Checo Pérez seeks to be the first driver to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix twice, which since 2016 has had different winners
GANA MAX VERSTAPPENwins in Baku for the first time and continues the trend of different winners since 2016.
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VERSTAPPEN
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Czech Perez
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George Russell
Fernando Alonso vs. Daniel Ricciardo for P7… and Lando Norris is slowly approaching this battle… Alonso managed to defend himself and finished P7.
Finally Lewis Hamilton passed Pierre Gasly and the British multi-champion is fourth, 23 seconds behind his teammate, Russell.
Hamilton vs Pierre Gasly for P4 of the French driver. Ahead the first three navigate without problems: Verstappen, Pérez and Russell.
Checo Pérez with the fastest lap: 1.46.046. He is 12.6 seconds behind Verstappen. There will be no movements between the Red Bulls. The only thing that can change the positions would be a failure of the RB18.
Lewis Hamilton passes Yuki Tsunoda and the Mercedes is fifth. Vettel now attacks the AlphaTauri of the young Japanese.
Race reset: Verstappen P1, Pérez P2 and Russell P3.
Daniel Ricciardo He has been the great beneficiary of this VSC: he makes his first pit stop and goes from hard to medium (the regulations require the use of at least two compounds in the race unless there is rain) and he is P9 ahead of Lando Norris.
Magnussen out of the race. He brings up the virtual Safety Car and Red Bull for his two cars. They go from tough to tough.
Radio Mercedes: “My back is killing me,” he says Lewis Hamilton. The porpoising, which for lack of a better translation would be ‘jumping’ the car, is being very hard in Baku. In Spain and Monaco the effect was controlled, but it has returned and in Baku it is considerable. Now the problem with porpoising, in a technical sense and not a physical one for the pilot, is that it conditions the set-up; the teams are forced to lift the car with the consequence that ground effect (downforce) is lost.
George Russell is P3. The young Briton has dominated Lewis Hamilton inside the Mercedes team which, by the way, has not suffered a single abandonment due to car problems. The W13 may not be the fastest, but it is proving to be a reliable single-seater.
The midfield is a pitch: the last pass was from Sebastian Vettel to Esteban Ocon for eighth position. Before the AlphaTauri fought for position against the French driver who has an important top speed and that is why it is so difficult to pass.
With the abandonment of Charles Leclerc and if Checo Pérez finishes second, the Mexican will be placed second in the world championship. Verstappen will extend his advantage in the lead. A Sunday disaster for Ferrari.
ABANDONMENT OF CHARLES LECLERC. A lot of smoke, it seems that it is something in the engine that has broken. Abandonment of Ferrari and now it will be a walk for Red Bull. Two cars out due to technical problems.
Leclerc manages to get his car back to the pits
That’s a double DNF for Ferrari ????#AzerbaijanGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/I7se2tuTO3
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 12, 2022
Lap 19/51: Max Verstappen pits. He puts on a hard tire while on the track Checo Pérez made the fastest lap. The same Verstappen rejoins P2.
Vuelta 17: Checo Pérez a pits and take the hard tire. There are 34 laps to go. Now the Mexican will work on this stint in clean air, since he managed to rejoin the track ahead of George Russel’s Mercedes, which is fourth. Time to be very fast for the Mexican driver if he wants to win in Baku.
Radio Red Bull: Hugh Bird, Checo Pérez’s engineer, asked him not to fight for the position. The Mexican has very degraded rear tires and the car’s traction is compromised. He quickly lost three seconds to Verstappen, who escaped in the lead.
Vuelta 15/51: MAX VERSTAPPEN He takes the lead by passing Checo Pérez who did not put up much opposition to his teammate.
Max Verstappen is already within range of Checo Pérez’s DRS. Will there be a fight at Red Bull or team order?
Charles Leclerc speeds up and approaches the Red Bulls. Checo Pérez is 1.4 seconds ahead of Verstappen.
Race restart: Checo Pérez P1, Max Verstappen P2 and Charles Leclerc in P3, already with a hard tire.
Red Bull Radio: Verstappen asked how many laps were left, worried that Leclerc would go all the way to the end of the race. He will most likely have to do one last short stint, as the tires won’t last as long.
Lap 10/51: Ferrari calls Charles Leclerc to the pits and they go from media to benches. Ferrari strategically attacks Red Bull with this move, although it was a bad save because they lost some time with the device that lifts the car.
LAP 9/51
???? “Something has failed” Sainz reports
The Spaniard has run off at Turn 4 and is out of the race ????#AzerbaijanGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/9bjGGd2Xr8
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 12, 2022
Lap 9/51: Carlos Sainz is out of the race. The Ferrari was stopped at an exit in sector one. VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR, to take out the single-seater.
Radio Ferrari: Leclerc is told that Checo suffers with traction, however the Mexican driver keeps his distance and Verstappen, on the other hand, follows the attack on the Monegasque’s Ferrari.
After 5 laps, Checo Pérez is 2 seconds ahead of Charles Lelcerc who is attacked by Max Verstappen. Carlos Sainz is still late with respect to this trio.
START: Checo Pérez takes the lead by passing Charles Leclerc, a great start for the Mexican driver… Max Verstappen remains third, but attacking Leclerc while Sainz remains fourth.
Is he Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the city of Bakueighth date of the season of formula 1 and where Czech Perez will seek his second victory of the season and the lead in the drivers’ championship.
Czech Perez will start 2nd, behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and ahead of his partner in Red Bull, Max Verstappen –Carlos Sainz with the other Ferrari complete the second row.
The city circuit Baku It is a 6,003-kilometre track, one of the longest on the calendar with an enormous 2.2-kilometer straight that, together with China they have the longest acceleration zone in the campaign. However, it’s 20 laps and you need a tune-up with enough charge to help bring the car to a stop and spin it as fast and balanced as possible to spin one by one. As is usually the case in the firm’s circuits Tilke, the second sector is the most mixed -it is where the narrow chicane 8-9 is located that leads to the castle area, the narrowest area in the entire calendar-. Yes Mexico It has the highest circuit at sea level, Baku It has areas below sea level, a curiosity.
Azerbaijan began his life in F1 in 2016 as European Grand Prixbut in 2017 it changed its official name to Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Since then it has had different winners and Czech Perez aims to be the first competitor with two wins in Baku.
Pirelli has brought the softest compound in its range. Ferrari y Red Bullthe two great contenders are strategically equal, as shown by the plate of the official tire supplier of the category, which expects a two-stop race plan as the ideal: start with a medium tire and then, between lap 18 to 23 stop for the hard compound until the end of the competition agreed to 51 laps to complete the Grand Prix distance of 306,049 kilometres.
How will the available sets feed into the race strategies? ????# F1 #AzerbaijanGP #Fit4F1 # Formula1 #Pirelli #Pirelli150 @ F1 pic.twitter.com/jhubdynehp
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) June 12, 2022
This is the starting grid:
Sunday’s starting line-up ????#AzerbaijanGP # F1 pic.twitter.com/mLkC3pERe1
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 11, 2022