Tag: baku

F1 2021: Azerbaijan Gp Review – Bedlam in Baku

It’s only been on the F1 calendar since 2016 but the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has quickly become known for delivering the most chaotic and breathtaking races, bar none.

The 2021 race around the streets of Baku was already set fair when Charles Leclerc emerged out of the chaos of Saturday qualifying to secure an unexpected pole position. Lewis Hamilton too, on the back foot for most of the weekend, engineered his way to a second-place starting position. Meanwhile Verstappen, once again denied a shot at a final Q3 lap because of a red flag, was third quickest. Alongside Verstappen on the second row was a lighting quick Pierre Gasly who determinedly put his Alpha Tauri fourth fastest.

In the opening laps of the race Leclerc led briefly before failing victim to first Hamilton then Verstappen and Perez. By the first round of stops Verstappen had built a healthy lead while Perez was holding off Hamilton who sat within DRS range for nearly all of the of the race. Hamilton blinked first and swopped his soft compound for the white-walled hard tyre. He lost a smidgen of time in the pit box but Verstappen and Perez’s pace was such that he would fall behind the Red Bull pair anyway.

The race seemed to settle for a period after the stops were completed. Try as he might Hamilton simply didn’t have enough to overtake Perez and the Mexican driver would definitely not be pressured into a mistake either. Elsewhere, Lance Stroll and Aston Martin has played a blinder on strategy with the Canadian running a solid 7th with a long opening stint on the hard tyre. But a dramatic failure on the left-rear tyre pitched the Aston Martin into the barriers on the start/finish strait at more than 300 kph. While Stroll was unharmed he was clearly shaken by the violent and sudden failure.

The race resumed and so did Hamilton’s pressure on Perez but the Mexican had it well covered. With Verstappen in the lead Red Bull looked on for a one-two finish. But five laps from the end disaster struck for Verstappen as he too suffered a rear tyre failure on the start/finish strait. Because of the debris littered over the track the race was red-flagged. Verstappen’s retirement would seemingly have massive ramifications for the championship, as Hamilton looked poised to retake the lead.

In the pitlane just before the restart Hamilton reminded his team that, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So got to be measured on how aggressive we go”. Hamilton aced the restart and was for all intents and purposes heading into the lead of the race. But he locked his front-brake and went straight on at turn 1. The Mercedes driver rejoined last. A post-race radio communication revealed that Hamilton had left on the “magic”. It turns out that the “magic” refers to a button, which Merc uses to heat the brakes during the safety-car/warm-up lap period. It was this button that Hamilton forgot to disengage and thus his brakes were overheated. It was a rare mistake from Hamilton as in Imola. Only this time it cost him any chance of capitalizing on Verstappen’s misfortune.

To describe Valtteri Bottas’s race as woeful would be doing him a kindness. The Finn started tenth and made zero progress. At no stage did it get any better as he fell victim to a number of drivers including being overtaken into the tightest section of the track by Alfa’s Kimi Raikkonen. Eventually, Bottas finished an embarrassing 12^th ahead of only the Haas drivers.

As Checo Perez held on for an extremely popular first win with Red Bull it was revealed after the race that he too nearly didn’t reach the chequered flag thanks to an increasingly severe hydraulic issue. For the second race in a row Seb Vettel was crowned driver-of-the-day and this time he was able to celebrate the accolade on the podium with a sublime second place finish. Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc had an almighty battle for the final step of the podium from which the Alpha Tauri driver emerged victorious. Leclerc finished a fine fourth ahead of Lando Norris in fifth.

In sixth place was Fernando Alonso in the Alpine while Yuki Tsunoda delivered a much-improved performance in seventh. Carlos Sainz was eighth for Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in ninth and Kimi Raikkonen in tenth.

The lack of points scored for either of the two championship protagonists is certainly big news in F1. But the drama of the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the breathtaking manner in which it constructed the final podium of Checo Perez, Seb Vettel, and Pierre Gasly can hardly leave anyone dissatisfied.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

June 7, 2021
F1 2021: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Four Teams in the Mix

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.

June 2, 2021
F1 2019: Baku Gp Review – Bottas 2.0 Wins Again

Since joining the Mercedes team at the start of the 2017 season Valtteri Bottas has had impressive races. But there was recognition by all other drivers that if you show him a front wheel he’d, embarrassingly, give way. But the Valtteri Bottas that has been unleashed at the start of the 2019 season is far removed from the driver of the last two seasons.

