Formula 1 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Raikkonen was due to start Sunday's race eighth, but was forced to take a pitlane start as Alfa Romeo changed the specification of the front wing flap adjuster after FIA stewards declared the wing had "deflected more than 5mm under a load of 60N".<br>Jake Boxall-Legge joins Glenn Freeman to explain how the front wing failed, and the confusing chain of events before and after that test took ...

read on

Valtteri Bottas took his second win of 2019 despite the late-race pressure from team-mate Lewis Hamilton to retake the lead in the drivers' championship by just a single point. <br>The Azerbaijan Grand Prix proved to be a hard-fought victory for the Finn, who resisted the intimidation from his five-time world champion team-mate and secured the win that eluded him twelve months earlier.<br>Bottas' ...

read on

Valtteri Bottas beat teammate Lewis Hamilton in Baku as Mercedes became the first team to finish first and second in the opening four races of a season since the F1 world championship began in 1950.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Why three teams had the speed to win in Baku<br><br><br>It was the second time this season that Mercedes has overcome a superior Ferrari team, following its unexpected one-two ...

read on

With F1 preparing for a new generation of cars and a wider overhaul of the sport in two years' time, there is a desire to rein in areas where teams spend a lot of money doing their own things for minimal performance gains.<br>Earlier this year, a tender for standard gearboxes was launched, and now two separate invites have been opened for parties interested in supplying brake parts and wheel ...

read on

Haas started the season with the fourth-fastest car but has not scored points since Kevin Magnussen finished sixth in the opening race in Australia, as it failed to convert strong one-lap pace into race performance in Bahrain and China.<br>In Azerbaijan, neither car made it into the top-10 shootout in qualifying, Magnussen finished a distant 13th and Grosjean fell out of the points before retiring ...

read on

As Giorgio Piola's exclusive drawing shows (above), Ferrari's upgrade for Baku included a small change to the floor - adding a bank of three fins at the rear corner just ahead of the tyre squirt slot.<br>These fins were something that Ferrari tried in numerous practice sessions at the end of last year, starting in Japan, but could not get to work in the way it hoped.<br><br>Ferrari SF71H floor ...

read on

Raikkonen was excluded from Azerbaijan GP qualifying and consigned to a pitlane start after the front wing on his Alfa failed a deflection test, which also forced the team to make a change to the specification of the flap adjuster hook on the front wing.<br>Speaking to media after the Baku race, Raikkonen revealed Alfa Romeo had already encountered a problem with his front wing in China – where ...

read on

Patrese won the Mexican and Portuguese Grands Prix in 1991 in the Renault V10-powered car, and retired from the lead of two other races that year as the semi-automatic transmission proved problematic. He retired from F1 at the end of the 1993 season, having won six grands prix.<br>The Williams – which happened to be in Mansell's 'red five' livery, rather than Patrese's number six – was one of ...

read on

The Englishman survived the contact and brought his McLaren-Renault safely home in eighth place, behind team mate Carlos Sainz. It was the rookie’s second score in his first four starts, following his sixth place in Bahrain.<br>“I had a few wall hits,” Norris told Motorsport.com. “I had one three or four laps from the end, which I got pretty nervous about, because it was quite a big hit ...

read on

Hamilton was two seconds behind Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas when the VSC was deployed in Baku following the stoppage of Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull. <br>However, after the drivers resumed full speed with 10 laps to go, that gap had risen to 3.5s, and Hamilton was not quite able to make up the gap and launch a late attack for the win. <br>Asked by Motorsport.com about fine margins like the ...

read on

Yet another Mercedes 1-2 then, the fourth in a row since the start of the season, with Valtteri Bottas holding the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton after just holding on to his pole position advantage.<br>After the race, Hamilton said he had been “too friendly” towards Bottas through the opening corners through which they ran side by side, and also admitted he’d been “under par” across ...

read on

TRACK INTERVIEWS<br>(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)<br>Q: Valtteri, an absolutely perfect day you’ve had. Lights out to flag, a bit of pressure from Lewis, but controlled and payback from last year and that win that went away?<br>Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, indeed. It was actually a tough race, even though maybe not much happening at the front Obviously Lewis was putting pressure all the time, so I ...

read on

After crashing in qualifying, Leclerc charged from ninth place on the fresh set of mediums in the opening stages, snatching fourth from Max Verstappen on the ninth lap and assuming the lead once the three cars ahead pitted.<br>His pace advantage didn't hold up and, once he traded his mediums for a new set of softs with 16 laps to go, he emerged from the pits almost half a minute down on the ...

