12/06/2022
NEWS STORY
Oh how we laughed back in two thousand and whenever it was, at the banners around the Baku track proclaiming "Well Done Baku!"
Fact is however, whether by design or not, over those few years the circuit has provided more than its fair share of shocks and surprises, thrill and spills. The question is, will we all be echoing those words in a couple of hours and saying "well done Baku" ourselves?
Courtesy of those spills which have continued over into this weekend, even into the support races, we are almost guaranteed a safety car or two, maybe even the odd red flag.
Whether this will be as early as the first lap, indeed the first corner, remains to be seen, however, other than those Raging Bulls and Prancing Horses, we have a whole field of Eager Beavers right behind... with a few porpoises thrown in.
While overtaking is possible here, first corner advantage always helps, especially in terms of drivers assisting their teammates. Of course, that raises any number of possibilities at Red Bull where the Verstappen family is clearly not entirely comfortable with Sergio Perez' increasing confidence.
At Ferrari, on the other hand, even though we are told there are no team orders, Carlos Sainz will no doubt be under orders to assist his teammate.
While this quartet decide among themselves who should have the advantage, the pack behind will be keen to take full advantage of any slips.
Like Monaco, Baku is an unforgiving circuit and mistakes are punished, and as we have seen over the years in the heat of the moment even the best of them can come to grief as they seek to thread their machines through the eye of the needle that is this circuit's castle section.
Looking at the chasing pack, Pierre Gasly splits the Mercedes pair, with Yuki Tsunoda there to lend assistance, while, albeit courtesy of some late tows, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso are in the mix.
Then come the McLarens, with Daniel Ricciardo, who has shone her in the past, desperately needing a good result.
We hear from a very, very, very reliable source that the next time Mick Schumacher crashes he is out of a job, so the German would do well to keep it on the black stuff this afternoon and not try any heroics.
While we cannot rely on the Weather Gods in terms of rain, the wind could play a part, after all Baku is the City of Winds.
Having looked strong for much of the weekend, Alfa Romeo was disappointing when it mattered, but in all honesty qualifying, due to the numerous yellow flags and traffic jams was hardly a true indicator of the pecking order.
Though we are expecting a one-stopper - of which more later - incidents and the resultant safety cars, real or virtual, and red flags, mean that strategy could be vital.
In which case, Ferrari had better start getting its act together... while at Red Bull Jos Verstappen will no doubt be watching things intently, his finger hovering over the 'post' button that features on his son's website.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find the right adjective to describe races, keyboard warriors likely to jump all over us no matter how we react, so let's just say that we hope for an "interesting" race, a race we deserve, a race that allows us to say: Well done Baku!
The race is a clear one-stopper, under normal circumstances. But there are two ways to approach it, and also a high safety car probability, which could turn things around entirely.
The easiest way is to start on the medium and then move onto the hard. This gives a wide pit stop window and therefore plenty of options, making it a good conservative choice. Those wishing to try something a bit edgier could use soft to hard. The soft stint will deliver a bit of extra speed initially, but it means an earlier pit stop and more careful management.
Either of those strategies is good, but the big unknown is safety cars, which could offer a 'free' pit stop at any point. But there have also been races in Baku that were remarkably clean: so it's not something that anyone can rely on.
What's certain is that a two-stopper is distinctly slower... unless there's a very good reason to do it.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out, leading the way the Alpine pair.
Air temperature is 26 degrees C, while the track temperature is 48 degrees. Risk of rain is 0%.
On his way to the grid Hamilton is already complaining about a lot of bouncing.
Russell believes P5 is the maximum today, while Toto Wolff says Hamilton does not believe he will get to the finish.
"You can see from the ride of the car that's just very difficult," says the Austrian, "I spoke to Lewis in the car and he said 'I am not sure we can do all the race with all the bottoming'. There's nothing I can say at that stage."
All are on mediums, bar Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, Latifi, Stroll and Schumacher who are all on hards.
They head off on the formation lap, all get away.
"Elbows out into Turn 1," Perez is told, "it's all to play for."
The grid forms.
They're away. Perez gets the jump on Leclerc and leads into Turn 1, the Monegasque locking-up heavily, while Sainz is all over Verstappen. Clearly having learned from history it's all rather clean with no silliness. Indeed, other than Perez on Leclerc, the only other move of note is Vettel getting ahead of Tsunoda.
At the end of lap 1, it's: Perez 1.3s ahead of Leclerc, then Verstappen, Sainz, Russell, Gasly, Hamilton, Vettel, Tsunoda and Alonso.
Latifi is under investigation for a start-line incident. Indeed, the Canadian receives a 10s stop and go for a starting grid infringement.
It appears the Williams driver was out of position at the start and a mechanic pushed him back into place.
DRS is enabled, but neither Verstappen nor Ricciardo is able to take advantage.
At the end of lap 3, Latifi serves his penalty.
"Red Bull is quick," says Sainz as he falls 2.5s behind Verstappen.
