Kevin Magnussen says Haas have “made improvements and taken small steps forward”, while Romain Grosjean focused on “geting back to decent level”
Kevin Magnussen says Haas have “made improvements and taken small steps forward”, while Romain Grosjean focused on “geting back to decent level”
Following a season best P7 finish for the team by Kevin Magnussen in Azerbaijan, Haas F1 Team moved to 7th in the constructors standings with 21 points, a three-point margin ahead Renault and 12 points behind sixth-place Toro Rosso. That gives Haas points-finishes in the last four consecuitive Grand Prix’s having not scored in only two race’s so far this season.
Next is the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, this beginning a five-race European tour leg of the Formula 1 Championship. The 4.326-kilometer (2.688-mile) Austrian circuit uses a smaller layout of the Österreichring, which held Formula One races from 1970 until 1987. In last year’s Austrian Grand Prix, Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean finished a strong seventh to pick up six points
It’s a very short circuit wtih just ten turns – the fewest in Formula One and is relatively easy on brakes. For Haas F1, brakes have been the one issue that has come up in the team, but in 2017 it seems Kevin Magnussen has had more fortune with Brembo brakes than Romain Grosjean. Following previous GP weekend in Azerbaijan, those frustrations of the French driver seemed to reach a boiling point, with the team too offering comment on the situation. Grosjean spent most of the Azerbaijan weekend struggling again with the Brembo brakes on his VF-17.
“The brake feeing has been terrible all weekend long but Kevin’s got he same comment and he can drive around [it], that’s why I’m saying I don’t want to blame anything. Braking is my strength, since Formula Renault. But when things are not working as I want, it’s my biggest weakness” Grosjean said.
Guenther Steiner however suggested later in the week it was driving styles which was the difference.
“It’s not that Kevin didn’t have the problems with the brakes,” Steiner said.
“With his driving style for him it’s easier to drive around it, or make it less evident. He was not happy ith the brakes in FP2. For the race he had to lift and coast as well, because we had some issues. With Romains driving style, the brakes need to be perfect, or as close to perfect as can be. At the moment, we are not there.”
“I think it’s driving styles. Maybe Romain brakes later and harder and then turns and maybe Kevin brakes into it and turns already. Maybe it’s easier to feel the brake, but I am not a race car driver so for me I can just see it from data and from my eperience to see what people do, but that is my gut feeling, that that’s what they do. Kevin can drive around it a little bit more.” Steiner said.
These issues are definitely to watch for in Austria, and whether Grosjean can keep calm otherwise the brakes become a more mental issue than anything.
Though most of the lap is easy on brakes the Red Bull Ring’s main overtaking spot will be at turn 2, a heavy braking first or second gear corner after a steep hill climb from turn one where Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton famously crashed on the last lap in 2016. Turn 5 kink will be flat out this year followed by two very fast corners of 6 and 7, the quicker of the two. Turn 10 is also critical because it is blind for the drivers, it will be important for both Haas drivers to get this become comfortable with their braking markers here. If Haas can score double points it should give them a more comfortable cushion to Renault behind and keep the pace with their target Toro Rosso.
Pirelli will bring its three softest tire compounds for this Grand Prix weekend – P Zero Yellow soft, P Zero Red supersoft and P Zero Purple ultrasoft – to the Austrian Grand Prix making it the fifth time this season this package has been offered.
The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix had plenty of sub-plots, sidestories and points of interest aside from Mark Webber’s final victory in the Principality. Webber became the sixth different winner from six races in an open start to the World Championship, Romain Grosjean had more opening lap contact – and one other important story. That was the performance of Michael Schumacher during Saturday’s qualifying session.
The seven-times World Champion had failed to find the scintillating form seen during those Ferrari days at the beginning of the millennium ever since joining Mercedes for 2010 after three years away. Since that second coming his best result had been a fourth place scored at the famous Canadian Grand Prix of 2011 and 2012 had been beset by bad luck, collisions and sometimes lack of pace. Indeed, Schumacher went into the race weekend with a five-place grid penalty following an accident with Bruno Senna in the previous Spanish Grand Prix.
