What did we learn from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
The 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix did not break the trend seen so far during 2019 FIA Formula One Championship with Mercedes taking its fourth one-two finish in the fourth round of the season.
Ominous – The last time when a team started a season as strong as Mercedes was 1992 when Williams scored three one-two finishes with Riccardo Patrese and Nigel Mansell in the first three races of the season. Mercedes could beat that record with their yesterday’s sweeping victory, scoring their fourth one-two finishes to kick off their season in a perfect way.
Fifth – Valtteri Bottas’s win in Baku was his fifth career victory. The Finn has completed 122 race starts so far in his Formula One career.
Fourty-eight – Mercedes scored its 48th one-two finish. Only Ferrari lies ahead of the Anglo-German team with 83 double wins.
Seventy-four – 85000 spectators attended the Baku weekend, coming from 74 different countries. Fans were entertained outside the racing track, as well, yesterday’s action ended with the concert of Jessie J while Cardi B, another star of the music world put an end to the race weekend in Baku.
Flyaway races – With the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the first phase of the championship came to an end. The field now heads to Spain to kick off the European leg of the season with the Spanish GP.
Lap record – With his attack on fresh soft tyres in the dying minutes of the race, Charles Leclerc managed to set the fastest lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Monegasque recorded the fastest ever race lap in Baku, beating Sebastian Vettel’s previous record from 2017. Thanks to the new regulation introduced for this year, the 21-year-old was awarded one single additional point upon his ten points which he scored for finishing fifth in the race.
Penalty – Daniel Ricciardo has been given a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish Grand Prix after colliding with Daniil Kvyat and reversing in to the car of the Russian driver. Buoyed by Renault’s improving pace, the Australian has attempted to pass his rival for tenth place under braking for Turn 3, but he could not stop his Renault and had to run to the run-off area. Kvyat had no other choice than follow him to avoid a contact. However, Ricciardo instantly reversed and hit Kvyat’s car, damaging the floor of his Toro Rosso.
Driveshaft – Despite making a good impression after starting from the pit lane, Pierre Gasly had to retire from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Frenchman’s Red Bull suffered a driveshaft failure towards the end of the race. As a precaution, the team ordered Max Verstappen to avoid the kerb on the exit of Turn 16, and „turned things down a littlbe bit”, as team boss Christian Horner confirmed.
Double point-scorers – Yesterday’s race on Baku was a huge success for the Racing Point and McLaren team after both teams ended the grand prix with double point-scoring finishes. Sergio Perez finished sixth, Lance Stroll ninth while Carlos Sainz scored a seventh, Lando Norris an eighth place. Mercedes and Ferrari were the two other outfits which collected point with both their drivers.
Nine – Only eight drivers finished the race on the same lap as race-winner Valtteri Bottas. Despite finishing tenth and scoring a point, Kimi Räikkönen was lapped by his fellow countryman. The two Williams drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica finished the race with two laps behind Bottas.
Four – That is the number of drivers who failed the finished the Azerbaijan GP. Pierre Gasly retired with driveshaft failure, Romain Grosjean with brake problems while the duo of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo had to put an end to their race after an unfortunate clash.
Pit stops – Ferrari and McLaren continue to impress with their pit stops during the 2019 season. With Carlos Sainz, McLaren recorded the shortest time spent in the pit. The Spaniard needed only 19.755s to complete his visit to the pit lane. Second on this list was his team-mate Lando Norris with 19.819 while Charles Leclerc only spent 19.857 in the pit lane. His team-mate Sebastian Vettel needed 19.981s for his own visit to the pits while the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas spent 19.993s and 20.006s respectively in the pits.
The master of Baku – With his ninth place, Lance Stroll can claim to have a 100 per cent points finishing record in Azerbaijan. The Canadian grabbed his first F1 podium finish two years ago at the age of 18 years and 239 days, becoming the sport’s youngest podium finisher.
Zero – Williams is the only outfit yet to score a point in the 2019 season. On the other side of the spectrum, Mercedes has scored the maximum possible tally of 173 points thanks to their four one-two finishes, followed by Ferrari with 99 points. Third in the Constructors’ Championship is Red Bull ahead of McLaren, Racing Point, Alfa Romeo, Renault, Haas and Toro Rosso.
Thirteen – Three drivers managed to collect thirteen points so far in the first phase of the season. Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly and Kimi Räikkönen have all gathered the same amount of points, occupying the sixth, seventh and eighth place in the Drivers’ Championship with the very same point tally.
