIA to improve his engine settings.

LH: « May I make suggestions and you tell me if it’s OK or not? »

PB: « No, we advise against it, just focus on doing the job on the track. »

HAM📺: “I’m going to change everything in this car” 😤

Mercedes📺: “Erm, we wouldn’t advise that, Lewis” 😐#EuropeGP pic.twitter.com/45uhfKKA3U

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

Sergio Pérez, the sensation of Baku!

The race then entered its final ten laps, leaving Pascal Wehrlein on the sidelines, struggling with brake issues. Another issue occurred with a different car, Fernando Alonso’s, who also had to retire on lap 43, unable to downshift some gears. Only Jenson Button was left to carry McLaren’s hopes in the final part of the race.

LAP 45/51: Late frustration for McLaren and Alonso as the Spaniard retires #EuropeGP 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/ALrAeKYNx0

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

In front, as if by magic, Hamilton once again found a competitive pace and took the fastest lap. Verstappen gained a position, ninth place ahead of Felipe Massa. Just ahead of him, Ricciardo was chasing Hülkenberg for 7th place.

The last five laps of the race were in sight and Pérez was still within five seconds of Kimi Räikkönen. Even better, he finished the race by overtaking the Ferrari, which fully validates his podium.

Nico Rosberg finished the Azerbaijani race in triumph, victory for the Mercedes driver! After three difficult races, the German returns to the top of the hierarchy. 19th victory of his career, now one win behind the two Finns: Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Räikkönen.

KING OF THE CASTLE!!! IT’S VICTORY FOR #NR6 IN BAKU!!! GET IN THERE!!! #F1 #EuropeGP #F1Baku pic.twitter.com/TYgn2Qsinn

— MERCEDES AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

Great performance in the world championship as well, this victory allows him to widen the gap against his direct opponent, Lewis Hamilton, and even Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari, who finished second after a difficult start to the weekend. Sergio Pérez, for his part, brings another podium to Force India, his sixth personally and the fourth for Vijay Mallya’s team.

Perez takes third for @ForceIndiaF1

“Thank you so much guys. Another podium, yeahhhhh!” – @SChecoPerez #EuropeGP pic.twitter.com/nlAyUJflJT

— Channel 4 F1® (@C4F1) 19 juin /f1/actualite/21110-europe-qualifications-rosberg-ok-hamilton-ko-.html

Discover the full standings of this eighth round of the season:

Fastest Lap: Rosberg: 1:46:485, Lap 48