Finns are notoriously measured in how much they say and at the start of Sunday’s Baku grand prix Bottas let his peerless driving do all the talking. The manner in which he held his car inches from teammate Hamilton made it clear that he wasn’t going to budge nor was going to simply give up the lead of the race if he could help it. His statement was clear – you’re going to have to go through me. That tenacity kept him the lead of the race off the start line and he backed it up with a faultless drive to secure the fifth win of his F1 career.

Mercedes, quite literally, could not have started the season in a more perfect manner than scoring a one-two victory in all four of the races so far in 2019. Operationally, there are no teams on the grid that can touch the might of Mercedes. They arrived on Friday genuinely unsure of their pace. It appeared that Ferrari easily had the measure of the circuit and a pace advantage that seemed insurmountable. But if nothing else Mercedes must be respected and lauded for the stunning work they do behind the scenes.

If it’s organizational brilliance at Mercedes then at Ferrari it is the calamitous opposite. The dubious decision to put both cars out on the medium compound tyre for the second session of qualifying was the beginning of Ferrari’s unraveling this weekend. Not only was the track temperature not conducive to the medium tyre but also strategically it made little sense for Sunday’s race, more on that later.

It resulted in both drivers hitting the turn 8 wall with Leclerc coming off worst with a wrecked front suspension. Vettel was able to carry on but only managed third on the grid after failing to cash in on the slipstream benefit. Ferrari had gone from a near guaranteed front-row locked out to third and eighth on grid.

But still they had a chance; At least until it came time to make their strategy call. Leclerc made decent headway on the more durable medium tyre in the opening stint of the race and looked set for good result, perhaps even a podium. But Ferrari has become rather infamous for mad strategic calls and it was no different in Baku. They left Leclerc out on track despite the fact that he was losing, often, more than a second per lap to the chasing pack of Bottas, Hamilton, Vettel, and Verstappen. Eventually Bottas and Hamilton made their pitstops, closed down Leclerc and passed him on track. Leclerc eventually finished fifth with a strategy only Ferrari would be able to explain. A late pitstop for fresh tyres earned the Ferrari driver the consolation of an extra point for fastest lap.

Ahead Bottas had the race firmly in control despite a late VSC (Virtual Safety Car) deployed for the stricken Red Bull of Pierre Gasly. Elsewhere the other biggest incident of the race was a misjudgment on the brakes from Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo who took out himself and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. To add to his blushes Ricciardo strangely reversed into side of Kvyat when trying to rejoin the track and has been given a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Spain.

While Bottas and Hamilton secured yet another one-two victory for Mercedes Vettel trundled home third in the Ferrari. Though the German driver was only a handful of second adrift of the Silver Arrows it will be scant comfort on a weekend where Ferrari brought several updates to their car. Max Verstappen finished a solid fourth for Red Bull ahead of Leclerc in fifth.

Twice a podium finisher in Baku Sergio Perez was sixth for Racing Point ahead of the McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. Lance Stroll made it a double-points finish for Racing Point in ninth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in tenth who started the race from the pitlane in his Alfa Romeo.

At the start of the season Valtteri Bottas noted that, during the off season, he’d spent a lot of time hiking in the Finnish woods and eating porridge. Whatever he discovered in those woods and whatever is in that porridge it has transformed Valtteri Bottas into an uncompromising and unapologetic racing machine. Long may it continue.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

April 29, 2019
F1 2019: Azerbaijan Gp Preview: Must Win For Ferrari

The Baku circuit, the newest street track on the F1 calendar, was first introduced in 2016 and delivered one of the most stunning races of the year. Amid a melee or crashes and safety cars a year later Daniel Ricciardo emerged to take victory ahead of Valtteri Bottas and a surprised third place finisher in the form of then Williams driver Lance Stroll.

Against a stunning backdrop of the old town the circuit is characterized by two distinct but opposite sections. The massively long start/finish straight is perfect of slipstreaming but after Turn 1 the layout quickly transforms into a tight and twisty tour through the city’s medieval walls. The close proximity of the walls means that the slightest mistake is more often than not punished severely. The dichotomy of the track layout also prompts a compromise in car set-up, as one half requires downforce and the other less drag to achieve the ultimate top speed.

It should ostensibly favour Ferrari then as, in China, their advantage in straight-line speed was considerable. But on race day that supposed advantage was nowhere to be found. This could be an indication that Ferrari is not running its power unit to its full potential on race day due to reliability concerns. What adds fuel to this fire is the fact that all Ferrari-powered cars, except Alfa Romeo were forced into changing the control electronics ahead of the Chinese grand prix. Alfa’s reluctance to not change the system ended in regret as it kept Antonio Giovinazzi from competing in the qualifying session.

