2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Analysis – By Joe Murphy
Another race in the books, and whilst it wasn’t the racing classic this venue has seen in the past, Baku still provided plenty of material for conversation. So let’s get straight to it…
Red Bull dominate as Ferrari Falter…
44 points from yet another 1-2 finish. It was pretty much the perfect Sunday for Christian Horner and his team, after narrowly missing out . Max Verstappen extended his lead at the top of his championship standings, as did his constructor. Moreover, Sergio Perez came home to claim second place and, subsequently, move above Charles Leclerc in the same standings. If Ferrari’s Leclerc is a Title challenger then, surely, so is the Mexican. Checo had lead the event after overtaking Leclerc on the opening lap, only to be overtaken by a perilous Max Verstappen a couple of dozen laps later. Whilst Red Bull would have been dreaming of such a result, Ferrari’s Sunday turned into a nightmare. Both cars suffered different mechanical issues before half distance, and sacrafcied key points as a result. Charles Leclerc has now enjoyed several Pole Positions in a row, failing to turn any of them into a maximum points haul. As for Carlos his dismal run continued and he looks no closer to a maiden win in the sport.
Charles being held back by unreliability
It isn’t controversial to say that Leclerc is being let down by his team. The same can be said for his Spanish teammate, but is appears as though the Monaco-born title challenger’s hopes of a first world title are fading away. The gap to Max Verstappen and now Sergio Perez is getting larger race by race and his car is letting him down in a big way. A power unit failure for one of the Scuderia and a hydraulics issue for the other gave Ferrari their first pointless finish since Monza 2020, nearly two years ago. Moreover, Kevin Magnussen in the Haas and Guanyu Zhou’s Alfa Romeo both failed to finish in Baku, both harbouring Ferrari engines. If they are to challenge in both respective championships, then they are going to have to get their act together and quickly. Otherwise, we could see Red Bull run away with both.
Mr Saturday now Mr Consistent as Mercedes are back, yet hurting backs.
He may be only fourth in the championship standings at present, but George Russell is many people’s pick for driver of the season so far. Finishing in the top five in every Grand Prix so far, he added his third podium of the season with a relatively uneventful and lonely drive in Azerbaijan. That being said, George won’t care one bit and the fifteen points will be a huge boost for Mercedes. He has taken to this car almost like a duck to water. This consistency is especially remarkable when you consider the struggles Lewis Hamilton is facing across the garage. A seven-time champion who has raced for the constructor for the best part of a decade is struggling immensely yet George is getting results that the car doesn’t merit. Lewis Hamitlon was a doubt for the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday evening, only to confirm he will be on the grid next weekend, on Monday. The purpoising issue is one that was clear in Baku, with Lewis’ back taking a battering on the 205mph straight in particular. In fact, the British driver indicated this most recent race was the most difficult of his illustrious career. It is an urgent concern for Toto Wolff and one both him and his team, will have to sort. Otherwise, retirements will become a regularity as we head on through the summer.
Pierre Ga5ly returns
It’s been somewhat of a disappointing start to the campaign for Pierre Gasly and Alpha Tauri. This weekend, for the first time this season, the Frenchman showcased what he has in his locker. He was the so-called “best of the rest” behind the top three teams’ cars that finished. There were stellar drives from Sebastian Vettel and both the Alpine and McLaren pairings, both it was Pierre who came out on top to take home a double figure points haul, four more than he had in the entirety of 2022 up to this race. With the recent news of Sergio Perez’ extension, teams will be looking at Pierre Gasly and considering whether to make a move for the former one-time Grand Prix winner. For now, it was a strong finish for the Alpha Tauri team. If it weren’t for a rear wing malfunction to teammate Yuki Tsunoda, it could have been even better. However, a late tyre change to the softs when pitting for some masking tape maintenance couldn’t resurrect the Japanese drivers efforts to score points for the team.
McLaren are Confusing…
Team orders are almost an accepted part of Formula 1 these days. Therefore, it was of some surprise that McLaren didn’t use them to optimise their race stretegy. Clearly, Daniel Ricciardo was quicker on the Hard Tyre during the opening stint and should have been allowed passed Lando Norris. However, he was kept behind, subsequently damaging his set somewhat. Then, when Lando was quicker during the final stages of the event, it was his turn to be told to also hold station behind the Australian. Whilst the team did score double points, albeit not many, there were question marks over these decisions. Ricciardo could have scored more had been let through earlier and Lando had the possibility of closing the gap ahead to Fernando Alonso. I get the equal treatment of drivers, and McLaren are more in the spotlight with their lineup than others, but you can’t help thinking that this pressure cost the team to a slight extent, in Azerbaijan.
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