read on

Gasly suffered a driveshaft failure after charging from the pitlane to sixth, and his stopped car triggered a virtual safety car just as Verstappen was mounting more pressure on Sebastian Vettel.<br>After the VSC period ended, Verstappen struggled with tyre temperatures and fell away from Vettel, but Red Bull had also told him to back off to avoid a potential repeat problem.<br>"We struggled a ...

read on

Vettel, who had praised Ferrari's upgraded car during practice, finished third in Baku and now trails new championship leader Valtteri Bottas by 35 points.<br><br>From the editor, also read:<br><br>Azerbaijan GP: Bottas leads fourth consecutive Mercedes 1-2<br>Vettel says Ferrari needs "crucial" turnaround in Spain<br><br><br>Asked by Motorsport.com if his confidence in the upgrades Ferrari ...

read on

Verstappen finished fourth in Baku, having been gaining on the race-leading Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel's third-placed Ferrari before the VSC caused by his teammate Pierre Gasly parking in an escape road.<br>"I was catching up seven/eight seconds over that stint, so that was all good, but as soon as we got to the virtual safety car, I lost a lot of temperature," said Verstappen.<br>"It seems ...

read on

Late in the race Ricciardo had attempted to pass Kvyat for 10th place under braking for Turn 3, but misjudged the move and slid down the escape road.<br>In doing so, that forced Kvyat wide and the Toro Rosso driver also ended up in the run-off area, sitting right behind the Renault.<br>In Ricciardo's haste to get going, and unaware his rival was behind him, he instantly reversed and then hit ...

read on

Hamilton made a good getaway from second on the grid to pull alongside pole position man Bottas on the run to Turn 1, as the pair ran around the first corners side-by-side.<br>Bottas eventually managed to get in front, and Hamilton suggested he could have made life tougher on a weekend when his teammate had the upper hand.<br>"I didn't get the job done in qualifying, he [Bottas] did," Hamilton ...

read on

Ferrari again showed the potential speed to fight for the win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but a crash for Charles Leclerc in qualifying and difficulties on the soft tyre for Vettel left the door open for the fourth straight Mercedes 1-2 finish.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Azerbaijan GP: Bottas leads fourth consecutive Mercedes 1-2<br><br><br>With third-placed finisher Vettel and Ferrari falling ...

read on

Ricciardo attempted to pass Kvyat for 10th place under braking for the Turn 3 left-hander, but misjudged it and ran deep into the corner.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Azerbaijan GP: Bottas leads fourth consecutive Mercedes 1-2<br><br><br>By heading down the escape road, the Renault inadvertently blocked Kvyat, who was trying to make the corner from the outside.<br>Kvyat had to wait until the Renault ...

read on

Twelve months after being denied victory by a late puncture, Bottas held his nerve under pressure to lead Hamilton home and regain the lead of the championship.<br>As Mercedes clinched its fourth one-two in four races at the start of the 2019 season, Sebastian Vettel could only finish third again for Ferrari.<br>Vettel's teammate Charles Leclerc recovered to fifth, behind Max Verstappen's Red ...

read on

...

read on

Raikkonen was meant to start the Baku race in eighth place after his third Q3 appearance in four races with his new team.<br>However, on Sunday morning he was disqualified from the results of Saturday's session because his front wing failed a deflection test.<br>The FIA stewards reported that Raikkonen's front wing "deflected more than 5mm under a load of 60N".<br>F1's technical regulations state ...

read on

Russell has been suffering with a viral infection in the build-up to Baku, and pulled out of the pre-weekend Thursday press conference as a result.<br>He sat out almost the entirety of Friday's running after a loose manhole cover wrote off his FW42 chassis, and was slower than teammate Robert Kubica in Saturday morning practice, but had the measure of his teammate in qualifying even before Kubica ...

read on

Gasly's results were stricken from the qualifying classification in Baku after his RB15 was found to be in breach of the required fuel-flow limit of 100kg per hour.<br>The Frenchman was already set to begin the race from the pitlane following a Friday weighbridge offence and thus only contested the first segment of qualifying.<br>He was the fastest of the 20 drivers participating in the segment ...

read on

The thicker forward leg of the upper elements of the suspension is attached to the upright directly above the rear leg, although the lower wishbone is a more conventional one-piece design.<br>These exclusive drawings, by technical illustrator Giorgio Piola, reveal the detail of Red Bull’s front suspension, with the inset (above) showing the conventional layout.<br><br>Red Bull Racing RB15 Top ...