Monaco. Monaco Grand Prix 2012 BY COURTESY OF PIRELLI
Mercedes had had solid pace all weekend but were not considered to be amongst the favourites – aside from the Chinese Grand Prix in which they were running first and second before Schumacher’s retirement, the car had been inconsistent. However, in the second qualifying session both Mercedes made it comfortably through to the pole position shootout with Rosberg just ahead of fifth-placed Schumacher.
Mark Webber’s time of a 1:14:381 looked like enough as Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean both struggled to eclipse it. But Schumacher, one of the last men over the line, slapped in a 1:14.301 to take his 69th and final pole position of a glittering career. Post-qualifying, in the knowledge that he would start sixth, the then 43-year-old was delighted with the result.
“It is simply a wonderful feeling to set pole after such a long time, and particularly here in Monaco. Okay, it has taken a little bit longer than I might have wanted in the second chapter of my career, but that makes it even sweeter. It’s just beautiful.”
After contact with the pinballing Grosjean at the start, Schumacher remained solidly in the top eight through the Grand Prix until his retirement from a fuel pressure issue with fifteen laps remaining. He would stand on the podium once more before retirement at the end of the season with a third place at a chaotic European Grand Prix in Valencia.
Großer Preis von Monaco 2017, Sonntag – Wolfgang Wilhelm/Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Toto Wolff has spoken of the challenge his Mercedes team faces if it is to come out on top in its championship fight with Ferrari.
His comments follow what he described as a “bruising” race in Monaco, which saw Lewis Hamilton struggle in practice before qualifying only thirteenth, and Valtteri Bottas beaten to the podium by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
“It’s painful, but we are not the favourites for this year’s championship,” Wolff said. “At the moment it’s Ferrari. They have a very strong package and we need to rise to the challenge to prove once again that we are the team to beat.
“Everybody at the factories is working absolutely flat out to assess the current difficulties we are facing. We’ve had bruising weekends [like Monaco] before and it’s about showing resilience and getting up after falling.
“We have to fight for all we are worth for every single win, pole position, podium finish and every point. You can no longer expect when you look at a timesheet that the two Mercedes will be right at the top.”
Großer Preis von Monaco 2017, Donnerstag – Steve Etherington
Steve Etherington/Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
Wolff also likened the Monaco result to that of the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix, in which the Silver Arrows again failed to reach the podium after losing pole and the win to Sebastian Vettel, and added that in both cases the team’s response has been “to define our objectives, work with the data we have and then come up with the right solutions.
“We gave ourselves a deadline [after Singapore] to address that setback before switching our focus to the next race in Suzuka, which we won. We’ve done exactly the same thing after Monaco—addressing the problems before turning our attention to Montréal.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, the Mercedes boss said the team is confident that Montréal will offer “the chance to bounce back with a strong result”, as the circuit has been a successful one for Mercedes’ two drivers throughout their careers.
Lewis Hamilton is the only repeat winner of the race on the 2017 grid, and with five wins in Montréal to his name is the most successful driver at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve besides Michael Schumacher. Valtteri Bottas, meanwhile, has finished on the podium there in the last years, and also qualified an impressive third for the 2013 race in his debut year with Williams-Renault.
At the start of the 2017 season, hopes were high that this would be the year F1 found its feet once again. After years of processional racing, unattractive cars and an all-too-corporate image under Bernie Ecclestone and CVC, we were promised a whole new era for the sport, one that would take it back to the spectacle for which it was once renowned.
But when the championship got underway in Melbourne, the product appeared very much different from the initial pitch. The new regulations were slammed for stringing-out rather than levelling the field, and the apparent “sex appeal” of the aggressive new car designs was hard to find beneath an array of shark fins, thumb noses and T-wing appendages. Before long, the optimism surrounding Liberty Media’s acquisition of F1 also faded as its plans for T-shirt cannons at Grands Prix and a 25-race calendar prompted fears of a slide towards an “Americanised” sport.