If reliability isn’t a genuine concern for the Italian squad that Baku’s enormously long straight should play well into their hands. But already team principal Mattia Binotto has played down any suggestions of a performance advantage. “I don’t think there is much on the straights in between us and the others”. And on top of the standings Mercedes are sitting pretty without having been truly pushed in 2019. Yes, if Leclerc didn’t have a reliability issue in Bahrain he would’ve won the race by the reality is that he didn’t and Ferrari are already playing catch-up in several areas heading into only the fourth races of the season.

There is no doubt that behind the scenes Mercedes are pushing to the absolute limit to extract everything from its car, engineers, and drivers. But from the outside there is something very comfortable about the situation in which they find themselves. Even psychologically they’re playing the game better than their rivals by continually pushing the message that Ferrari have the quicker car. It’s obvious that Ferrari need desperately to get some momentum going in their 2019 campaign and this weekend’s Azerbaijan grand prix is where it has to start.

April 22, 2019
F1 2018: Azerbaijan Gp Review – Chaos & Collisions in Baku

The ingredients were there to make the Azerbaijan grand prix a cracker. And they all mixed together to produce as thrilling and unpredictable a race as any Hollywood director could dream up.

There wasn’t a long wait for the inevitable safety-car as Esteban Ocon collided with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen after leaving the Finn no room into turn two. It meant that Raikkonen needed to stop for a new front-wing and the soft compound tyre, which dropped him to plumb last.

For most of the race pole starter Sebastian Vettel seemed to have it under control as he managed the pace ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes. But the mid-race lull quickly gave way to a melee of crashes and safety cars. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen who dramatically took each other out at the end of the start/finish strait induced the second appearance of the safety-car.

The two Red Bull drivers had been swopping paint and banging wheels throughout the race as the battled for supremacy. Ultimately the FIA race stewards adjudged that Verstappen had moved twice ahead of Ricciardo that prompted the crash. Both drivers were given a reprimand and Red Bull management have chalked it up to “two guys taking things into their own hands” and that blame would not be appropriated either way, at least that’s what team principal Christian Horner said in public.

It certainly hasn’t been the first time that Verstappen has made two moves under braking as Vettel, Raikkonen and others have criticized him for it in the past. His errors in judgment are beginning to pile up and well into his third season in the sport the excuse of ‘inexperience’ cannot be used any longer. While his aggressive approach to racing has been lauded and welcomed Verstappen runs the risk of developing a reputation that wont be easy to overcome.

The second safety-car was good news for Valtteri Bottas, who, because he hadn’t stopped yet, was in the lead of the race. His twelve-second window over Vettel was enough to get him in and out of the pitlane ahead of the Ferrari driver. The re-start prompted Vettel to attempt a dive up the inside of Bottas for the lead of the race but the Ferrari driver only succeeded in significantly flat-spotting his tyres. He dropped behind the Force India of Sergio Perez to finish fourth.

The joy was short lived for Bottas though as he was agonizingly forced out of the race with a right rear puncture. As the dust settled Lewis Hamilton emerged to win the 63^rd race of his career ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who was at one point plumb last. Sergio Perez kept his nose clean enough to earn the final step on the podium. By his own admission Hamilton considered ‘lady-luck’ the determining factor in his race win. Nevertheless, luck is part of the sport and Hamilton kept it together when everything was going off around him.

Renault’s Carlos Sainz secured a brilliant fifth place finish by the driver of the day was undoubtedly Sauber’s Charles Le Clerc with a stunning sixth place. Fernando Alonso recovered from a double-puncture to finish seventh ahead of Lance Stroll who scored Williams’ first points on the season in eighth. Stoffel Vandoorne took ninth for McLaren as Brendon Hartley scored the first point of his F1 career in tenth.

Hamilton’s victory takes him four-points clear at the top of the driver’s standings while Ferrari retake the lead in the constructor’s standings ahead of F1’s return to Europe for the Spanish grand prix in two weeks time.

April 30, 2018
F1 2018: Azerbaijan Gp Review: Battle in Baku

The Formula 1 paddock is set for Baku this weekend as it jets into Azerbaijan for the fourth round of the 2018 season.