As Perez extends a 2.2s lead, Leclerc is under intense pressure from the second Red Bull, the pair trading fastest sectors.
Magnussen passes Albon for 15th while Hamilton is all over Gasly.
Told to manage his rears, Ricciardo is asked to hold station behind his teammate.
Leclerc is advised that Perez is "struggling for traction", possibly due to that aggressive start.
"If this is his best pace, I've got more," advises Ricciardo of his teammate. The Australian is on hards whilst Norris is on mediums.
"Keep the patience up," Verstappen is told. "Nothing is running away from you at the front, and nothing behind."
"Something failed," reports Sainz as he heads down the escape road at Turn 1 and stops.
The VSC is deployed.
Leclerc pits, the Monegasque switching to hards in what was a slow stop. Russell also stops, as do Gasly, Hamilton, Vettel, Tsunoda and several others.
With Mercedes having double-stacked, Vettel has got ahead of Hamilton.
"Did he have a free stop," asks Verstappen of Leclerc.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Baku, here.
The VSC is withdrawn, with Perez leading Verstappen by 2s and Leclerc a further 12.7s behind, and 10s clear of Russell.
Other than the Bulls, fifth-placed Alonso has yet to pit, likewise Norris, Ricciardo and Ocon.
As he hunts down Ocon, Vettel goes quickest in S3. The German makes a move and passes the Alpine but locks-up and overshoots Turn 3 and heads down the escape road. By the time he rejoins he has dropped to 12th behind Tsunoda.
Lap 13 sees a new fastest lap from Leclerc (47.531).
Quickest in S3, Zhou passes Stroll for 14th, while, out front, Verstappen, courtesy of DRS, passes his teammate for the lead.
Hamilton is all over Ocon as they battle for 9th, the Briton having lost out during the stops.
Radio replay reveals that Perez was clearly told "no fighting" as Verstappen closed in.
Zhou passes his Alfa teammate for 13th, as Perez pits at the end of lap 16. The Mexican emerges in third on new hards, just 0.6s ahead of Russell.
Despite having pitted, Schumacher complains that his rears aren't "really good".
Not for the first time, Alonso heads a DRS train, this time comprising 4 cars.
Hamilton finally makes a move on Ocon to claim 9th.
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 18, the world champion rejoining in second on new hards, 13s down on Leclerc. Alonso also pits, rejoining in 15th.
3.7s down on his teammate, in third, Perez posts a new fastest lap (47.522).
Yet to pit, Ricciardo is all over the back of his teammate. "Lando's trying to overcut (Alonso)," Ricciardo is told.
Oh dear! Calamity! Leclerc's car is billowing smoke. "Problem, problem," sighs the youngster, "engine, engine."
As Norris finally pits, Gasly is all over Ricciardo as they battle for 4th.
Back in the pits, smoke continues to pour from the Ferraris. This is the first double DNF for the Maranello outfit this season.
While this has effectively decided the race, certainly in terms of Leclerc's challenge, will we now see Verstappen and Perez go head-to-head?
Gasly finally nails Ricciardo in Turn 1 at the start of lap 22.
All but (17th placed) Schumacher are now on hards.
"Let's go," urges Tsunoda as he passes Ocon for 7th.
Meanwhile, Zhou is up to tenth and closing on Vettel.
Though 9s clear of Russell, Perez is losing ground to Verstappen, the Mexican now 6.2sd behind.
"Are you kidding me," asks Zhou when told he has an issue and has to retire. "This cannot go on," says the Chinese youngster. A heart-breaking end to a strong performance from the youngster.
Vettel is all over Ocon as they battle for 8th.
On lap 24, Schumacher makes his second stop of the afternoon.
Hamilton sweep by Ricciardo for 5th, while Alonso is closing in on his Alpine teammate.
Ricciardo, remember, has yet to stop, likewise Ocon, Bottas and Stroll.
Heading into Turn 1 at 343 kph (213 mph), Alonso sweeps past Ocon and sets about his next target, Vettel.
"We really need to look into that and see it doesn't happen again," says Leclerc. "I don't find the right words," he adds, "it's very, very disappointing."
The gap between the Bulls is a static 7s.
"My back is killing me," says Hamilton who is 3.6s down on Gasly.
Lapping at 49.7, Ricciardo, currently 6th, says: "I think this pace is representative, I think I can do it."
As he ups his pace, building a 9.3s lead, Hamilton is warned to look after his tyres. When the Dutchman argues he is told: "You know full well what it's like to lose a race around here..."
"It's starting to get critical that we get past Ocon," Magnussen is told.
At which point the Haas begins to slow... as smoke emerges from the airbox, is this the fourth Ferrari-related failure of the afternoon?
The VSC is deployed for the second time this afternoon.
Verstappen pits, as do Perez, Russell, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Ocon and Bottas.
Barely have the words "VSC deployed" emerged than Verstappen is telling his crew: "I'm in, I'm in!"