Such criticisms were then amplified once it became clear the 2017 title fight would not become a legendary battle royale, with the likes of Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen held back once again by the inequality between F1’s engine suppliers—nor was the sport’s image helped by the censure directed at the on-track struggles of Jolyon Palmer and Lance Stroll. In short, Formula One has been left more bruised than bettered so far in 2017, and has been in desperate need of a pick-me-up for months.
Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Thursday 22 June 2017. A view of the circuit. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _56I6235
Strange, then, that it should find that at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Although last year’s inaugural visit to the Baku City Circuit was a success logistically, from a fan’s perspective there was little to commit to memory—the race result was a walk in the park for Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, and all the usual drama of street circuit racing was absent amidst a glut of run-off areas and spacious 90-degree corners. It seems safe to say that, given the response to 2016’s event, anticipation for F1’s return to the City of Winds this year was pretty muted.
Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
But for all the pessimism, the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix turned out to be—in no uncertain terms—a surefire classic. Teammates collided, the title contenders clashed and controversy brewed all over the grid; and all that before the race was won by a driver who crashed out in qualifying, and a teenager in only his eighth Grand Prix start took a maiden podium finish. Looking through the classification tells only half the story of a race that would belong in the same camp as Senna’s Monaco ’84 podium, or Button’s infamous last-to-first win in Canada—and one that might prove exactly the shot in the arm that F1 needs right now.
For starters, the end result was packed full of good news stories. As neutral as we journalists are, it’s hard not to enjoy the sight of Daniel Ricciardo beaming down from the top step of a podium—especially when his victory makes Baku the first time three different constructors have won in a single season since 2013. Furthermore, Valtteri Bottas proved by finishing second that overtaking is clearly not impossible for the 2017 cars, having come back from last place after a collision with Kimi Räikkönen on the first lap.
Just as enjoyable was the return of Williams to the rostrum courtesy of Lance Stroll. The Canadian’s ability to bounce back from being blasted as F1’s worst-ever rookie to becoming its second-youngest podium finisher was astonishing to see, and will surely give the sport’s media something positive to discuss all the way to Austria. It may still be too early to tell if Stroll’s maiden podium will be the first of many or a one-off delivered by fortune, but the maturity he has shown in progressing from first finish to first points to first podium definitely suggests a promising second half of the season now that the wind is in his sails.
And as if that weren’t enough, there was also plenty of celebration at the lower end of the top ten as Fernando Alonso came home ninth to take McLaren’s first points of 2017. Admittedly, a haul of just two championship points is hardly the kind of result McLaren and Alonso fans want to be seeing, but for the two former champions to finally get on the board in such a woeful season can only be a good thing for them and F1 both.
Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Sunday 25 June 2017. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, arrives on the grid. Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _R3I3731
But as uplifting as those relative victories were, where F1 really won out in Baku was through the numerous controversies that unfolded on and off track.
When Sebastian Vettel banged wheels with Lewis Hamilton at the second safety car restart, it was almost possible to hear the collective intake of breath from spectators around the world. Although the contact was far from race-ending, the exit of Baku’s Turn 15 had all the hallmarks of a moment that turns a title fight from a fierce-but-friendly rivalry into a veritable powder keg: think Hamilton and Rosberg at Spa in 2014, or Vettel and Mark Webber at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. Without shared team management to cool things down between Hamilton and Vettel, the friction will surely only continue to escalate over the coming races, providing F1 with the kind of fiery headlines seen during the days of Senna and Prost—and that would hardly be a bad thing, as I’m sure any racing fan will agree.
And as the title battle rages, there is also a much greater chance for that tension to spill over into the intra-team relationships at Mercedes and Ferrari. As Hamilton chased down Vettel in Baku, he was heard on team radio apparently calling for teammate Valtteri Bottas to call off his own hunt for second place and hold up the Ferrari behind him. It’s hardly the first time Hamilton has intimated he would prefer a more favourable hierarchy within the team this season, and will no doubt be the last; especially as Räikkönen’s slumped position to fifth in the standings with less than half Vettel’s points will surely mean team orders coming into play at Ferrari sooner or later.
