Formula 1 now shifts to the picturesque streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – which is a race known for almost always providing some late drama.
Last year was one of the craziest races in recent memory since it had four DNFs, and eventually we had an unlikely group of winners in Sergio Perez, Sebastian Vettel, and Pierre Gasly.
Sergio Perez is eager to win another one here, and following his triumph and Max Verstappen’s P3 finish during the Monaco Grand Prix, the once tight tug-of-war battle for the world championship between Ferrari and Red Bull is slowly becoming one-sided in favour of the Milton Keynes-based side.
Red Bull have 235 points in the constructors’ standings which is 36 more than Ferrari, while defending champion Max Verstappen has leapfrogged Charles Leclerc as he now holds a nine-point lead.
Hopefully, we won’t have as many accidents as last year. But regardless, SBOTOP racing fans will certainly get their fix of Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022 highlights this weekend.
Pierre Gasly gunning for a rare podium finish
The 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was one of the rare highlights of Pierre Gasly’s Formula 1 career. He qualified for fourth last year and eventually won P3 while teammate Yuki Tsunoda was at P7, and the Frenchman plans to emulate the same result come Sunday.
Gasly pointed out that Baku is mostly made up of slow corners and a long straight, and he believes that such circuit layout would suit his car well.
“So, we come to Baku to ‘defend’ that result. Getting a tow down that final long straight would be helpful for qualifying, but apart from that, it’s another street circuit, very twisty and tight with characteristics similar to Monaco,” said Gasly.
“I think the layout could potentially suit us. We mustn’t forget there’s that long main straight, so we will have to see how we deal with that,” he added.
The 26-year-old driver is coming off yet another underwhelming result in the last time out as he couldn’t get more points with a P11 finish in Monaco, which was unfortunate since he was quick during the prior free practice sessions.
His teammate Tsunoda is also looking to get into the points after a P17 finish in Monaco. Furthermore, AlphaTauri enter Baku placing seventh in the constructors’ table.
Max Verstappen have a score to settle in Baku
His Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez may be the defending titlist entering this weekend, but all eyes are going to be on Max Verstappen to see whether he can put an end to his Azerbaijan hoodoo.
The Dutchman was poised for his maiden victory in Baku last season before a tyre issue caused him to crash at the barriers with just five laps remaining. Three years before that, Verstappen had his infamous collision with former teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Baku, we have some unfinished business there after last year,” said Verstappen. “It’s a tricky track with big braking zones and a tight run off, finding the best set-up for the car will be difficult in terms of making sure we get the correct wing level.”
Verstappen is in fine form after securing yet another Top 3 finish in Monaco, but he has only crossed the Baku finish line in one of his last four attempts – a P4 in 2019.
History
Compared to the other Grands Prix, taking pole position doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re guaranteed to win in Baku. Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, and Charles Leclerc have all taken pole from 2017 to 2021 respectively, and only Bottas won after doing so in 2019.
Daniel Ricciardo (2017), Lewis Hamilton (2018), Sergio Perez (2021) are the other winners during the said stretch. No Formula 1 driver has ever won in Azerbaijan twice so far.
The 2020 edition of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled later in the year.
What are the odds?
It’s not a surprise that the top two in the drivers’ standings are the favourites to win this race, as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022 odds have Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen priced at 1.35 and 1.60 respectively. Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz Jr., meanwhile, are right behind them at 1.65 and 2.20.
But other than those four, we might have to keep an eye on Mercedes despite their underwhelming campaign thus far since they’ve done well at Baku in recent years.
George Russell should lead the Silver Arrows once again as he’s installed at 2.36 while teammate Lewis Hamilton is at 2.72.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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