The treacherous streets of the Baku street circuit will once again be a major headache for Formula 1 teams and drivers looking for a good starting position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The incidence of traffic and the importance of a good slipstream to obtain high top speeds on the main straight are conflicting interests that have ruined numerous laps in free practice, and that in Q1 will be an added difficulty for the teams in the middle/low zone.
The leading men should not have that problem except for a debacle in the form of an accident (never ruled out), in the context of a fight for pole position that seems to have two clear candidates. Few drivers are knowing how to squeeze more out of their car at one lap than charles leclerc, and the Monegasque is willing to repeat last year’s pole to try to collect his debt on a track that, at the highest level, has denied him finishing on the podium at all times. But in the war of times and points, Red Bull does not want to be left behind.
Speedy Pérez attacking from pole
Curiously, for the second consecutive Grand Prix, the main threat does not seem to come from a Max Verstappen who has suffered considerably from the incidence of traffic, but from a hot Sergio Pérez who has led two free practice sessions and has once again finished in the three sessions ahead of the Dutchman, as was the case two weeks ago. That led to his first victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Mexican, who sees the overall leadership just 10 points, knows that starting ahead of his teammate or on pole could be the key to greater control of your destiny in the future.
Alonso, crouched for the surprise
In the background seems to be Carlos Sainz, who has not shown as much pace as his three opponents, and who will need to bring out his best version to scratch something more than a fourth position that, despite everything, continues to leave the door to good loot on Sunday. Those are the same aspirations that you have Fernando Alonso, showing off his Alpine with a great top speed that placed them in the top 5 in Friday’s free practice. The last session has returned them to the lower part of the top 10, but the French brand is confident of finding a middle ground with what was deployed yesterday and obtaining a good position on the grid.
The McLarens ended up banned from the big teams like the best of the rest, a circumstance that both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo will try to turn into the achievement of the third row. An opportunity that appears even more necessary for the Australian, involved in a spiral of poor results since his arrival at the team and who seeks to recover the magic of his previous presences on this track as a Red Bull driver. All this, in a session whose start will be delayed by 15 minutes due to the late start of Free Practice 3 which, despite everything, was played in its entirety.