2017 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix

[gamer19]

It's not like that.

Not at all. That's what "we" think. Well... me at least.
About 90°corners...
Baku is street circuit, what did you expect ?
And most streets or avenues are build with that ...specific angle in mind.
My favorite street circuit is Surfers Paradise, some 90°turn, chicane, 90°turn x2, chicane, and so on... but I just love it, it's an amazing circuit.

 

[samcar304]

Singapore is IMO the best Street circuit F1 has been to, Baku is not great but For quality of racing its better than Monaco

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

They raced a cool track during the Blancpain GT in Baku but I can understand why they'd want to avoid that in F1 considering what it did to the poor Lambo.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

FREE PRACTICE ONE - FRIDAY

Red Bull come on strong as Mercedes struggle in Baku.

Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo set the pace in opening practice at Baku today as the Renault powered cars stayed calm while others faulted on a track that proved to be difficult to master for a majority of the teams.

Despite finding himself some 5 tenths of a second behind the pace setting Red Bull of Verstappen, Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel can take some solace from his performance on the slightly slower soft tyre choice, heading both Mercedes cars of Hamilton in P5 and Finnish team mate Bottas a further 3 tenths adrift of his team leader in the German team.

The session was not without incident as many drivers found the going tough on such a low grid track, with Williams driver Felipe Massa, Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen, Renault’s Jolyon Palmer and Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas all having spins to lesser or greater degrees, joined by spins, Kevin Magnussen, Palmer again, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez also taking to the scenery at different times during the session.

It would be another difficult day for McLaren Honda once again, with both drivers getting respectable track time in the orange cars but failing to trouble the upper mid field runners. Alonso would end up behind his rookie team mate Vandoorne in 17th place, a tenth behind 15th positioned Vandoorne and a full 3.1 seconds behind the leading Red Bull car.

Free Practice One Times

1. Max Verstappen - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer - 1:44.410 19
2. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer - 1:44.880 +0.470s 22
3. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:44.967 +0.557s 20
4. Sergio Perez - Force India Mercedes - 1:45.398 +0.988s 16
5. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1:45.497 +1.087s 16
6. Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes - 1:45.737 +1.327s 19
7. Esteban Ocon - Force India Mercedes - 1:45.752 +1.342s 24
8. Felipe Massa - Williams Mercedes - 1:45.968 +1.558s 25
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:46.000 +1.590s 18
10. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:46.617 +2.207s 11
11. Lance Stroll - Williams Mercedes - 1:46.649 +2.239s 28
12. Kevin Magnussen - Haas Ferrari - 1:46.721 +2.311s 23
13. Romain Grosjean - Haas Ferrari - 1:46.837 +2.427s 22
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Renault - 1:47.217 +2.807s 21
15. Stoffel Vandoorne - McLaren Honda - 1:47.446 +3.036s 22
16. Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso - 1:47.501 +3.091s 13
17. Fernando Alonso - McLaren Honda - 1:47.551 +3.141s 20
18. Jolyon Palmer - Renault - 1:48.525 +4.115s 15
19. Pascal Wehrlein - Sauber Ferrari - 1:49.048 +4.638s 19
20. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber Ferrari - 1:49.937 +5.527s 21

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

FREE PRACTICE TWO - FRIDAY

Red Bull again as Mercedes and Ferrari up the ante

Red Bull continued their outstanding start to the weekend on Friday in Baku with yet another fastest time of the session, however this time Valtteri Bottas managed to split the two team mates in his AMG Mercedes car.

Verstappen would blot his copybook somewhat in the dying moments of the session with an uncharacteristic shunt into the barriers, ending in damage to the rear of his Red Bull machine.

Despite a dominant opening earlier today the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and both Ferrari cars ended the session much closer to the top of the timesheets, with just 0.250 tenths of a second covering the top five times at the close of play with should add considerable interest into qualifying tomorrow on a track where overtaking will be difficult at the front of the field.

Surprisingly Mercedes lead driver and current second place man in the championship Lewis Hamilton once again proved to be off the pace on a track that seemingly doesn't suit the talented Englishman, as he ended the day in a lowly tenth place over a second shy of his Finnish team mate.

Following on from an incident strewn opening practice earlier in the day, FP2 would prove no less dramatic as several cars had off track moments and contact with the unforgiving barriers lining this challenging track. Renault would be the worst hit of the day as Jolyon Palmer made heavy contact with the barriers at turn 8 to put further pressure on a driving seemingly hanging by a thread to his drive in the works Renault squad.

