After a bit of Formula 1 teasing offered by Saturday’s sprint race, Sunday finally rolled around, bringing with it the full-length Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. However, it was a bit of a bittersweet affair, as it had none of the drama fans were able to enjoy during the previous Grand Prix in Melbourne or even the sprint race.
What ended up happening was close to what most fans expected prior to the event. The two Red Bull cars were yet again in a league of their own, with Charles Leclerc being relatively quickly dispatched from the top step of the podium.
Still, there were a couple of offsets here, as Max Verstappen did not manage to win the race, with the crown instead taken by his teammate, Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver absolutely went for it, proving his mastery over street circuits yet again. Granted, a fortuitous safety car brought about by Nyck de Vries played to his advantage. But once he managed to get hold of the lead, he never looked back, perfectly managing the gap to his teammate behind him.
Charles Leclerc was relegated to the bottom step of the podium for the Azerbaijan GP, which is still a noteworthy consolation prize considering how poorly Ferrari started the season. Still, he finished the race over 20 seconds behind Perez, which does not bode well for Ferrari’s hopes for the 2023 season.
It seems that last year is repeating itself, with Ferrari falling down the order in the race despite topping the qualifying charts. This is further exemplified by the fact that Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, found himself suck in fifth place, a full 25 seconds slower than the Monegasque over the full race distance.
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari / Twitter
As more and more races take place, it becomes increasingly clear that the battle for the title is solely happening between the two Red Bulls. But that’s still an impressive thing to say and something for the fans to find some excitement in during an otherwise dull season so far. Before the first race in Bahrain, almost nobody would have pegged Sergio Perez to be a worthwhile opponent for Max Verstappen, and Red Bull allowing the two drivers to fight without team orders is a breath of fresh air.
Fernando Alonso came next, the Spaniard sadly not able to keep his podium streak going, despite closing within less than a second to Leclerc in the final lap. But even with this result, Alonso manages to hold on to his third spot in the championship, which is impressive. Everybody loves an underdog story, and even if Alonso is not close to the hearts of most fans, it would be amazing to see the 41-year-old keep this position until the end of the season.
With the top five point-paying positions covered, let’s take a look at the drivers who rounded up the top 10. Lewis Hamilton was the lead Mercedes driver in Baku, finishing in sixth place while his teammate George Russell took P8, with the pair split by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
The last position in the points was occupied by Yuki Tsunoda, who managed to bring the second point of this season for Alpha Tauri. But the biggest surprise was Lando Norris. The British driver took P9 and two points, making this the first race where McLaren scored points on merit, as the Australian Grand Prix doesn’t really count considering almost half the field did not finish the race. This shows that McLaren is finally making inroads to becoming somewhat competitive this season.
As a kid, Bogdan grew up handing his dad the tools needed to work on his old Citroen and asking one too many questions about everything happening inside the engine bay. Naturally, this upbringing led Bogdan to become an engineer, but thanks to Top Gear, The Fast and the Furious series, and racing video games, a passion for automotive entertainment was ignited. Full profile
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