If fans hadn’t had enough of the Monaco urban experience, Formula 1 now provides them with an environment a little more in keeping with modern times, but without losing the sense of urbanism that would have been so appreciated in Spain in the 2000s. The Baku street circuit hosts the fifth Azerbaijan Grand Prix and its sixth Formula 1 raceafter its debut in 2016 as the European GP and its pandemic absence in 2020, and it does so with a very interesting grid that promises a race full of frenetic action.
In front of everything stands charles leclerc, after turning another insane lap into a pole position, the fifth of the season in just seven races and the third in a row. Despite everything, the Monegasque has not converted the three previous pole positions into victory, a reason why he will seek by all means to get his first win on the Azeri streets and attack again the leadership of Max Verstappen. For the second weekend in a row, the Dutchman is once again a little below expectations, and his recurring DRS problems mean that third place from him is nothing to be reckoned with at this track.
Sergio Pérez, current winner… and future leader?
Between the two protagonists is a Sergio Perez who wants to reclaim his status as a third leg in the World Cup discussion. The Mexican driver, just 10 points off the lead after his victory in Monaco, has already accumulated nine consecutive sessions in which he finishes ahead of Verstappen and defends victory on this track. If they achieve it, or scratch points from their opponents, their situation facing the fight for the championship would already be an undoubted reality that Red Bull will have to face without status quo among its drivers.
Sainz, in need of a hit
Another disappointment at the moment of truth converted a possible pole of Carlos Sainz in fourth place on the grid, something that the Madrid native will need to forget as soon as possible if he wants to get good points on this grid. The chaos could work in his favor, although recent experience indicates otherwise. Fernando Alonso He expected to be close to these drivers, but his Q3 was not very decorous, and the Spaniard will have to use all the top speed of his Alpine to climb from 10th place, on a track where he has already shown the ability to recover from unexpected situations.
Baku is a long circuit that offers overtaking opportunities on his giant fastball via DRS, but also penalize any small error in almost all its curves, especially those where the track limit is the wall. In the past, stretched, low-action races have been alternated with more dynamic events marred by accidents and safety car interruptions, an eventuality that could deliver another surprise winner. It’s not uncommon to find unusual suspects on the podium at this track…