The Azerbaijan Grand Prix first made its debut on the F1 calendar in 2016. And all of the races since it’s debut have been packed full of drama.
Nico Rosberg who not only secured pole position and the fastest lap but also led every one of the 51 race laps dominated the first race, dubbed the European grand prix. It was an uncharacteristically messy race for Hamilton who crashed in qualifying before coming home in fifth while Sergio Perez scored a brilliant third-place finish for then Force India. A year later the drama intensified ten-fold and is mostly known for the now infamous incident of Seb Vettel bumping into the side of Hamilton under the safety-car. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who, at one stage, was 17th in the running won this race with all of its crashes and controversies, and a red flag. It also marked Lance Stroll’s first podium finish in third. The 2018 race will forever be known for the collision between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo on the start/finish strait. The drama wasn’t over though as race-leader Bottas suffered a late-race puncture ultimately retirement. It handed the win to Hamilton who finished head of Raikkonen and the ever-present Perez. By all previous comparisons the 2019 race was a fairly sedate one in which Bottas earned redemption with a win from Pole.
Because of the global pandemic Baku didn’t feature on the 2020 calendar. Its return in 2021 promises to be nothing short of dramatic if the previous races around the Azerbaijan streets are anything to go by. And it might not by a straight out fight only between Red Bull and Mercedes either. McLaren should fancy their chances around Baku. The car is a rocket ship and did very well, on merit, in Monaco. Perhaps it’s not quite quick enough to take the top spot but any hijinks or drama or mistakes and McLaren will undoubtedly be in position to reap the rewards.
It isn’t all about the sharp end of the grid as the plotlines of the season are beginning to take shape. A driver under pressure and who needs to impress his team boss is Yuki Tsunoda. Aside from a splashy performance in Bahrain the rookie driver hasn’t done anything worth noticing on-track. He has however revealed quite a volatile demeanour over team radio. It’s been reported that Tsunoda has been moved from UK to Italy in order to be more closely “supervised”. Which is really just a polite way of saying the young Japanese driver needs to reevaluate his approach and adjust his attitude quickly. After all Red Bull and Helmut Makro aren’t known for their patience. They’ve racked up more than a few merciless axing’s in their time from Jean Eric Vergne to Sebastian Buemi to Dannil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon to name a few.
Mercedes had a nightmare Monaco Grand Prix weekend and will want to rectify it in the most emphatic way possible. Bottas has proven to be quite handy around Baku. But all indications are that it simply won’t be a straightforward weekend. Not only could McLaren be there or there about but Ferrari too has traditionally performed well on the Azerbaijan streets. The Scuderia will be buoyed by the car’s performance on the Monte Carlo streets. And with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc clearly in brilliant form Ferrari could find themselves mixing it at the sharp end.
