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Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan GP as he beat teammate Sergio Perez to the line, while rival Ferraris suffered a double DNF. The race in Baku, although not as eventful as what we've come to expect, still had some interesting moments as it featured multiple virtual safety car periods throughout the race.
It started with Carlos Sainz retiring due to a hydraulic issue that led to a virtual safety car period. Ferrari's weekend only spiralled from there. Charles Leclerc, too, had to retire shortly after Sainz's DNF and, thereafter, two other Ferrari-powered cars DNFd as well.
Ultimately, it was Red Bull that capitalized this weekend, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez crossing the checkered flag in P1 and P2, respectively. Mercedes was not far behind either; George Russell and Lewis Hamilton followed the Red Bulls, taking third and fourth place, respectively. AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly completed the top five.
Sebastian Vettel finished in P6 despite his error earlier in the race. Fernando Alonso brought the Alpine home in P7, ahead of the two McLarens of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in P8 and P9, respectively. Esteban Ocon's Alpine rounded out the top 10 for the Azerbaijan GP.
In case you missed the Azerbaijan GP, here's what happened!
Azerbaijan GP: Here's what happened!
#1 Max Verstappen beat Sergio Perez while Charles Leclerc suffered a major blow in the championship
It wasn't smooth sailing for the reigning world champion at the start of the race. His teammate Sergio Perez got the jump on Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the start and was able to open up a two-second lead, while Max Verstappen was stuck in third. However, as the race progressed, Carlos Sainz's retirement resulted in a pit stop for Charles Leclerc, which allowed Max Verstappen to unleash his full pace.
The Dutchman was significantly faster than his teammate, hence, when he approached Perez, the Mexican was told not to fight. Once Verstappen got the jump on his teammate, there was no looking back; he finished the race almost 20 seconds ahead of Perez.
The icing on top of the cake was that Verstappen's championship adversary Charles Leclerc suffered another DNF, meaning he lost a further 25 points to the Red Bull driver. It's safe to say that Max Verstappen will be smiling as he leaves Baku.
#2 Mercedes maximized the result with a P3 and P4 finish
Mercedes' car might not be too kind to its drivers, but it's certainly the third fastest car on the grid. With both Ferrari drivers out of contention, it was once again the two Mercedes drivers finishing the race in third and fourth place.
George Russell once again managed to finish on the podium while his teammate Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth. The biggest news, however, coming from the Mercedes camp is not the podium finish, but the poor physical condition Lewis Hamilton found himself in parc fermé. While bouncing is surely an issue, Mercedes might need to look at increasing the car's ride height so as not to hurt its drivers further.
#3 Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel scored strong points once again at Baku
Pierre Gasly scored the best result of the season for AlphaTauri with his P5 finish. The Frenchman was able to ward off Lewis Hamilton in the early stages of the race, however, once Hamilton pitted for fresher tires, it was almost impossible for Gasly to defend for too long. AlphaTauri is the fourth fastest car on the grid, and with the two Ferraris out of the picture, a P5 is a fantastic result for a driver looking for a promotion up the grid.
Sebastian Vettel too had a strong race as he scored Aston Martin's best result of the season. For the German, however, the race was not as smooth as his early race excursion off the track might have cost him a place or two in the end. Nonetheless, considering where Lance Stroll was in the race, it was an impressive outing for the four-time world champion.
#4 Ferrari's customer teams had a traumatic Azerbaijan GP
This was not a race to remember for any team that had a Ferrari engine at the back of its car. Not only did the two Ferrari cars DNF in the Azerbaijan GP, but two of its customer teams had to retire a car each. Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou was having a strong race before he was forced to retire. Similarly, Kevin Magnussen, too, was able to make strong improvements in the race before his retirement.
The 2022 F1 season started with Ferrari's customer teams reaping the rewards of its impressive new engine, however, as the DNFs pile up, things appear bleak for the Ferrari-powered cars.
#5 Ricciardo rediscovers his form and beats Lando Norris
Much has been written about Daniel Ricciardo's future in F1 after the Monaco GP. However, if there was one thing that the Azerbaijan GP taught us, it was that the Australian has lost neither his motivation nor his speed. He's just not comfortable in that McLaren.
At the Azerbaijan GP, Ricciardo was comfortable with the car. The result? Well, he was on par with Norris in qualifying and in the race. It's an important message from Ricciardo to the F1 paddock: he's not done with the sport yet.