On the back of the first three races the teams will arrive at this weekend’s grand prix with a varying degree of mindsets. Ferrari should arrive in a fairly decent frame of mind but all is not up to par in the Italian team’s stable. The general assumption would be that Ferrari would have learned from several dubious strategy calls in 2017 but, again, the calls in China left a lot to be desired. It is an area that in 2017 cost them race wins and if they are to genuinely take the fight to Mercedes they cannot fall into the same hole this season.

Notorious for taking Ferrari to task the Italian media has delivered a scathing rebuke of the team’s treatment of Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn has started the 2018 season in fine form but was still, shamefully, used as a blocker for his teammate during the Chinese Gp. It’s a slippery slope Ferrari find themselves on. If they continue to sacrifice Raikkonen in aid of Sebastian Vettel they will, undoubtedly, forfeit any chance of winning the constructor’s title too. And if Ferrari is in the market for a replacement for their last world champion, say someone like a Daniel Ricciardo, it must be careful as to what image they are projecting to prospective drivers.

For Mercedes Baku has turned into a must-win grand prix. The German team finds itself in unprecedented territory having not yet won a race in the 2018 season. Regardless of the circumstances that led to Ferrari, and Red Bulls’, victories the fact remains that Mercedes finds itself needing to respond. More so, Lewis Hamilton has looked decidedly off colour even in comparison to teammate Valtteri Bottas. Nevertheless, the team seems confident that it can bounce back. “We just need to stick our heads together, stay calm, get the head down and come up with some solutions. Huge confidence in the team, they’ve proved that in the past,” says Toto Wolff.

The Baku circuit is one where Mercedes should do well. The circuit in Azerbaijan is the third longest on the calendar as comprises a rather unusual layout for a street circuit. The tight and twisting middle sector is bookended by long, power hungry straits, which combines in the first counter-clockwise lap of the year. While the track hasn’t shown too much tyre degradation in the two years that it’s been on the calendar it may prove a factor this weekend. In particular Ferrari has taken an aggressive approach by selecting ten sets each of the ultrasoft compound while Mercedes has gone for nine and Red Bull for eight set of the softest compound this weekend. “Baku is a bit strange,” says Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola. “Because it’s a street circuit, but with a very high speed straight. You have some sectors that are very, very fast, but also you have some parts of the track under the sun, and some parts in shadow”.

The long straits may put Red Bull into some difficulty with overall laptime when compared to Mercedes and Ferrari but they should in no way be discounted this weekend. The probability of a safety-car around the exceedingly tight mid-sector is high and Red Bull’s strategy calls have already netted them a race win. Max Verstappen’s performance this weekend will be worth noting as the young Dutchman has not only been shown up by his Aussie teammate, so far, in 2018 but also has to iron out some recklessness from his own driving.

The chances are good that this will be the weekend that Lewis Hamilton bounces back into form. The question is will Ferrari have the speed and more importantly the composure to stop him in his track, no pun intended.

April 25, 2018
The Year that was F1 2017

From Australia to Abu Dhabi the 2017 F1 season has inscribed moments, memories, celebrations, and lessons that will be well remembered.

Ferrari revival

As the cars rolled out onto the track for testing in early 2017 it was immediately evident that Ferrari had put together something special with its SF70H. It was beautiful, consistent and most importantly, fast right out of the box. Ultimately, Ferrari’s season ended on bittersweet note after often having the quickest car but failing to attain championship glory through mistakes and unreliability.

Specifically, it was the unreliability in Malaysia and Japan coupled with the error in judgment from Vettel in Singapore is what ultimately derailed their chances of taking the title. These incidents also overshadowed a season in which Ferrari had spectacularly resuscitated the prancing horse and made it a genuine championship contender.

It wasn’t solely the work of the engine department, or the designers, or the aerodynamicists, which made the 2017 Ferrari a great car. Rather, it was the combination of all facets of the team, which had undergone major reshuffling, which had made 2017 possible.

There is clearly some work still to be done but Ferrari finally has a plan in place that works. One that if refined could very well deliver titles in 2018.

Mercedes juggernaut

If Ferrari is to be commended for their 2017 season then Mercedes deserves even more praise. They faced a stern test from the Italian team in the first half of the season but showed their sublime class on every level.

Similar to Ferrari there was little doubt that the W08 was a quick car. But it’s the running of the team and the factory that set these teams apart. The most minute of details were considered and covered by the team proving that German efficiency is no myth. Through their microscopic attention to detail Mercedes proved that it takes more to win in F1 than building a quick car and that having the procedures and processes in place is what ultimately ensures victory.

