Azerbaijan Grand Prix – The French-speaking community’s assessment
French-speaking drivers had different fortunes in Azerbaijan. From very good for Pierre Gasly, to a cold shower for Charles Leclerc, to a challenging race for Esteban Ocon, MotorsInside assesses the performance of these three drivers.
A race marked by the double retirement of the Ferraris…
And four single-seaters powered by Ferrari. While Charles Leclerc’s weekend went perfectly until the start of the Grand Prix. The race was purely nightmarish for the Monegasque.
After a mediocre start where he lost his first place, snatched away in the most beautiful way on Saturday, against a determined Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc must once again face the facts: his F1-75 is very fast and perfectly suited to his driving, but it sorely lacks reliability.
The lead driver of Scuderia Ferrari exits Baku in third place in the drivers’ World Championship, trailing Perez by 19 points and Verstappen by 38 points.
If his mindset remains positive and determined, and his motivation intact, we may wonder how long it will last? It will be imperative to achieve a double win at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.
A resurgent Pierre Gasly and a resilient Esteban Ocon
With a more manageable single-seater and a circuit he enjoys, Pierre Gasly has managed to be convincing. And it’s a real joy to see him at the forefront.
Always in the lead group during practice sessions, the Frenchman achieves his best qualification of the year by securing the sixth position.
A solid and daring race allowed him to finish in fifth place. Making a beautiful overtaking move on Daniel Ricciardo, he showed authority to prevent himself from being overtaken right after his impressive maneuver.
Unfortunately, he missed a set of hard tires to cover Mercedes’ strategy during the deployment of the second virtual safety car, so he couldn’t do anything to counter Lewis Hamilton’s comeback.
On his side, Esteban Ocon was stuck in a midfield pack with very similar performances.
His Alpine is not the most efficient, and in order to counter their opponents, the drivers had to choose to drive with little aerodynamic support.
This strategy gave them an advantage in straight lines, but in turns, the handling was more complicated.
With great skill, the Normandy driver managed to secure a very impressive 10th place.
