Hamilton in trouble, a big tragedy for Ferrari or another Red Bull double: What did the Azerbaijan GP show?

Formula 1 has completed its eighth race of the season. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix showed a lot, such as how serious the porpoising issue is or how big the reliability problems are probably at Ferrari. So what all did the eighth act of the 2022 edition bring?

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was dominated by the Red Bull Racing team, with Max Verstappen taking the top spot in Baku. The reigning world champion was joined on the podium by his teammate Sergio Pérez and George Russell in the Mercedes in third.

That’s how the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors’ Cup standings look after eight races this season. So what did the Azerbaijan Grand Prix show?

Red Bull’s dominance

If we can talk about the dominance of one of the teams, it will be Red Bull, which currently seems to be unbeatable in terms of race pace. The Austrian team has already recorded its third double this year and has stretched its winning streak to five races!

Red Bull simply has the more reliable car and they have gained a lot of experience from previous years when it comes to fighting for the title. And that seems to be a big advantage at the moment. With this win, Max Verstappen has stretched his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship to 21 points.

His teammate Sergio Pérez has also moved up to second, with Leclerc dropping to third. There is currently a 34-point gap between Verstappen and Leclerc.

Red Bull then boasts an even more significant lead at the top of the Constructors’ Cup. Ferrari, in second place, trails Red Bull by an abysmal 80 points. So, in terms of the title fight, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was one of those key events that will be inflecting the end-of-season battle for the overall championship.

A sporting tragedy for Ferrari

Ferrari couldn’t even convert a fourth qualifying victory into a win, and what’s more, neither of the Italian stable’s drivers finished the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc dropped from first to second place after the start, and his journey in the eighth race of the season did not last long.

It should be noted that Leclerc managed to turn his last pole position into victory five races back, namely in the Australian Grand Prix.

In Baku, Carlos Sainz first shut down his car at Turn 4 due to an alleged failure of the brake-by-wire system, i.e. the electronic brake control system. And eleven laps later, Leclerc’s engine also failed.

However, the race in Baku was not a good one for Ferrari engines overall, with both Kevin Magnussen in the Haas and Kuan-yu Zhou in his Alfa Romeo failing to finish the race. Both of these cars have Ferrari engines in their guts.

Indeed, the Italian team has major reliability problems and if the Maranello stable wants to get back into the title race, they simply have to adapt to that. But it’s not just the fact that Ferrari is fighting for the title after five long years. In Monaco, Leclerc lost the win because of poor strategy and team communication.

But the circuit in Montreal is unforgiving on engines and other components, which can be quite a problem in terms of parts replacement and subsequent penalties, as Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto noted during the race weekend in Baku.

A solid result for Mercedes

Mercedes drove very well in Baku, which resulted in the drivers’ placings. George Russell scored his third podium this year, while Lewis Hamilton finished fourth despite suffering from severe back pain.

In addition, the Silver Arrows came within 38 points of second-placed Ferrari in the Constructors’ Cup. That’s not really a terrible loss, given Mercedes’ ongoing porpoising problems.

Russell not only came within 17 points of third-placed Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship, but also maintained his record of being the only driver to finish in the top five in every race this year.

Porpoising, or the health-threatening concomitant

We even wrote a separate article about this issue after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in which you can find out where this porpoising comes from, what all it actually affects, how drivers and teams react to it and what solutions are currently on offer.

Hamilton was suffering from severe back pain after the Baku race and as a result of this pain he was considering not entering the next race in Canada. Some teams are thus pressing the FIA to change the rules to eliminate the phenomenon altogether.

However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner, for example, disagrees and has spoken out against any rule change. You can also read his statement in the link above to a separate article on porpoising.

However, with the exception of Fernando Alonso, all the drivers also agreed that this is simply not the way to go on, as many believe it puts the health of the performers at risk. The whole matter will now be dealt with by the FIA, but we’ll have to wait for some more official information from the federation.

Nicholas Latifi and his other troubles

Latifi doesn’t give a great impression. In fact, he wasn’t properly prepared for the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, or rather he had to be pushed into his starting slot by the team’s mechanics before the opening lap.

However, it was at this time that no one was allowed to touch the car, and so Latifi received a 10-second stop and go penalty at the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In addition, he ignored the blue flags in the last laps of the race and collected an additional five seconds from the race directorate.

Latifi even collected a penalty point. The sports commissioners said that the blue flag, which orders a pilot going a lap ahead to let the pilot behind him pass, could be seen on twelve panels during his run.

However, no penalty was collected by Latifi’s team-mate Alex Albon, who passed 17 of those indicators before letting Leclerc pass him in the Ferrari. Both Williams drivers were thus guilty of the same offence, Albon even worse.

The drivers were once again upset by the race directors’ decision and it is clear what is currently lacking in Formula 1 – transparency.

Gasly & Vettel & Alonso & Cunoda & Ricciardo

Pierre Gasly, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso scored very valuable points for their teams, especially in the fight for positions in the Constructors’ Cup. The latter repeated his seventh place from the previous Monaco Grand Prix and, thanks to this points contribution and Esteban Ocon’s tenth place, Alpine pulled away from its closest pursuer, Alfa Romeo.

Frenchman Gasly, in turn, moved up to tenth in the Drivers’ Championship thanks to his fifth place, displacing Alonso. However, the difference between tenth and thirteenth place is minimal – one point.

Vettel, on the other hand, has moved Aston Martin closer to eighth place with his sixth place, both teams currently have fifteen points each. The German driver then leapfrogged Yuki Cunda in the Drivers’ Championship in the Alpha Tauri, for whom the Azerbaijan Grand Prix did not go as he expected.

Cunoda was in the elite ten throughout, but then had to go to his mechanics due to mechanical damage to the upper rear wing element (DRS). A long pit stop put him out of the points race.

Daniel Ricciardo showed a hint of improvement in Baku, managing to score points for only the second time this season. But the more important factor is that the 32-year-old Australian was able to match Lando Norris in terms of race pace at times.

However, with just 15 points, he still holds only 13th place in the drivers’ championship.

Sources