New 2017 cars

New regulations ushered in significant change to the appearance of F1 as wider tyres and cars became the norm. The new look of F1 was an instant win as cars looked far more aggressive and quick than their predecessors.

Naturally, there are some kinks to iron out such as making the T-wing and sharkfin disappear for 2018. While some, read Hamilton, complained about the inability to overtake in these cars the truth is that while the Merc wasn’t conducive to overtaking there were a plethora of overtaking moves that will live on the replay reel for some time to come.

Lap of the year

Given the fact that Lewis Hamilton took the overall record for number of pole position it seemed obvious to pick one of the Brit’s quali laps as the best of the year.

But Kimi Raikkonen’s pole position in Monaco stood out as the best as the sheer commitment of the lap left most, if not all, in awe as he brushed the barriers around the famed streets of Monte Carlo towards one of the most memorable pole positions of his career.

Race of the year

The grand prix in Azerbaijan is likely one of the craziest races of the last few years let alone 2017. Blotted by several crashes and clashes the race neutralized several times by the safety-car. In one of these safety-car periods Vettel took offence to Hamilton’s ‘behaviour’ pulled up alongside the Merc and turned into the side of him. It was as controversial a move that’s been seen for the last decade.

While Hamilton, and some others in the ‘media’, called for a ban Vettel was given a ten second-stop/go penalty. It seemed Hamilton was cut-and-dried at the front until a loose headrest forced him into the pits. Still the order was far from sorted as the race resumed after a red-flag period. An audacious move into turn one on both Williams’ cars by Daniel Ricciardo gave the Aussie the lead and a victory that’ll go down as the one of the most chaotic ever.

Rookie of the year

Though Esteban Ocon had a short stint with Manor in 2016 at the start of this year he was very much a rookie. Most would’ve assumed that he was in at the deep-end with an experienced and quick teammate such as the Mexican Sergio Perez.

The relationship between Ocon and Perez was far from friendly and directly symptomatic of the fact that he’d gotten under the Mexican’s skin with his pace.

He pushed his Mexican teammate so hard that he began to unravel, Canada and Spa being the optimal examples of said Perez’ unraveling. Ocon scored points in all of two races in 2017 and finished eighth in the driver’s standings.

Driver of the year

Four times a world champion Lewis Hamilton is easily the driver of the year. But it isn’t because he picked up a fourth crown but rather how he went about it. While grand prix weekends such as Monaco and Russia show that it wasn’t a perfect season for Hamilton his relentless ability to churn out performances is astounding.

By the time he binned in quali at Brazil the championship had already been won and it was the solitary mistake he’d made all year. In the thick of the championship fight there was a relentlessness to the level of Hamilton’s performances that he’d never shown before. Despite having three titles and a decade of racing under the belt he showed his hunger for success. He’d stepped up yet another level that proved peerless in 2017.

December 13, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

In 2016 Azerbaijan became the newest addition to the Formula 1 calendar as it hosted the country’s first ever street-race in the capital city of Baku. F1’s favourite designer Herman Tilke envisioned and delivered a circuit, which combined the city’s uniquely historical buildings with the modern, and technical world of Formula1.

The Baku City track, the third longest of the season, is an exercise in extreme opposites. While the mid sector of exceedingly tight and twisting corners is more akin to Monaco it is in stark contrast to the enormously long straits that dominates the first and final sectors of the lap and are more reminiscent of Monza. The circuit is the first counterclockwise track on the calendar and provides one of the most picturesque backdrops seen all year.

The last time Lewis Hamilton steered his Mercedes around a proper street circuit was the Monaco grand prix. To put it mildly, thing didn’t go well for the Brit on those streets. Though the Baku race is similarly contested on the streets of Azerbaijan it doesn’t have too many parallels.

There are a few factors in Hamilton’s, and to a greater degree Mercedes, favour this weekend. The longest strait on the F1 calendar will allow Merc to focus on its best feature, the engine. Further the Pirelli compounds on offer this weekend in the soft and supersoft compounds, which Mercedes favour far more than the ultra- and supersoft combo.

From last year’s tyre performance it doesn’t appear that degradation is a big factor in Baku, which saw driver able to run long stints and make fewer pitstops. As there are fewer opportunities for a creative pit strategy on Sunday it ultimately increases the importance of qualifying well on Saturday.

