The Azerbaijan F1 Sprint Race Was a Quick Burst of Adrenaline Followed by Complete Silence

Sadly, sprint races are often not the most interesting events on the Formula 1 calendar. The races are too short for the strategy to be crucial to the outcome. The reduced length also means that drivers are more willing to settle with their starting position and not try to risk their race going for overtakes.

But that's not what happened at the Baku sprint, as straight from lap one, fans were met with action. And what happened in the first few corners will spark a heated debate between Mercedes and Red Bull fans. George Russell decided to go for an overtake on Max Verstappen for third place right from the get-go.

The British driver went for a lunge on the defending world champion into turn two, giving him a slight nudge in the process and causing floor damage on the Red Bull car. With neither driver willing to back down, contact was again made into turn three, with Russell pushing Verstappen wide and into the barrier before finally passing.

Such hard racing caused Verstappen to make a few remarks on the radio, which Christian Horner quickly responded to in order to calm the Dutchman down. However, that won't alleviate the feeling of both Max and a sizeable number of fans that what George did was a display of Unsportsmanlike conduct. And Verstappen was not afraid to point it out after the race, going as far as to tell Russell he could expect the same treatment.

Still, both Mercedes and Red Bull cars were able to remain on track and keep racing, which cannot be said about Yuki Tsunoda, who brought out the safety car. The Japanese Alpha Tauri driver had an unusual crash, understeering into the barrier on a section of the track where that shouldn't happen even to inexperienced drivers. Everyone that's played any of the Formula 1 game knows that's barely a corner, and it's usually taken flat out, hinting at the possibility of something going wrong mechanically on Tsunoda's car.

After the safety car period ended, no more action occurred at the top. The only notable event was that Sergio Perez overtook Charles Leclerc for first place and kept that position until the end of the race to take home the sprint race victory. The final standing saw Verstappen hold on to P3 followed by George Russell and Carlos Sainz rounding up the top five.

It's a bit further down the field that fans learned one more important piece of information about what can be expected, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Almost all the drivers opted for medium tires, with McLaren's Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas being the only ones to start on soft rubber.

This choice proves unwise, as the tires quickly faded, leaving the pair lingering toward the bottom of the grid. And it's clear that the tires caused the problem as Oscar Piastri and Zhou Guanyu finished 10th and 12th, respectively. This outcome means drivers who start the GP on soft tires can find themselves quickly dashing to the pits and forced into a compromising race strategy.