Azerbaijan – Francophones’ summary: disillusionment for Leclerc and disappointment for Gasly and Grosjean
Azerbaijan Grand Prix complicated for French-speaking Formula 1 drivers. Finally 5th, Charles Leclerc paid for his mistake in qualifying, while Pierre Gasly and Romain Grosjean were forced to retire almost simultaneously.
Charles Leclerc: 5th (8th on the grid)
Ultimately average performance for the Monegasque, who after his heavy mistake in Q2, was keen to make a comeback and possibly fight for the victory. Crashing into the wall in Q2, the young Scuderia hopeful was counting on making a difference in the race by starting on medium tires.
Losing three places at the start, Leclerc nevertheless began a furious comeback, taking the lead of the race on the 13th lap after the leaders pitted. He maintained a very good pace on his medium tires for a long time: unfortunately for him, troubles began on the 28th lap with the degradation of his tires and, above all, a huge loss of time. However, the driver with the number 16 had to stay on track until the 35th lap to optimize his switch to soft tires during the second stint.
Left struggling and overtaken by both Mercedes and his teammate Sebastian Vettel, his second stint was still very challenging. His poor use of soft tires condemned him to fifth place. The only consolation? The fastest lap on the track and the honorary title of driver of the day.
« I was a bit alone in the world throughout the race. I would have liked to stop before getting overtaken because we lost quite a bit of time with the traffic and the two Mercedes. Then “Seb” passed. In the car, I wasn’t very happy! I think at the start I should have been more aggressive. The big problem remains yesterday… I will come back stronger next time. »
Next time, it will be in Spain in two weeks: Charles Leclerc arrives in Europe in fifth place in the drivers’ championship with 47 points, 5 points behind Vettel in 3rd, but crucially 40 points behind Valtteri Bottas, the new leader of the drivers’ championship after his victory.
Pierre Gasly: Retirement (Started from the pit lane)
Here too, the disappointment was great for a driver forced to stop due to a mechanical problem. Starting from the pit lane following an error in free practice, the Frenchman quickly got rid of all the “other” drivers in the pack to occupy 6th position by the 12th lap.
While he was maintaining a very good pace on his medium tires, a mechanical problem on lap 39 denied him a finish in the points. A very regrettable retirement for the Norman who stated he finally felt comfortable with his car. A transmission issue would be the cause of his withdrawal.
Romain Grosjean: Retirement (14th on the grid)
The races follow one another and look the same for the Haas driver. From the start of this weekend, things looked complicated for the Frenchman. Only 18th in qualifying, Grosjean couldn’t make it to Q2. Helped by penalties, the former Haas driver eventually started 14th, but the VF19 simply had no pace.
Sailing at the back of the pack even before making his pit stop, the 33-year-old driver lost all his duels one after another. Missing his braking point and going wide, Grosjean’s race ended in retirement due to a brake problem. After the fourth Grand Prix of this season, the main party has still not opened his points tally!
🏁🇩🇰 Race over – we finish:
P13 @KevinMagnussen 🇳🇴
DNF @RGrosjean 🇷🇴
🏆 @ValtteriBottas takes the win in Baku for another Mercedes 1-2. #HaasF1 #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/8GXwrTsm0C
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 28, 2019