Großer Preis von Aserbaidschan 2017, Samstag – Steve Etherington /Mercedes AMG-Petronas
What’s more, although the box office clash at the front has become the dominant talking point from Baku, Hamilton and Vettel were far from the only ones cooking up a storm in the City of Winds on Sunday.
Force India endured what must have been one of its most painful races in a long while on Sunday, as Esteban Ocon tripped over the front wing of Sergio Pérez and turned what might have been a double podium into a sixth place and a retirement respectively. It was an incident that has frankly looked inevitable since their falling out at the last race in Montréal, but for things to come to such a head so soon was surprising, and it will be fascinating to see how the team manages this situation over the next twelve races.
Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson were also in the wars late in the race, rubbing wheels and shedding carbon fibre as they fought for position behind the top ten. Despite not producing the kind of fireworks as Ocon and Pérez, this will surely not help to ease the discord that has apparently arisen in the Sauber garage following media reports of the team favouring Ericsson over Wehrlein—especially as the German reputedly disobeyed a pitwall order to let his teammate through for tenth in the closing stages of the race.
What makes these two intra-team brawls particularly interesting (besides the resulting carnage and curse words) is that they’ve come at that point in the season when drivers’ eyes begin turning towards the negotiating table for 2018. A deteriorating relationship with one’s teammate now will make those summer break offers all the more enticing; factor in also the pointedly visible contact between Alonso’s entourage and the heads at Mercedes and Renault, and Max Verstappen’s continued displeasure with Red Bull’s reliability issues, and we could well have Baku to thank for one of the most engrossing driver markets in recent years.
Pascal Wehrlein (D), Sauber F1 Team. Baku Street Circuit.
Of course, only time will tell if the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix has earned a place in F1’s Hall of Fame. But what can’t be denied is that, at a track lambasted as soulless and bland, we were gifted with a race as compelling as it was unpredictable, one that has set a fire beneath an already-simmering championship contest and generated enough subplots to keep the press supplied with headlines all season long.
And if that’s not just what Formula One needs right now, I don’t know what is.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on that now infamous incident between Hamilton and Vettel in Baku. And with the news that the case will be heard by the FIA, with a verdict expected before the Austrian Grand Prix, the debate seems like it’s going to rage on for a while longer.
There is the chance that the FIA will decide that no further action is warranted, or they could deliver any number of punishments to the Ferrari driver from a fine to a race ban. It wouldn’t be the first time the FIA has taken retroactive action following a racing incident, most famously in the case of disqualifying Michael Schumacher from the driver’s championship in 1997 for his ‘avoidable’ collision with Jacques Villeneuve in the final race of the season. But the question of whether or not Sebastian Vettel deserves further punishment still remains
What should be taken into consideration is that this is not Vettel’s only case of road rage in the last twelve months. Everyone remembers his rather colourful language towards Charlie Whiting in Mexico last year, and the subsequent fallout from that. In that instance, the German escaped without punishment after his apologies to both Whiting and the FIA. That case was not brought before the FIA international tribunal. But Vettel was warned that in the event of a future ‘similar incident’ disciplinary action would be taken.
Flash forward seven months or so, and Vettel loses his cool again, turning in on Hamilton after what he believed was a piece of brake testing by the Briton. He was not by any means the first driver to act in that way, and he almost definitely will not be the last. Although his mistake was of a different nature this time, it was avoidable and it was another case of his emotions clouding his better judgement. And as was the argument last November, it sets a very poor example for junior drivers hoping to make it to Formula 1 some day.
Without Mexico, and the promise by the FIA to follow up on any future incidents, further punishment would not be as necessary. But the fact that this is not the first time that Vettel has been involved in such an incident in recent months makes it hard to see how the FIA can justify not taking further action.
For example, race bans for incidents similar to Vettel’s are not uncommon in the junior formulas. In MSA Formula, British driver Dan Ticktum was banned for competing in motorsport for two whole years after deliberating colliding with a rival under safety car conditions. Though his case was far more extreme, and no one is calling for Vettel to be banned from motorsport for such a length of time, the two situations are definitely comparable. The basic premise is the same, and why should there be a different rule for older drivers who are supposed to know better?
