Azerbaijan: The Hits and Misses of the Editorial Team

The top 3

Leclerc makes a big impact

The “driver of the day” of this Azerbaijan Grand Prix, also celebrated by your votes. The star of Baku achieves the best result for the team since Felipe Nasr’s sixth place in Sochi in 2015. Far from the antics of some drivers on the grid, Charles Leclerc drove with great composure. His pace was nonetheless thunderous, as evidenced by Marcus Ericsson’s modest eleventh place (out of 13 classified) at the finish.

24 hours earlier, Charles Leclerc had already done the job during the qualifications, by reaching Q2 for the first time. After Louis Chiron in 1950, he becomes the second Monégasque in history to enter the points: what better way to achieve this performance than on a street circuit? The future looks full of promise for the Ferrari Academy driver. “Sorry for the bad word” ???? We forgive you, @Charles_Leclerc – after all, you did finish P6! #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/bFp31MMZxW — Formula 1 (@F1) 29 April

The grit of Pérez

Combat podium for the Mexican, who benefited from the Red Bulls’ suicide strategy and Bottas’s misfortunes. But his third place is also due to his talent. “Checo” came from far behind, after receiving a five-second penalty for overtaking under the Safety Car. He secured the podium on the track by overtaking a struggling Vettel, who went off-line during the second restart after the Safety Car.

Sergio Pérez highlights the resurgence of Force India, already demonstrated with a sixth place in qualifying. The duel against Ocon clearly turns in his favor, as the Frenchman tangled with Räikkönen on the first lap. The former Sauber driver also sent a message to mid-field teams: they must now reckon with Force India!

SQUAD GOALS 🎯

(a podium finish in Baku helps) 🏆#AzerbaijanGP #F1 @ForceIndiaF1 pic.twitter.com/tVRizwj492

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29

Bottas, almost a winner

The big unlucky participant of this race deserves an honorary Oscar. Behind Vettel and Hamilton in the first part of the race, the Finn had shone through his discretion but had the merit of taking his super-soft tires from the start until the 40th lap, ten more laps than Vettel. The former Williams driver had put himself in a position to take advantage of the safety car’s exit, which happened with the Red Bull drivers’ crash. His victory hangs on a piece of carbon present on the track… Without this mishap, Valtteri Bottas would be leading the championship! Will he become more than just an outsider? His level for the past three races encourages optimism.

????

Sometimes the sport you love can be tough. But, I’ve learned to turn negative experiences into strength. #VB77 #F1Baku @MercedesAMGF1
???? @XPBImages @CharniauxImages pic.twitter.com/vXaP6ylgxl

— Valtteri Bottas (@ValtteriBottas) April 29

The Flop 3

Red Bull’s management of Verstappen

Let it be known, the flop is disguised. The team perfectly illustrates our spectator’s desire: to let the drivers fight on track, for better, but also for worse. Christian Horner’s reaction pointing at his engineers highlights the engineers’ laxity, which fueled the fire of their drivers. However, limits must be set on a Verstappen who claimed to have matured before continuing zigzags in a straight line at 300 km/h. A defense system that was insufficient against a faster Daniel Ricciardo on the track. That being said, the Australian has his share of responsibility in attempting a too bold, too sudden overtaking. But will it take a tragedy for Max Verstappen to understand?

There are no Team orders here, but you’ve got to keep it clean. No blame on either driver, both race hard and want to win.

An #AzerbaijanGP to forget for us today… but both drivers’ have apologised and we all move on to Spain! ???? pic.twitter.com/K1G5dftOJ0

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 29 /f1/actualite/22650-azerbaidjan-course-le-vent-tourne-pour-hamilton-.html

Grosjean and the blunder that ruins everything

Difficult to sum up his weekend with this huge blunder. Yet, the Frenchman indeed made a mistake under the Safety Car regime while trying to warm up his tires. After a frustrating qualifying session, he had done the hardest part by moving from 20th to 6th place. The Haas driver was matching with Pérez during his accident. His only valid excuse will be these demanding weather conditions, marked by cold and wind. But he is the only one to make such an error. He will need to be mentally strong to recover from this weekend, especially since his scoreboard is still stuck at zero points…

Safety car out

Grosjean out ????#AzerbaijanGP ???????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/JaLMEyzZMx

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 avril /f1/actualite/22650-azerbaidjan-course-le-vent-tourne-pour-hamilton-.html

Magnussen faces his old demons again

The Dane fell back in line in Baku, after a good start to the season and eleven points collected. Fifteenth but ahead of Grosjean in qualifying, “K-Mag” was a notch below his teammate before his peculiar retirement. Thirteenth and last in the classification, the former Renault driver even clashed with Gasly, pushing him towards the wall at the end of the race during the final restart. Penalized with a ten-second penalty by the stewards, Kevin Magnussen also received “compliments” from Pierre Gasly, who called him the “most dangerous driver encountered in his career.” Penalized with two points on his license, Kevin Magnussen now has only four points left. A race suspension looms…