Joining Palmer and Max Verstappen in the wars at Baku would be what seemed like the majority of the field as the session found itself almost permanently under a state of yellow flag throughout the 90 minutes of running.

In between the chaos would rise Red Bull once again, setting up an intriguing day of activity tomorrow ahead of one of the most important qualifying sessions of the year so far.

Free Practice Two Times

1. Max Verstappen - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer - 1:43.362 36
2. Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes - 1:43.462 +0.100s 32
3. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer - 1:43.473 +0.111s 34
4. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:43.489 +0.127s 35
5. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1:43.615 +0.253s 35
6. Lance Stroll - Williams Mercedes - 1:44.113 +0.751s 27
7. Sergio Perez - Force India Mercedes - 1:44.306 +0.944s 34
8. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:44.321 +0.959s 27
9. Esteban Ocon - Force India Mercedes - 1:44.484 +1.122s 37
10. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1:44.525 +1.163s 23
11. Felipe Massa - Williams Mercedes - 1:44.609 +1.247s 33
12. Fernando Alonso - McLaren Honda - 1:45.515 +2.153s 15
13. Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso - 1:45.733 +2.371s 34
14. Kevin Magnussen - Haas Ferrari - 1:45.831 +2.469s 33
15. Nico Hulkenberg - Renault - 1:46.003 +2.641s 29
16. Jolyon Palmer - Renault - 1:46.061 +2.699s 17
17. Stoffel Vandoorne - McLaren Honda - 1:46.174 +2.812s 28
18. Pascal Wehrlein - Sauber Ferrari - 1:47.150 +3.788s 25
19. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber Ferrari - 1:47.347 +3.985s 25
20. Romain Grosjean - Haas Ferrari - 1:47.722 +4.360s 22

 

[RWLemonade]

It's not like that.

Not at all. That's what "we" think. Well... me at least.
About 90°corners...
Baku is street circuit, what did you expect ?
And most streets or avenues are build with that ...specific angle in mind.
My favorite street circuit is Surfers Paradise, some 90°turn, chicane, 90°turn x2, chicane, and so on... but I just love it, it's an amazing circuit.

Yes some are good street circuits, like the one you mentioned, lets be real, this is plain boring.... no character.... now lets look at Macua, now thats a proper street circuit, even Adelaid is a good street circuit... this is just boring.. it doesnt have anything that really stands out... as its tooo f-ing big....smaller teams dont stand a chance with there power units...

 

[Jeff]

Yes some are good street circuits, like the one you mentioned, lets be real, this is plain boring.... no character.... now lets look at Macua, now thats a proper street circuit, even Adelaid is a good street circuit... this is just boring.. it doesnt have anything that really stands out... as its tooo f-ing big....smaller teams dont stand a chance with there power units...

I agree that those are great street circuits but not so much for F1. One of my all time favorite street circuit is bathurst but i wouldt want F1 to race there.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

FREE PRACTICE THREE - SATURDAY

1. Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes 1:42.742 21
2. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:42.837 +0.095s 14
3. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes 1:43.158 +0.416s 23
4. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:43.287 +0.545s 24
5. Esteban Ocon - Force India Mercedes 1:43.344 +0.602s 21
6. Max Verstappen - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:43.614 +0.872s 16
7. Felipe Massa - Williams Mercedes 1:43.738 +0.996s 18
8. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso 1:43.908 +1.166s 21
9. Lance Stroll - Williams Mercedes 1:44.040 +1.298s 17
10. Sergio Perez - Force India Mercedes 1:44.138 +1.396s 22
11. Nico Hulkenberg - Renault 1:44.312 +1.570s 16
12. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:44.344 +1.602s 7
13. Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso 1:44.401 +1.659s 23
14. Fernando Alonso - McLaren Honda 1:44.741 +1.999s 18
15. Kevin Magnussen - Haas Ferrari 1:44.926 +2.184s 20
16. Stoffel Vandoorne - McLaren Honda 1:45.143 +2.401s 17
17. Romain Grosjean - Haas Ferrari 1:45.491 +2.749s 20
18. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber Ferrari 1:45.645 +2.903s 21
19. Pascal Wehrlein - Sauber Ferrari 1:45.722 +2.980s 19
20. Jolyon Palmer - Renault 1:53.040 +10.298s 4

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

QUALIFICATION - SATURDAY

Hamilton storms to pole as Mercedes dominate in Baku.

