AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT - Perez had the better run than Verstappen in Baku. In terms of wins, the score is now 2:2. But how did he show off? And what happened just before the end when Ocon headed towards a crowd?
While the Azerbaijan GP wasn't full of overtaking maneuvers and wild action, there were still some compelling stories. For example Sergio Perez's win over Max Verstappen, Ferrari's first podium, a poker game by Nico Hulkenberg and a crazy end-of-race scene starring Esteban Ocon.
Why was Sergio Perez better than Max Verstappen?
Only six championship points separate the Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after the weekend in Baku. In terms of wins, there is a tie between the Dutchman and the Mexican.
After four races, both now have two successes under their belt. Perez still has the advantage with a sprint win. But how is it that Red Bull's number two in Baku was so powerful against the otherwise dominant Verstappen?
For one, the 33-year-old is a Baku specialist. No driver has more podium finishes at the Caspian Sea race than he has. He was also the first pilot to win twice in Azerbaijan. He already gave the first foretaste in the sprint on Saturday afternoon.
In the race itself, Verstappen initially had everything under control after he was able to leave Charles Leclerc behind on lap 3 and took the lead. But then, of all people, compatriot Nyck de Vries from the B-Team Alpha Tauri intervened to tip the scales.
This played into the hands of Perez, who of course took advantage of the stop during the neutralization in round 11. Verstappen fell back to 3rd place, but got Leclerc again after the restart. "We have to take a closer look at that," Verstappen said.
But then he bit his teeth out on Perez anyway. He never got into the DRS area to be able to attack. Which was also due to the fact that the 25-year-old struggled with his car. Verstappen: "I tried not to completely ruin the tires at the end. It's also all about the balance...."
".....between corner entry and the middle of the corner. But I had understeer and oversteer. In the last ten laps I got better with that Car clear after changing some settings on the steering wheel."
It was a key moment for Perez that he was able to pass Leclerc on lap 6 in the first stint and so didn't lose too much to Verstappen. "Then once I was able to pass him I got into Max's DRS lap after lap and that really decided my race," Perez said.
"Because that's how I got him to put his tires on. Once I was in his DRS it was on time to pass him, but obviously he had to pit. And then the safety car came, so I was a bit lucky," Perez added
"Then when we were on the hard mix it was really hard to keep Max behind me because I knew once he gets DRS that's it. So it was a big challenge to keep him out of the DRS area . And we pushed each other massively. We really gave it our all, lap after lap."
Why did Ferrari win the three-way battle against Aston Martin and Mercedes?
Charles Leclerc laid the foundation for success with the two pole positions in qualifying and the sprint shootout. It was already clear that Ferrari was at least one lap full of music.
Red Bull had to admit defeat over the long distance, but Mercedes and Aston Martin were under control. So Leclerc in Baku ended the series of Fernando Alonso, who finished third three times and celebrated the first podium for Ferrari this season.
One key was that Ferrari now has a better grip on tire management. Leclerc used Alonso's philosophy of starting the stint slower and more gently for the tires and dividing up the race better. However, his teammate Carlos Sainz was unable to imitate him.
The Spaniard struggled with set-up issues throughout the weekend and found no confidence in the car. Apart from that, the competition also stumbled because of its own issues. Aston Martin struggled all weekend with a DRS defect that was only solved for the two races.
At Mercedes, they stumbled over the fact that the new asphalt on the Baku City Circuit allowed for a lower ride height with fewer bumps. Others benefited from this more than the Silver Arrows. So far, you have designed your concept for more ground clearance at the rear.
Was Nico Hulkenberg's pit lane start worth playing poker?
Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg were a bit in twin mode in Baku. At Ocon, they decided to change the setup before the sprint shootout on Saturday and thus violated the parc fermé rules, at Hülkenberg they...
[....] changed the front suspension set up after the sprint race and had to start from the pit lane. "It doesn't make a difference whether it's 16th place or the box. But if you know in advance that the rear tires will collapse again, the sacrifice makes sense," Steiner said.
The two started the race with the hard tires from the pit lane. For a long time they ranked ninth and tenth in parallel flight. The main reason why they were flushed so far forward was because they didn't change tires like the others during the safety....
[....] car phase on lap 11, but were able to drive through with the hard tires until just before the end. Logically, the disillusionment followed when Hülkenberg came to the service on lap 49 and Ocon a lap later. In the end, Ocon finished 15th and Hulkenberg 17th.
So, on paper, there is no benefit to this tactic. But it could have gone differently. If the safety car had come out again at a later point in time around lap 30, the poker might have made sense. A red flag would have been a gift too. After all, Nico had made the decision himself
"It was a qualifying race for me to be honest," he said. "It was okay for about 40 laps and then unfortunately the tires started to degrade pretty quickly towards the end. The safety car didn't come out and that was exactly what we needed with our strategy."
Only on the Tuesday before the Azerbaijan GP did the Formula 1 Commission announce what the fourth Grand Prix weekend of the season would look like. Saturday should be all about the new sprint format.