Similarly, there are a few factors that Hamilton will have to overcome this weekend in order to claw back the lead of the driver’s championship. The most important of these are undoubtedly the two Ferrari’s of Vettel and Raikkonen. Be it because of damage or unreliability the Canadian grand prix was a messy one for Ferrari. It was the type of grand prix that will, undoubtedly, harden their resolve of securing a good haul of points this weekend. Given their relative performance on other street circuits so far this year form dictates that the prancing horse will be no slouch around here either.

In 2016 the Italian team delivered a solid race here last year despite not being near the performance level of Mercedes. In far less competitive car than they have in 2017 Sebastian Vettel finished second while Kimi Raikkonen ran third for the majority of the race. Since the Monaco grand prix the team has vehemently denied any team orders are at work between its two drivers. It will make for interesting viewing should the Scuderia be faced with a similar scenario, to Monaco, this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas could yet prove to be a factor for Hamilton too. The Finn is currently thirty-six points adrift of his teammate and that with a retirement in Spain. His first race win, in Russia, came on a weekend when Hamilton was inexplicably off the pace and he delivered in Monaco too and he firmly believes that in a head-to-head battle he has the measure of his teammate. “I think we [Hamilton and I] are very close, I don’t see a difference,” he said. “I believe in myself. But he was shown up in Canada on a circuit where he is considered to be somewhat of a specialist. It’s as perfect a time as any to beat Hamilton in a direct fight.

June 21, 2017
F1 2017: Fan Survey Results Revealed

The global fan survey conducted by the Motorsport Network has been released today and details several aspects fans deem most important to the sport.

Download your copy of the Report here:

F1 Survey Fans Report 2017

May 26, 2017
F1 2016: European GP Review – Rosberg Rules In Baku

If you’d asked most people to point out Azerbaijan on a map they would probably struggle. If you then told them that its capital city Baku is going to host its first F1 race in 2016 it would possibly have been met with reluctant enthusiasm.

Nevertheless, on the edge of the Caspian Sea the Azeri organisers plotted a street circuit unlike any other. The combination of the stunningly high-speed section and incredibly tight section around the city’s beautiful medieval architecture merged perfectly to highlight the strengths of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes. The German driver cleaned house in Baku by taking pole position, fastest lap and the race win in dominant fashion.

Rosberg led cleanly off the line and was never challenged as he completed the 51-lap race on a one-stop strategy. It yielded his fifth win of the season and a sizeable increase in his lead atop the driver’s table. As faultless as Rosberg’s weekend preceded so the opposite was true for teammate Lewis Hamilton. Seemingly out of sorts, Hamilton stuck his Merc in the wall on Saturday and confined himself to a tenth place starting position. An ERS (energy recovery system) issue disrupted his charge through the field. Thanks to the FIA regulation, which bans certain radio communications, Hamilton was left to figure out the setting himself. The Brit was able to eventually resolve the issue and set two blisteringly quick laptimes before cooking his tyres.

Behind race leader Rosberg Sebastian Vettel overtook Daniel Ricciardo for second. To cover the Red Bull stop Ferrari called Vettel into the pits. However, the driver overruled the pitwall and stayed out. It paid off ultimately as Vettel finished second without any realistic shot at victory.

Force India’s Sergio Perez secured third to score his second podium in three races. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen ran third for nearly the entire race. The Finn stopped early on lap 8 and ran a 43-lap stint on the soft tyre. But a five-second penalty for crossing the pit-entry line and a late ERS issue meant he was unable to keep Perez at bay. Eventually Raikkonen, suffering with a bout of food poisoning, finished fourth. Lewis Hamilton finished a lonely and disappointed fifth ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in sixth.

Both Red Bull drivers were forced onto two-stop strategies with overheating rear tyres and faded badly throughout the race. Daniel Ricciardo finished seventh ahead of teammate Max Verstappen in eighth. Nico Hulkenberg brought his Force India home in ninth while Williams’ Felipe Massa scored the final point in tenth.

All expectations were that the safety car would appear several times throughout the race given the tight confines and close proximity of the walls. But all twenty-two drivers were exceptionally well behaved and there were no major incidents. In fact, only four drivers did not make it to the chequered flag. Toro Rosso has some investigating to do as both their drivers, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz, were forced to retire with suspension issues. Manor Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein retired with brake failure as Fernando Alonso’s McLaren was pulled into the garage with a gearbox failure.

Remarkably Rosberg had the same ERS issue as Hamilton but was able to rectify it by changing the right settings. This resounding victory increases Rosberg’s championship lead to 24 points over Hamilton. But given that thirteen races remain on the calendar the race for the 2016 driver’s crown is just warming up.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

June 20, 2016