F1 – Coming in to the latest race weekend, it felt like any of the top eight had a chance of victory, something that we have been accustomed to in recent races. For some at the front, however, this race has not been a particularly happy hunting ground. Prior to this weekend, McLaren had never finished in the top five in Azerbaijan, whilst Charles Leclerc had been on pole three times and failed to convert any of those into a victory.
Conversely, Perez had a good track record, as he often does on street circuits, being the only driver to have won this race twice.
Although it’s a street circuit, Baku is the 4th longest track on the calendar and is characterised by long straights. Not only is it hard to overtake, but it’s also seen as a difficult track to follow cars in front. That made qualifying that much more important. There was early disaster for Lando Norris, as a yellow flag ruined his run in the first qualifying session, leaving him stranded in 16th place. He would need something very special for that not to dent his championship hopes.
Verstappen could only partially capitalise as his car was struggling on the street circuit and could only qualify sixth. At the front, Leclerc secured pole by 0.3 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, followed by Sainz, Perez and Russell. As expected, the top five were tight, with less than half a second between them. In addition to Norris, Lewis Hamilton was another driver starting further back than expected, as he took a penalty for an engine change and started from the pit lane.
As far as race strategy was concerned, history shows that a one stop was the preferred option for the race. Most cars would start on the medium tyre to start, with a shorter first stint and a move to the hard tyre at around one third distance. There were a couple of notable exceptions, including Norris who started on the hard, aiming for a longer first run.
As the race got underway, Leclerc got off to the perfect start, with Piastri holding place in second, whilst Perez managed to take Sainz into third. The first round of pit stops started around lap 10, with Verstappen amongst a group stopping around lap 13. The Ferraris managed to stretch to laps 17 and 18, whilst Norris and Albon in the Williams were trying to go as long as possible on the harder tyres.
That first round worked in favour of Piastri, who closed right up to Leclerc, with the gap having been four seconds prior to the stops. Piastri then pounced on lap 20 and took the lead. The top three remained incredibly tight in the middle section of the race. Piastri could not shake off Leclerc and Perez remained also in the hunt. Almost every lap there was a challenge to Piastri from Leclerc, whilst the Ferrari driver was also having to keep an eye on his rear-view mirror with Perez very close by.
Meanwhile, Verstasppen was struggling with grip and was overtaken by Russell with ease on lap 34. It felt a world away from his early season dominance. Norris finally stopped on lap 38, and came back out eighth. From his start in 15th, it was impressive work as his damage limitation exercise continued. His next target was Verstappen and he had 12 seconds to make up in 10 laps. He managed a simple overtake with three laps to go.
Back up front, Piastri finally managed to create a gap upfront, putting Leclerc out of DRS which left the Ferrari suddenly vulnerable to Perez. The Mexican went for the move on the penultimate lap, which brought Sainz into play. But disaster struck as Sainz and Perez came together and both ended up in the wall. This brought the virtual safety car out with just one lap to go and that effectively ended the race.
It was therefore an incredible win for Piastri, with Leclerc second, with Russell securing an unlikely third due to the accident of Sainz and Perez. Lando Norris was a remarkable fourth having started 15th, crucially finishing ahead of Verstappen, with Alonso in sixth. The Williams of Albon and Colapinto were seventh and eighth, gaining crucial points for the team, with Hamilton and Oliver Bearman completing the top ten.
With Piastri’s win, Norris’ recovery drive, the Perez accident and Verstappen’s struggles, the impact on the constructors’ championship was very significant. It now puts McLaren in the lead of the championship by 20 points and also enabled Norris to claw back three points in the drivers’ standings.
The team in Papaya will hope that momentum continues, with F1 straight back into action this weekend for another street race, this time in Singapore.
- Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
&uuid=(email))