The sprint shootout became the mini-qualifying session for the 17-lap sprint race on Saturday afternoon. That now stood on its own and was no longer a factor for the starting line-up on Sunday.
The innovation was hotly debated in the paddock. Verstappen admitted he's not a big fan of it. In fact, the pecking order in Sunday's race didn't change much as a result, although the new procedure with only one free practice session left less preparation time for the long runs.
Rather, the sprint shootout was a reflection of Friday's qualifying and the sprint race a preview of Sunday's race. Charles Leclerc dominated the qualifying sessions, and Sergio Perez dominated the races.
The balance of power is still the same. Red Bull sets the tone, behind Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes fight with each other. This means that the fastest car remains the fastest car even with less preparation time.
How did the near-drama of Esteban Ocon almost driving into a crowd come about?
When Esteban Ocon turned into the pit lane for his first and final stop on lap 50, Formula 1 narrowly escaped drama. The Frenchman suddenly saw a crowd and fences in front of him.
The reason: It is usual for the parc fermé to be set up and some media representatives, VIP guests and other staff already have access to the pit lane at the end of the race. However, the mistake here was that one driver had to stop at the end.
The Race Stewards investigated the incident and has urged FIA officials to take immediate action to review these procedures and protocols with the FOM, the teams and the FIA to ensure such a situation is not repeated.
The curious thing is that there was a similar discussion in Baku last year. At that time, too, VIP guests had entered the parc fermé area in the pit lane too early.
James Vowles: "The aerodynamic balance that we had planned before the race had suddenly changed. That has an enormous effect and you have significantly more understeer in fast corners."
Vowles: "Of course, this also has an impact on tire degradation, which is higher. Because now you have significantly more understeer than planned with the original balance, and the front axle doesn't like that."
Financially, too, this damage, which is basically the responsibility of Albon, who, in my opinion, got into this situation a bit carelessly, hit it hard. "The damage is painful, and that's on budget too."
Formu1a.uno - McLaren have finally introduced the first upgrade package of the MCL60 which now takes the car to what should have been its home base in Bahrain.
The goal was to start improving the car's efficiency by producing more downforce and reducing drag in the rear area of the car. A small step forward, not sufficient to achieve the objectives set, also due to competitors who have not expressed their potential to the fullest.
Th new floor, largely revised, and at the rear with a lower downforce wing, as well as a beam wing with a different geometry. What we saw on the track satisfied the McLaren engineers, however, "we will see in the next races to what extent the improvement seen is only...."
Yuki Tsunoda: It was a bit of an untidy time in Baku, but I’ve come to Miami with a very positive mindset as there were many signs that we are making real progress with the car and the updates that came out of Bicester, especially those aimed at improving....
Tsunoda: [....] our top speed, really seemed to work. The highpoint in Azerbaijan was qualifying eighth, so scoring a point for tenth was good, but I’d hoped for better.
Tsunoda: Also, I was pleased with my own performance in terms of how I was driving and how I handled the various situations of the very busy Sprint weekend format.
Nyck de Vries: The best thing you can do after a weekend like the one I had in Baku is to get straight back in the car and, fortunately, that’s exactly what I can do with this second part of the back-to-back. It’s fair to say I had a bit of bad luck, and also what happened....
de Vries: [....] in the race last Sunday was purely my fault. It was a difficult weekend, not just for me, but mainly for the mechanics, as I gave them a lot more work to do. I’m sorry for that and I really appreciate how hard they worked to get my car back on track.
de Vries: The good news is that the team clearly did a very good job of improving the car between Melbourne and Baku and Miami will be a chance to make the most of that, while also learning more about the car and developing it further.
Andrea Stella (McLaren): We left Baku with two points gained on genuine performance merit and pleased with the delivery of the upgrades we fitted. A lot of hard work has been done by the team back at the factory and at the track to make sure this important first step of our..."
Stella: [....] plan to upgrade the MCL60 was achieved in time. We head to Miami now to finish the first double-header of the season. We will continue to put maximum efforts to secure a positive result at the Miami International Autodrome this weekend.
Stella: Miami is another interesting circuit, with hot conditions and risk of rain. It will be the first time for Oscar racing the circuit, but he has prepared extremely well by working hard in the simulator.
AUTO MOTOR UND SPORT - From Imola, the race to catch up begins for Mercedes. Then the W14 should be converted step by step into a winning car. By building on your mistakes. First, the front axle and the floor are in sight.
Hamilton and Russell still have to survive the Miami GP. After that, the company begins to catch up. At the moment Mercedes is 5 to 8 tenths behind Red Bull, still in the chasing field with Aston Martin and Ferrari. Depending on the track, the Mercs were second, third or fourth.
In Baku, Mercedes had to line up behind Ferrari and Aston Martin. Team boss Toto Wolff stated: "The differences between and three were minimal. We didn't hit the setup optimally in the one hour of practice. But maybe that also applied to our competitors."