Grand Prix 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Baku.

No, fear not fellow clippers, it's not my hayfever getting the better of me but it's the next F1 venue in the 2017 F1 season. Designed to be the worlds fastest street circuit, this year the grand prix carries the name of the host country unlike last year when, for reasons never fully explained it carried the European GP title.

Last years race was effected by kerb bolts not being fully tightened down, causing a number of tyres to be shredded and a flying drain cover that re-arranged the underside of one of the cars. These little issues to one side, on the whole, the circuit did set out to achieve its aim of speed with some of the highest straight line speeds ever recorded in F1, along the long back straight.

The race itself saw the top 6 spread out by over a minute showing that the key to success was a powerful engine and a high top speed. Hamilton suffered badly due to starting in the wrong mode. This highlighted the 'radio driver instructions' issue once again and was the catalyst for this rule being quietly slide into oblivion not long after. The track itself drew praise from several drivers.

So, to this seasons GP. Given the criteria for success at this track, Mercedes and Mercedes powered cars must start as favourites to do well. With Perez rounding out the podium spots in 2016 and with Force India's strong performane in Canada, they will surely be in the mix as the next best Merc runners.

Ferrari will be looking to bounce back after a difficult GP in Canada where Vettel did brilliantly to recover to 4th however, his pace over the weekend could have delivered more, and Kimi suffered from failing brakes which meant his race disolved into nursing the wounded car home over the last few laps.

Red Bull's season continues to underwhelm with pre-season predictions of title challenges now very much a distant memory. With Ferrari and Mercedes clearly a measure better than RBR and with this track requiring power, Force India should be right on Red Bull's tail. Max will be looking to bounce back after his DNF, and hopefully not over Seb's front wing this time while Danny will want another good finish.

Williams should do well here. They have the Merc engine and Stroll will have a certain spring in his step after a strong enough performance in Canada to show why he's in the car. Massa is also confounding some critics this season by driving pretty well. It's clear that neither driver have a great car underneath them but they should be able to do something here.

Torro Rosso, Haas and Renault will be pounding around looking for a sniff of some points. Of these three teams, none of them seem to be setting the world of F1 on fire and mediocrity is the best they can expect. Of the 6 drivers, Jolyon Palmer has the most to loose. He MUST start out performing his team mate or come the next set of European races he'll be watching from the sidelines. The Hulk looked pretty on it in Canada so Palmer has no easy task.

Last up comes Sauber who, running last years Ferrari engine, will stand little hope of doing anything here and will be praying for a race of high attrition. Much to everyone's suprise, last year there wasn't a single safety car period and only 4 cars DNF'd so it's not looking good for the team.

So I can't see much further than a Hamilton win and should anything go wrong, Bottas will more than likely pick up the pieces.

Oh..... hang on.... I missed one team out.

McLaren.

Hmmmm, it's a high powered circuit that requires a lot of grunt from the engine. It's a street circuit so the car needs to be able to handle bumps well, be well balanced but at the same time have a high straight line speed.

I'll give both cars about 10 laps before they are smoking and stationary track side.
 
I realise Vettel was in the wrong there, but why was Hamilton so slow? The gap to the safety car was huge. It wasn't coming in at that point was it?
 
I realise Vettel was in the wrong there, but why was Hamilton so slow? The gap to the safety car was huge. It wasn't coming in at that point was it?
It's gamesmanship on the restart. you back people up then GO. If Vettel was in the front he would do the same. Race craft. Hamilton has it nailed perfect restart every time. Seb is a knob.
 
Baku is 25 different circuit with pole for Hamilton.
But Baku did not 25 different circuit with win for Hamilton.
Very sorry
 
Hamilton 'brake-tested' Vettel?
Well, we will have to wait and see if Merc's telemetry is released, to decide on that.
Either way - downright stupid to be going so slow out of the corner.

Vettel rammed Hamilton?
He was waving both arms in the air, so lack of control rather than deliberate crash.
Either way - downright stupid to be losing his temper - again.

Other than that, this Wacky Races episode was only short of a Penelope Pitstop to make it fully authentic.
 
I think today's race we've seen a lot of angry drivers and I should a lot of them will tell their manager/agent to start ringing for other teams and search for employment elsewhere

Sainz ; if his relationship did not go south already with Kyvat , it sure has today given he has been making noises he wants a more competitive drive perhaps there are openings for him (see below). He just won't be staying at Toro Rosso for 2018 for sure

Verstappen; The Golden Boy is not just taking the rough with the smooth so well .. another DNF due to the engine when he looked good all week and then for his teammate to win as well would be like a kick in the teeth for him. The team says they have a watertight contract on him but he seems impatient in his quest to be the youngest ever world champion. So Ferrari or Mercedes might be interested.

It seems like Helmut Marko will have his work cut out to keep him

Perez: It was inevitable that after his refusal to help the team get more points last race. It somehow came back to bite him colliding with teammate this time with Ocon getting the better this time. I think the rest of the season could become more strained for him especially as he is inching for a move further up the grid

Alonso;

His sarcastic comment about potentially winning the race would not have gone unnoticed from yet another a great drive just to score 2 pts !

His managers being seen around the paddock with other senior team leaders to generate more PR is another two fingers to Honda's direction


All this benefits Williams who suddenly see that their nearest rivals have serious driver management issues which might help them move forward in the constructors now that Stroll is settling in
 
Finally:
Fact Car 5 collided with car 44 in Turn 16.
Offence Breach of Article 27.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
Decision 10 Second Stop and Go penalty.
(3 penalty points awarded, 9 points total for the 12 month period)
Reason The Stewards examined video evidence which showed that car 5 drove alongside and
then steered into car 44. The Stewards decide this manoeuvre was deemed potentially dangerous.
 
Should've been a 1 race ban to think about why ramming someone who's annoyed you is a bad idea, they've been given for less than that.
 
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