read on

The drivers finished qualifying in 14th and 17th places respectively, although both will gain grid positions from penalties incurred by others.<br>Team boss Gunther Steiner had cautioned in advance that Baku would be a difficult track for the team, and that proved to be the case as the drivers couldn’t get into the tyre temperature window.<br>“The feeling hasn’t been good all weekend in the ...

read on

Kubica crashed into the barriers at the tight Turn 8 left-hander in the dying seconds of the first qualifying segment on Saturday, having tagged the inside wall on entry into the corner.<br>The Polish driver was set to line up 19th - promoted one spot due to Pierre Gasly's pitlane start penalty for missing the weighbridge - but will now give up his starting spot on the grid.<br>Williams said that ...

read on

Ferrari had been impressively quick in through practice, but ultimately lost out after Charles Leclerc crashed in Q2, and Vettel was unable to match his rivals in Q3.<br>The German was the first driver in the queue of cars going for a time, and thus had to complete his flying lap without a tow.<br>He was left in that situation in part because the Mercedes drivers drove down the pitlane and then ...

read on

Does motorsport need to be “relevant”?<br>Does anyone know what Formula 1 stands for today? This may be the most important question of all in order for F1 or motorsports in general to survive. In order to be relevant it is obviously important to understand in what context you want to be relevant. In the case of Formula 1, does this mean you must be socially relevant or more relevant towards ...

read on

Bottas' second chance at redemption?<br>The Finn took pole position for the second time in two races but, last time out in China, he was unable to make the most of his opportunity to win a race that got away from him in 2018.<br>He lost out on winning the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after encountering a cruel tyre blowout on the final lap, and goes into the race knowing that he has unfinished ...

read on

But the stewards' decision will make no difference to the grid because Gasly was already destined for a pitlane start as a punishment for missing a call to the weighbridge at the end of Friday practice.<br>Gasly and Red Bull's summons was the first time that a breach of the fuel flow limit of 100kg per hour had been found in qualifying.<br>Previous disqualifications for the offence had only been ...

read on

The German suffered his second Q1 exit of the year and was only quicker than the Williams drivers in the session, while trailing teammate Daniel Ricciardo by nearly a second.<br>When he was informed of the gap to Ricciardo by the team at the end of Q1, Hulkenberg responded with a simple “ouch”.<br>Speaking after the session, he said: “The feeling of the car underneath me, I haven’t really ...

read on

TRACK INTERVIEWS(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)<br>Q: You’ve got to be the happiest man here today, Valtteri; what a sensational last lap to grab pole position. An interrupted session, you kept your composure, and I guess you stole that pole position from Ferrari, because they have been ever so strong? <br>Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I’m really happy for that. It was a nice feeling to get it done on ...

read on

Kubica crashed into the barrier at the tight Turn 8 right-hander late in the first segment of qualifying, having clipped the wall entering the corner.<br>The crash consigned him to 19th on the grid, as he was outqualified by teammate George Russell for a fourth race in a row.<br>Kubica has not been comfortable with his FW42 chassis since the start of the season, and admitted he could've taken more ...

read on

Gasly benefited from a huge tow from Lance Stroll's Racing Point to lap quickest in the first part of qualifying in Baku.<br>However, FIA F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer reported that Gasly exceeded the maximum allowed fuel mass flow of 100 kg/h on that lap.<br>He referred the matter to the stewards, who have duly summoned Gasly and his Red Bull team.<br>Daniel Ricciardo exceeded the fuel-flow ...

read on

The Dutchman had topped the Q2 session in Azerbaijan and had provisionally been on the front row towards the end of Q3, before he slipped down to fourth in the end.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Azerbaijan GP: Bottas beats Hamilton to pole, Leclerc crashes<br><br><br>But he reckons the key element that decided the final order was who got the better tow rather than who delivered the best lap – ...

read on

Bottas led a Mercedes one-two in Baku, helped by an interrupted qualifying session that included post-practice favourite Charles Leclerc crashing out in Q2.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Azerbaijan GP: Bottas beats Hamilton to pole, Leclerc crashes<br><br><br>Hamilton, who will line up second, said he never recovered from a "pretty shocking" first two corners.<br>"Valtteri did an exceptional job, it ...

read on

...

read on

The Finn had been in the mix to fight for the front end of the midfield pack in Q3, but it all went wrong when he got too strong a slipstream off Hamilton on the long straight as he began the lap.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Azerbaijan GP: Bottas beats Hamilton to pole, Leclerc crashes<br><br><br>It meant the Alfa Romeo driver was left tucked right under the gearbox of the Mercedes for the tight ...

read on