Predictions for the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
By Joe Murphy
One of this writers personal favourite Grand Prix takes place this weekend around the street of Baku as Formula 1 heads to Azerbaijan for yet another installment of this enthralling season. It is a tricky race to predict, but let’s go for it regardless…
Max to end Voodoo and clinch vital win…
Little over a year ago, a catastrophic tyre failure ended Max Verstappen’s hopes for a well deserved win at this circuit. With Pirelli coming under intense scrutiny in the fallout of the 2021 version of this race, it would be hugely shocking if such events were to repeat themselves. We know Ferrari will be quick and competitive, particularly on Saturday, but you can back the Dutchman to claim the 25 points this weekend. His Red Bull should have the race pace to extinguish any hopes that Ferrari or even Mercedes may bring with them. Team orders could also play a part but I do expect the World Champion to be quicker than his teammate this weekend, even though Checo has enjoyed considerable success at this track in the past.
Don’t rule out Carlos though…
Just as ‘second driver’ Sergio Perez stole all the headlines in Monaco, you’d be forgiven for simply assuming Charles Leclerc will beat his teammate this weekend. However, the Spaniard doesn’t find himself that far back in the standings and another decent finish here could keep him in the championship picture. That allusive win must be keeping the pressure on the Smooth Operator, but there is no better venue for his fortunes to change. A Verstappen victory is more likely, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Carlos be his nearest challenger. If Max suffers an incident, then it could be the unexpected Ferrari man who could take advantage. Another podium, what would be a fifth of the campaign so far, is surely the least we can expect from Sainz this weekend.
Ricciardo v Lando to be in the spotlight…
Daniel Ricciardo has a tonne of pressure on him at the moment. For the first time in his Formula 1 career, his seat is under threat. The remarkable downturn in his fortunes is nothing short of stunning and now he is practically fighting for his long term career in the sport. That being said, he could very easily beat his teammate this weekend and, in doing so, silence his critics. Even if only temporarily. He was on this venue before and whilst that may be a stretch, bringing home around four to eight points us definitely possible. More importantly, he will beat his teammate Lando Norris who has been performing recently. Whether it’s luck or simply that the Australian finds his ‘A game’ to generate some positivity for himself and his team, only time will tell.
Alfa Romeo to Struggle as Valtteri ends up pointless…
Arguably, the best performing driver so far this season has been Valtteri Bottas. He has put his Alfa Romeo in places that the team have never seen before. Charles Leclerc briefly got some solid results a few year back, but Valtteri is has been genuinely competitive this year so far. If he can keep this up, a podium before the end of the year wouldn’t be too far out of the realms of possibility. However, the Alfa Romeo won’t do as well this weekend. I don’t feel that this is the venue where the Finn will get that podium, although it isn’t impossible that he does. A finish of around 12th is far more likely. As for his teammate, this won’t be the venue that Zhou steals any sort of headlines. He has suffered slightly since his impressive debut, and closing that gap to his teammate this weekend will be considered a victory from his side of the garage. Haas and Aston Martin could enjoy relatively strong putting this weekend in comparison to their recent struggles. They could be battling each other in the lower points positions, should even at play out as expected. Expect Alpine and Alpha Tauri to be in the mix too, but I feel both Seb and Lance could come out on top. Both, after all, have had strong results here in recent years
Lewis Hamilton to make it Podium 184…
To predict a Lewis Hamilton Podium in previous years would be borderline common sense. Now, it is an outside possibility. To win the race, he is 22/1 with most bookmakers and this shows just how far both him and his team have fallen. Whilst it’s a case that fans of the Silver Arrows will have to ‘see it to believe it’ regarding an improvement with the car. However, as hinted in our article https://wheel2wheelreports.com/2022/06/07/why-mercedes-problems-will-end-in-baku/ , Azerbaijan is the perfect venue for a response. Monaco was never a preferred venue for the constructor, but Baku has been kind to the team in previous years (aside from 2021 of course). There could be a number of DNF’s, Safety Cars and Red Flags for both Lewis and George to take advantage of. For the elder, a podium would feel that extra special following a long stint without one. Well, long stint by a seven time World Champion’s standards.
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