Motorsport journalist and podcaster
Second place in the Azerbaijan sprint confirmed Ferrari’s post-qualifying prediction that it still doesn’t have the race pace to contend for victory despite having made a clear step forward, reckons Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc held off a charging Sergio Perez at the start of the sprint, but his defence of the lead lasted only until DRS was enabled following an early safety car intervention.
The SF-23’s strong form through the technical middle sector wasn’t enough to generate a buffer, and the Mexican breezed past down the front straight and onwards to a comfortable victory.
Continue reading on RACERGeorge Russell says Max Verstappen should have known the risks associated with trying to hold position around the outside of a corner after the two drivers made contact on the first lap of the Azerbaijan sprint.
Verstappen started third alongside Russell, whose third place grid spot gave him the inside line for the first three corners, and the Briton made the most of it by claiming the apex of all three and forcing the Dutchman to try to cling on with a wider line to hold position.
Both got through the first corner cleanly, but Russell’s front-right wheel tagged the left side of Verstappen’s car as they exited Turn 2, tearing a hole in the RB19’s sidepod and causing other minor damage.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez eased to a comfortable victory at the Azerbaijan sprint ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Perez started from second alongside Leclerc but couldn’t jump the Ferrari off the line. The race was then neutralized at the end of the first lap with a safety car owing to Yuki Tsunoda crashing his car at Turn 14.
Leclerc managed the restart beautifully when the race resumed on lap 6 of 17, but his SF-23 wasn’t a match for the RB19’s straight-line speed, particularly with DRS enabled down the long front straight.
Continue reading on RACERFranz Tost says AlphaTauri was forced to announce its acquisition of Laurent Mekies earlier than anticipated because the news had begun to leak in the Italian media.
AlphaTauri issued a press release on the eve of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend announcing that Tost would step down as team principal at the end of the season to make way for current Ferrari racing director Mekies, with Peter Bayer taking up the CEO role.
The press release came as a surprise to Ferrari principal Frederic Vasseur, who said his team wasn’t yet ready to commit to releasing the French engineer.
Continue reading on RACERThe Azerbaijan grand prix will remain on the Formula 1 calendar until at least the end of 2026 after inking a new three-year deal.
Except 2020 due to the pandemic, the Baku race has been a mainstay of the calendar since its debut in 2016, then with the European Grand Prix moniker, and has established itself as one of the sport’s most popular street circuits for its quirky mixed-speed layout and unpredictable results.
No driver has won in Baku more than once and only Charles Leclerc has taken more than one pole position.
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