Lewis Hamilton turned around his slow start in Baku in spectacular style on Saturday afternoon as he led home a Mercedes one-two ahead of Sundays Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Hamilton and team mate Valtteri Bottas would end the qualification session in considerably finer form that they started the weekend on Friday morning, with Hamilton beating his new team mate by almost half a second in the dying moments of a session restarted following a collision with the barriers for Daniel Ricciardo in the previously pace setting Red Bull car.

With qualification paused as the circuit cleared post recovery of the Red Bull, the final 3 minutes 33 seconds would prove to be an incredibly action packed affair, with several drivers looking to improve their grid slot ahead of a race where overtaking opportunities are expected to be at a premium.

The biggest surprise of the session would undoubtedly be the upturn in form of both Hamilton and his Mercedes team who up to this session appeared to be suffering from a lack of pace similar to the triple World Champions experience of last year. With five tenths in his pocket against Bottas and a further six tenths ahead of the lead Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen, the pace of the Silver Arrows will appear as an ominous sign to those with intentions of wrapping up a first race victory for a none Mercedes Grand Prix car.

Other than the obviously superb performance from Mercedes special note should be given to the incredibly impressive Lance Stroll in his Williams, out performing highly experienced team mate Felipe Massa and securing a highly commendable eight place time in his rookie season and first drive at this difficult street circuit. Stroll has been roundly criticised this season for his performance in what is a fundamentally competitive car, however fresh off of the back of his debut points finish in Canada the young Canadian continues to build confidence and improve his performances in comparison to his Brazilian team mate Massa.

Provisional Qualification Times.

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes 1:41.983 - 1:41.275 1:40.593 20
2. Valtteri Bottas - Mercedes 1:43.026 - 1:41.502 1:41.027 23
3. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:42.678 - 1:42.090 1:41.693 23
4. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:42.952 - 1:41.911 1:41.841 23
5. Max Verstappen - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer - 1:42.544 1:41.961 1:41.879 22
6. Sergio Perez - Force India Mercedes - 1:43.162 1:42.467 1:42.111 21
7. Esteban Ocon - Force India Mercedes - 1:43.051 1:42.751 1:42.186 21
8. Lance Stroll - Williams Mercedes - 1:43.613 1:42.284 1:42.753 21
9. Felipe Massa - Williams Mercedes - 1:43.165 1:42.735 1:42.798 22
10. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer - 1:42.857 1:42.215 1:43.414 20
11. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:42.927 1:43.186 19
12. Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso - 1:43.489 1:43.347 20
13. Kevin Magnussen - Haas Ferrari - 1:44.029 1:43.796 18
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Renault - 1:43.930 1:44.267 12
15. Pascal Wehrlein - Sauber Ferrari - 1:44.317 1:44.603 18
16. Fernando Alonso - McLaren Honda - 1:44.334 9
17. Romain Grosjean - Haas Ferrari - 1:44.468 10
18. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber Ferrari - 1:44.795 10
19. Stoffel Vandoorne - McLaren Honda - 1:45.030 8

107% Time - 1:49.121 Note - Palmer did not participate following a car fire in FP3 so races at stewards' discretion

 

[mikhail000]

What's the rpm limit this year?
I barely see them hitting 12,000rpm at 310mph.

 

[snyperal]

310mph!?

 

[paracletus]

Great qualifying session, and another brilliant lap by LH.

 

[mikhail000]

310mph!?

Typo I meant 210mph, anyway I saw them bouncing off the revs at about 11650-11950rpm
unable to gain anymore speed on the straight in p2, p3 maybe they'll dial it up for qualifying,
are the speed traps up yet?

 

[mikhail000]

Seems not Kimi only managed 338.7kph without slipstream,
Hamilton had a distant slipstream and did 343kph.
Riccardo did 356.3 but I didn't see footage of him :-(

 

[Samuel Fuller]

I would like to know why Hamilton's first flying time in Q3 wasn't disallowed straight away for exceeding track limits. It should have been and that would have surely put additional pressure on his final lap.

 

[Celestiale]

Absolutely awesome race that's why i love city circuits.
Hamilton and Vettel both acting like spoiled kids in a sandpit, better then Cinema
I hope both don't get penalized, or both get the same penalty (would make for some crazy race results)

 

[Nick Hill]

We're sure to come up against the 2 hr limit now, wouldn't you think?

 

[Dave R]

Replace some of these boring tracks and let's go to Baku 5 times per year!!!

 

[snyperal]

What's going on I've been out on my bike?

 

[Dave R]

You've missed the race of the year. This one's been action packed.