Even more similar to the Hamilton/Vettel incident was the race ban received in 2016 by GP2 driver Nobuharu Matsushita for driving erratically after a safety car restart in Baku. After misjudging the safety car line, the Japanese driver accelerated, then braked, then attempted to accelerate again, causing mass confusion and several collisions. His actions were deemed dangerous and he was forced to miss a round of the championship. Though the speed difference is substantial between the two incidents, Matsushita’s offence lacks the aggression and intent of Vettel’s, which are arguably far graver factors.
2016 GP2 Series Round 3 Baku, Azerbaijan. Saturday 18 June 2016. Nobuharu Matsushita (JPN, ART Grand Prix) leads Mitch Evans (NZL, Pertamina Campos Racing) Photo: Andy Hone/GP2 Series Media Service. ref: Digital Image _ONY0719
Though penalties in lower categories of motorsport are ordinarily much harsher, since the drivers are learning the limits of rules and regulations, Formula 1 drivers are expected to know better and set an example. Whether Sebastian Vettel likes it or not, he is an ambassador for global motorsport, and purposely colliding with another driver, no matter the intent behind it, is an inexcusable action that does no favours for Vettel, or the sport of Formula 1.
After letting him off lightly following the events of Mexico last year, the FIA runs the risk of making themselves look weak, and their orders unenforceable if they do not follow up on this ongoing case. A ten second stop-go penalty hardly seems sufficient, especially considering it was the same penalty given to Kvyat in Canada for failing to reclaim his position before the safety car line, which is a far less dangerous offence.
Whether it be a grid penalty or a race ban, further action would send a clear message that behaviour like Vettel’s in unacceptable, and reaffirm the FIA’s commitment to road safety—a long standing mission of the organisation.
Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Sunday 25 June 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONY8206 via Pirelli media
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton’s incident is unquestionably the hot topic of what was a crazy Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
For Ferrari it represents points lost in the Constructors’ Championship as Kimi Raikkonen retired after an eventful evening while Valtteri Bottas produced a comeback worthy of Felipe Massa to finish second behind eventual winner Daniel Ricciardo, after stealing extra points from Lance Stroll on the line.
Ultimately after a race containing more than a few melees Vettel gained on his title rival Hamilton by finishing fourth, a place ahead of the Brit, who had to pit from the lead to address a broken headrest.
So, I might as well get straight to it.
On lap 21 Lewis Hamilton appeared to slow slightly (Not brake) at turn 16 to prepare for the restart of the race after a Safety Car period for debris.
For whatever reason Vettel was wrong-footed and ran into Hamilton, angering the German.
While madly gesticulating in a return to last year’s red mist mayhem at Mexico, Vettel hit Hamilton with his hands off the steering wheel.
I would find it very difficult to believe that Vettel would risk his car in such a way as to deliberately wheel-bang into his rival.
At 50mph it is very easy to break the suspension of both your car and your target if you were to deliberately ram into another car.
What is more logical is that he simply wasn’t looking at his steering angle in his rush to perform hand-gymnastics in the direction of Hamilton.
And then there is the furore over the 10-second stop/go penalty that the stewards dished out on one of their busier days.
That cost Vettel half a minute, and was a fittingly severe penalty for a moment of stupidity from a vastly experienced World Champion.
It doubtlessly cost him the race victory.
The reason I say that is because no amount of F1 dodgems would have caused Hamilton’s headrest to become loose.
Without Hamilton’s strife Vettel would have lost at least 15 points and thus surrendered the lead of the World Drivers’ Championship, and with only himself to blame.
Had Hamilton not hit structural gremlins then precisely nobody would be calling Vettel’s penalty lenient, least of all the frustrated three-time champion – who branded Vettel a “disgrace.”
So yes, Vettel ended the race with upper hand but it had nothing to do with his lovetap of Hamilton’s Mercedes.
The punishment was announced at the same time that Hamilton pitted to fix his headrest, and that means it would have been decided beforehand.