Under the VSC, it's: Verstappen, Perez, Russell, Gasly, Tsunoda, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo and Norris.
The VSC is withdrawn at the end of lap 34.
Hamilton leaves Tsunoda for dead to claim 5th, as the seven-time world champion now targets Gasly who is 10s up the road.
Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (46.523) but Perez responds with a 46.046, though he remains 12s behind.
Onboard shows that the DRS flap on Tsunoda's car is broken, with only one half working.
Due to that broken flap, Tsunoda is shown the black and orange flag.
Shall we go for the next one," asks Perez, referring to another fastest lap. "Just bring it home," he is told.
Tsunoda pits at the end of lap 38... and the mechanics get to work with that old rock 'n' roll standby... gaffer tape.
"What's this?" asks the Japanese... and no doubt the race stewards. "No DRS from now onwards," he is told, "no DRS." The youngster is now running in thirteenth... on softs.
Verstappen gets the same message as Tsunoda as he is told not to use DRS for the remainder of the race.
"Daniel needs to push some more," urges Norris as the Australian falls 2.9s behind Alonso. "Keep chipping away," Ricciardo is told.
Meanwhile, Hamilton is just 0.7s down on Gasly.
"We need to take care of those points," the Frenchman is urged.
On lap 44, after two unsuccessful moves, Hamilton finally gets past the AlphaTauri.
So it's a Red Bull 1-2 and Mercedes 3-4.
Gasly has a 7.7s advantage over Vettel, who is 6.7s clear of Alonso, who has Ricciardo just 1.2s behind.
"If you can close up on Daniel and Daniel can't close on Alonso we will allow you to pass," Alonso is told. However, if the Briton also proves unsuccessful he must relinquish the position back to his teammate.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Baku, here.
"We need to get stuck into him," Ricciardo is urged. Which, when you are talking Fernando Alonso, is easier said than done, just ask Lewis about Monaco.
"The tyres are coming back," Gasly is told, "we're not in a bad place here." He is 2.7s down on Hamilton but 7.5s clear of Vettel.
"We're seeing some very high oscillations which we don't understand," Stroll is told, "so we're going to box."
"Keep Alonso under pressure for the last 5 laps," Ricciardo is told.
"Are you happy with the front brakes," asks Verstappen. "We're happy," comes the reply. However, the world champion isn't convinced.
Despite his fears over his brakes, the Dutchman goes quickest in the first sector. However, he fails to maintain the pace over the rest of the lap.
"We think Alonso's too fast, so we're going to hold position" Norris is told. He isn't happy.
Verstappen takes the flag, and in the process extends his championship lead.
Perez finishes in second, thereby leapfrogging Leclerc in the standings, ahead of Russell, Hamilton, Gasly, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Norris and Ocon.
Bottas is eleventh, ahead of Albon, Tsunoda, Schumacher and Latifi.
As he climbs from his car at race end, Hamilton is clearly in pain. "We need to make some changes," he says. "They can't come soon enough," he is told.
Whether it's "well done Baku", we'll leave to you, likewise the adjectives, however, as we ponder whether it is "well done Red Bull", the fact is that Ferrari very clearly has an issue.
To paraphrase Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's classic, The Importance of Being Earnest, to lose one power unit may be regarded as misfortune, to lose four looks like carelessness.
Ferrari is suddenly 80 points adrift of Red Bull and only 38 clear of Mercedes as strategy appears to be the last of its problems.
While the Maranello outfit will need to leave here and give serious consideration to what is clearly no minor matter, one wonders if Red Bull has a different kind of issue to consider, as Perez refers to a "miscommunication" issue in terms of his pit stop.
Similarly, Norris didn't appear too happy with the communications from his team.
Rather than the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Hamilton looks as though he's just driven the Le Mans 24-hours... solo, as Mercedes benefits greatly from Ferrari's disaster.
Once again those wily champions Vettel and Alonso show how it should be done, while Gasly fully deserves a hard-won fifth place.
"We've got to be there to pick up the pieces," says Russell at race end. "The cars are going through a torrid time with the bouncing, so I'm pleased to bring it home in P3."
"Unfortunately, we missed the VSC stop," adds Perez, "there was some miscommunication, we were a bit unlucky there.
"At the restart, I got too much deg on the medium tyre," he adds, "it was extremely high for me and Max was stronger on that medium stint."
"Today we had incredible pace in the car, we could look after the tyres and chip away at it," says Verstappen. "A tiny bit lucky with the retirement(s) but the car was quick today.
"To have a 1-2 as a team as well, a really good day for us," he grins.
Next up, following a two year break, is Montreal, a real racers circuit, and one even more unforgiving on engines.
Indeed, with those numerous straights, the Mercedes pair are likely to be as concerned as their Maranello rivals, albeit for different reasons.
Then there was that order not to use DRS for Verstappen, which has us wondering, if, having failed to be able to rightly claim "Well done Baku", we are instead going to be able to lament "Oh Canada" in seven days time.
Time will tell.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Baku, here.