Race Week in Azerbaijan
About the Grand Prix: The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the fifth newest grand prix on the F1 behind (Qatar, Jeddah, Miami, and Vegas). Baku was added to the calendar in 2016—a crowd favorite for its mix of high speeds and beautiful architecture—interesting fact: all race winners of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix are still on the grid. With six past races in Baku, there have been five winners and only one repeat winner, Sergio Perez.
About the Circuit: Baku boasts a simple yet unique layout that always reminds me of the 'big dipper' from an aerial view. Its long straights and challenging 90-degree corners offer a perfect blend of tight and twisty street corners set against a backdrop of stunning architecture and spacious areas for exhilarating racing. The twenty-corner Street circuit, measuring 6.003 km (3.730 miles), is renowned for its lengthy, wide front straight and the historic section surrounded by the medieval walls of Baku's old city.
Weekend Highlights: The F1 season continues to unfold with numerous intriguing stories. Red Bull's unexpected slump and McLaren's sudden surge have thrown the constructors' championship wide open, with a mere 8-point gap between the top two. As we approach the season's final third, the pressure is palpable, and each weekend brings a new level of excitement.
MCLAREN climbs. What could be a missed opportunity for another race win at Monza? The overall outcome is a solid points haul for the team. There is a slight misstep in McLaren's strategy at the moment. Do you favor Lando heavily to see if he can catch Max for the driver's title, or do you allow the teammates to battle for wins and positions? This sliver of indecisiveness by the team was not punished harshly because the overall positions were very good for the team. A double podium at Monza was another example of drivers at the top of the grid. Oscar's incredible (but risky) pass into the chicane on the first lap of the Grand Prix set the tone for the race. You can see some tension between Lando and the team. This is a fantastic storyline this season, and McLaren is right in the mix to win a championship, maybe even both.
Red Bull is in panic mode. Another weekend not competing for podiums has significantly hurt the team in the championship battles. Decent finishes of 6th and 8th still took home points, but when you're fighting for titles, it has to be wins and podiums. Red Bull has traditionally been the dominant team in Baku, winning four of the six races held there. Sergio Perez is the only repeat winner in Baku; let's see if Red Bull can dust themselves off and return to winning in Azerbaijan.
Ferrari's triumph at Monza was a testament to the team's resilience. Not typically known for their strategies, Ferrari pulled off a massively unexpected win with Charles. It was a fairytale moment reminiscent of scenes from a movie. The crowds erupted in wild cheers, the Italian National Anthem in front of a sea of Tifosi. The celebration was everything you could imagine from a Monza podium. While the team needs consistency, Charles' wins in Monaco and Monza are legendary and a sign of hope for the team's future.
Mercedes. All the hype around Mercedes at Monza was around the team's announcement of Italian local Kimi Antonell's 2025 seat next to teammate George Russell. Antonelli took part in the FP1 session, which ended 10 minutes into the session when he stuffed George Russell's car into the barriers. It's symbolic of Merecede's entire weekend, a bit underwhelming. With three wins this season, they had their cars figured out and would fight for podiums each weekend. With a fifth and seventh-place finish, it lacked the delivery many were expecting. I don't expect Mercedes to be the top team in Baku, a top 5, with a podium being the best-projected outcome.
VCARB is losing a bit of steam. They are one of the most exciting teams in the first half of the season; it's been a different story since the break. Yuki was blazing fast, racking up a massive twenty-two points in the first half; Yuki recently has lacked race pace and is on a three-race pointless skid. Ricciardo has been more consistent than Yuki over the last six races, with an average finish of 11.5, while Yuki is 14.3. I still think we'll see a shake-up in the Red Bull driver market as this season unfolds.
Aston Martin ended the four-race points streak in Italy, and Alonso just finished outside the points in eleventh. This has been an underwhelming season for Aston Martin. It needs to be more competitive for the top 5 or podiums, and it is out of reach for the bottom half of the grid in the constructors championship; Aston Martin is hanging out comfortably in fifth place. A few things could happen; without a real chance of movement in the constructors, budgets could be shifted to 2025, or a few targeted circuits could remain and push all upgrades for those few races aiming at better finishes.
Haas is still Haasing. KMag leaves the Italian GP with a one-race ban after he took away a point with a tenth-place finish. Haas is so interesting this season, with so many dramatic moments, and KMag is going complete Viking and sacrificing everything to help his team get points. Hulkenberg's weekend looked promising, but he had contact early in the race and was forced to pit early. Haas looks back on track. Bearman will replace Kevin in Baku, so there is interest in watching Haas over the weekend. Haas has been pulling rabbits out of hats all season, and it doesn't look like it's stopping.
Alpine appeared to be one step behind all weekend. Unable to find the pace at Monza, the team was hovering around fifteenth place for both cars. Alpine has had a points streak running the last seven of eleven races. With Baku not being the strongest circuit for Alpine in 2023, I see another weekend of both cars finishing around fifteenth. A points takeaway would be a significant accomplishment leaving Azerbaijan.
Williams finally has a good weekend. Williams had a lot of attention at Monza, and with the announcement of the Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto, anticipation was high in Italy. Albon got Williams into Q3 and took home a ninth-place points finish, bringing his season points total to six. Colapinto drove a very clean and competitive racing finish in the thirteenth, while Ricciardo, in the twelfth, had a 10-second time penalty, bumping the debut driver to a finishing position of twelfth position. It was a great overall weekend for Williams after what's felt like multiple letdown weekends. We will see if Williams can build on this boost of momentum.
Stake-sauber can't find the race pace. I'm not sure what exactly is happening, but either driver seems unable to find an answer. Breaking fifteenth is about as good as it gets this season, but Valtteri is one of the five drivers to win at Baku, so Bottas could use his veteran experience and finally break the pointless streak this season.