So to then alter the punishment based on Hamilton’s issues would have been mind-bogglingly amateurish. They were rightly chastised with their handling of Daniil Kvyat’s penalty(ies) in Canada for parade lap infringements.
The stewards had to stick with what was the correct punishment.
The incident was at low-speed and because of aforementioned factors it was unclear just how deliberate the contact was bearing in mind Vettel wasn’t looking where he was going (The key shot is the onboard).
There have been far more heinous acts committed in a Formula One car, if not necessarily far more thoughtless ones.
The incident adds fire to what was a peaceful Drivers’ Championship fight. This could turn into a fight as heated as the Rosberg years.
Lewis Hamilton secured his 66th career pole and his first around the Baku City Circuit thanks to a blistering 1:40.593 – meaning the title-chaser will start at the front of the grid at Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Brit had struggled for pace throughout all three practice sessions, including finishing down in 10th at the conclusion of FP2 on Friday, however stormed his way to the front of the pack after being able to take 0.4 seconds off teammate Valtteri Bottas in sector two, who will start alongside his fellow Silver Arrow on the front row of the grid.
It looked as if car number 44 was to suffer pain similar to that of Q3 12 months ago as Daniel Ricciardo clipped the exit of turn six in his Red Bull and forced a red flag leaving just over three minutes of the session remaining with everyone’s favourite Austrian Toto Wolff looking on concerned.
With good reason too, as throughout the day it had taken Mercedes at least two warm-up laps to turn on the soft compound tyres due to the low degradation.
However, the Merc boss needn’t have been, as after just one long out-lap Hamilton broke the 1:41 barrier for the first time of the day, snatching pole from his teammate Bottas who had topped the timesheets up until Ricciardo’s crash.
Behind them title rival Sebastian Vettel did not enjoy his afternoon and will start on the second row of the grid in fourth alongside fellow Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen, after a 1:41.841 and a 1:41.693 respectively were not enough to challenge either of the Silver Arrows.
The Italian prancing horse pairing will have to have their wits about them when the lights go green as Friday practice time-topper Max Verstappen will be looking for any small avenue to sneak through sitting in fifth.
The Dutchman was unable to match his great race-pace shown during FP1 and FP2, but may just fancy taking on the struggling Vettel after out-qualifying his teammate for the second race weekend in a row with the Australian starting 10th.
Alongside the youngster from Red Bull sits Force India’s Sergio Perez, but will not take the headlines in the paddock with the pink panther’s teammate Estaban Ococ securing his best ever grid position of P7 behind the Mexican.
Lance Stroll also recorded his best finish in F1 after out-qualifying his partner Felipe Massa by 0.035s, with the Williams duo beginning Sunday’s race P8 and P9 respectively.
Elsewhere McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne both exited quali during Q1, with the veteran ending up in 16th and the rookie only able to secure P19 after Renault’s Jolyon Palmer not featuring. However, neither really matter, as with the help of a 70-place grid penalty between them, both Honda-powered cars will be starting the race from the back of the grid.
at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Qualifying, Montreal, Canada, Saturday 10 June 2017. Image courtesy of Pirelli Media
Canada was not a race that went to plan for Ferrari but in Azerbaijan the Prancing Horse have a chance to right the Montreal wrongs.
Sebastian Vettel had an eventful drive to fourth after losing bodywork and damaging his floor, passing both the Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon to provide spice to the race.
He did lose 13 points to title rival Lewis Hamilton, who won for the sixth time at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve.
Kimi Raikkonen was beaten up in the early stages of the race and fell to fifth, where he stayed for most of the race.
A decision to pit followed by braking issues meant he would limp home to seventh on a rare disappointing day for Ferrari.
Azerbaijan represents an opportunity for redemption for both men, as albeit in different cars the team showed solid form around the streets of Baku.
Sebastian Vettel finished a lonely second in the only other staging of the European Grand Prix to take place on the Caspian Coast, while Raikkonen was fourth after eventually losing out to Perez.
Fourth last time out is Vettel’s worst finish of the season and the only time the four-time champion has been off the podium in 2017.
By contrast bad luck and sometimes less pace has meant that Raikkonen remains winless since the Australian Grand Prix of 2013.
But we have seen shades of the old Kimi in recent times.
Pole position in Monaco suggests there is still some life left in the Iceman yet.
Ferrari remain confident that he can back up Vettel’s push for a fifth World Drivers’ Championship. And that starts with regaining form this weekend.
After a month off, Formula 2 returns this weekend in Azerbaijan for the fourth round of the championship, which takes place at the Baku City Circuit. Despite only being on the calendar for a year, Baku has already earned itself an unpopular reputation, thanks to the less-than-enthralling F1 race that took place last year.
But its GP2 counterpart was anything but, with two chaotic and action-packed races. Out of the twenty-two cars that started both races last year, only twelve finished the feature race, and only fifteen in the sprint race. The high chance of crashing out, especially in the tight section of the track that runs through the older part of the city, adds an element of total unpredictability to this round.
2016 GP2 Series Round 3 Baku, Azerbaijan. Saturday 18 June 2016. Sean Gelael (INA, Pertamina Campos Racing) Photo: Andy Hone/GP2 Series Media Service. ref: Digital Image _ONZ0910
As the second street circuit of the year, Baku presents a different challenge to Monaco. Though avoiding traffic and the walls will be difficult in parts, overtaking should be easier, thanks in part to the long start-finish straight—the longest of any track, at over two kilometres. Last year it was also the site of Antonio Giovinazzi’s double winning weekend, which well and truly launched his championship campaign. This suggests that if any driver’s performance has been underwhelming so far, there is still time to earn back those lost points.
The biggest change going into the weekend will be the absence of ART’s Alexander Albon, who is out for the weekend with a broken collarbone. He will be replaced by Sergey Sirotkin, Renault’s test driver, who drove for ART last year and finished third in the 2016 GP2 championship. It is definitely a blow for Albon, who was proving to be a consistent driver, having scored points in every race this season thus far, but the team seems confident that he will be able to drive at the Red Bull Ring in a few weeks’ time.
Bringing in a new driver for the weekend shouldn’t place ART at a disadvantage however. Sirotkin managed to score himself a double podium last year at Baku, so the team can feel confident when the Russian arrives, fresh from racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
(L to R): Mark Slade (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team Race Engineer with Sergey Sirotkin (RUS) Renault Sport F1 Team Third Driver. Russian Grand Prix, Friday 28th April 2017. Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia.
By contrast, Matsushita had a nightmare weekend in Baku last year, despite having good pace and leading much of the sprint race. The Japanese driver struggled on the safety car restarts, and his driving was erratic enough to earn him a race ban. He will be looking to learn from the mistakes of last year, but with one win and a podium under his belt, he seems to be having a better season already.
Some drivers will be heading into this weekend with recovery at the forefront of their mind after disappointing results in Monte Carlo. Norman Nato is one such driver. The Frenchman started the year full of promise, and his potential is definitely that of a race winner, but after failing to score any points in Monaco, he needs a strong showing in Baku to get his season back on track. His teammate Sean Gelael, who has trailed Nato so far, had a solid qualifying performance in Monaco, but failed to convert that into race results.
Prema’s drivers will also be looking to bounce back from less than ideal results last time out. Leclerc, who does still lead the championship, will need to show that he can recover mentally from the double retirement in his home race, something which will prove essential if he is to carry his challenge for the duration of the season. Antonio Fuoco’s battle still remains one of proving he can measure up to his teammate, and increasingly, proving that he deserves his race seat and his place in the Ferrari Driver Academy. The track suited Prema last year, who managed to nail setup, earning them a pole position and a second place, as well as Giovinazzi’s two wins.
Rapax, after a slow start to the season, achieved a season’s best in Monte Carlo with a first and second place in the sprint race. Carrying that momentum to Baku may be difficult considering neither of their drivers have driven the street circuit before, but rookie Nyck de Vries seems to have gotten over his early season struggles with adjusting. If this race weekend is similar to last year’s then luck in staying out of trouble will probably be a large factor, so there is no counting the Rapax drivers out.
2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 3. Monte Carlo, Monaco. Saturday 27 May 2017. Johnny Cecotto Jr. (VEN, Rapax) Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image _54I7139
Both DAMS and Racing Engineering had a mixed weekend in Monaco, with one of their drivers delivering promising results – with a win for Oliver Rowland (DAMS) and a third place for Gustav Malja (Racing Engineering) – and the other failing to score any points. Both teams have machinery that seems capable of delivering race winning results, and with mostly experienced drivers, they stand a good chance of performing well at Baku. DAMS’ Rowland will be particularly anxious to do so as he now sits only three points shy of championship leader Leclerc, and if he can outperform the Monegasque and avoid any incidents, then his chances of leaving Baku as the new leader of the drivers’ standings are high indeed.
Based on points alone, Russian Time were the top team out in Monaco, and succeeding in taking a fourteen-point lead in the teams’ standings from DAMS. Artem Markelov and Luca Ghiotto also occupy third and fourth in the driver’s standings, and if fortune plays into their favour, Baku presents them with the opportunity to close the gap to Rowland and Leclerc.
There is every chance that we will leave Baku with a new points leader—but more than that, the venue offers the chance for one of the most entertaining, and maybe a little crazy, races of the year. If you are yet to see last year’s GP2 races, I would recommend doing so. They’re carnage, but entertaining nonetheless.
Azerbaijan and Austria are the two final stops for the teams and Formula 1 drivers before the summer break. Most of the teams have arrived in Baku and setting up their garages for the upcoming race.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas secured Mercedes first 1-2, this season, after seven races in Canada and scored crucial points for the championship. Lewis Hamilton remained close to Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship and Mercedes is now leading in constructors’ battle followed by Ferrari.
Baku is the newest circuit in Formula One calendar, it made its debut in 2016 and Nico Rosberg was the driver who took the first chequered flag in the street track.
The track was designed by the German architect Hermann Tilke, one of the most experienced and recognised architects in the Motorsport family. The track combines high speed parts with slow corners, which makes it one of the most fascinating street circuits.
Max Verstappen – “Baku in my opinion is quite a special street circuit, it’s really unique in terms of having quite wide sections but also some of the tightest parts of track on the calendar. Sector 2 is tighter than parts of Monaco which has always been regarded as really narrow and challenging. When you drive up into the old town and past the castle it is fun and tricky but also amazing to watch as a spectator. That section of the track is my favourite, the straight is quick but seems to go on for a long time and gives you a chance to relax a bit. As the hotel is really nice and new as well as being situated right next to the paddock I didn’t manage to get out and have a look around last year. The old town is fun to drive so I think I should try and get up there one evening this year and see what else it has in store.”
Baku City Circuit
Laps: 51
Circuit Length: 6.003 km
Race Length: 306.049 km
Lap Record: 1:46.485 (Nico Rosberg – 2016)
Pirelli announced the tyre compounds for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the teams will be able to use the white (medium), soft (yellow) and supersoft (red) compounds.
Mercedes and Ferrari selected the same sets of tyres, whilst Red Bull decided to have two sets of medium and three sets of soft, one less from the Mercedes and Ferrari.
The two DRS zones are spotted close to each other, the first one is at the starting straight and the second zone is after the first two corners.
Kevin Magnussen – “I never tried the Baku City Circuit in a simulator before actually racing there. It was a cool experience to just go on a track you don’t even have 100 percent idea which way the corners are going. I really had to learn the circuit from scratch. It was a cool experience and the track was really cool. I’m looking forward to going back again. It’s going to be fun. The corners are going to be faster this year because of the increased downforce. We’re going to be a bit slower on the straights, so I suspect Baku might be one of the tracks where we’re not going to be that much faster than the old cars, but it’s still going to be massively fun and challenging in the corners.”
In Monaco Ferrari had an advantage compared to Mercedes, Baku has not the same outline with Monaco but both are street circuits and they have similar characteristics. I am expecting a strong Ferrari and a close battle between Hamilton and Vettel.
