The Azerbaijan Grand Prix produced a qualifying session to remember and a race to forget.
Several drivers excelled at Baku but one of the year’s top performers had a nightmare weekend. Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field.
Lando Norris
▶ Appeared to have a tenth of a second in hand over Piastri in practice
▼ Lost time with a crash in Q2
▼ Missed a clear shot to take at least second on the grid
▼ Lost a place to Hadjar at the start
▼ Lost another place to Leclerc with a poor restart
▶ Passed Hadjar
▶ Slow pit stop cost him chance to gain more places
▲ Overtook Leclerc for seventh
4/10: A weekend of missed opportunities
Oscar Piastri
▼ Received a reprimand for a yellow flag infringement in second practice
▼ Crashed in Q3 and had to start ninth
▼ Jumped the start, then hesitated, falling to last
▼ Crashed out five corners into the race
2/10: Three huge errors in the space of two competitive laps
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Charles Leclerc
▶ Reached the final round of qualifying despite a scruffy Q2 session
▼ Crashed in Q3 which left him 10th on the grid
▲ Passed Norris and Hadjar after the restart for seventh
▶ Had to cope with a loss of engine power at times
▶ Wasn’t able to overtake Lawson
▶ Let Hamilton past when instructed to and should have been given place back
5/10: Did his best to recover after qualifying crash
Lewis Hamilton
▶ Rebounded from a crash in first practice to lead the times on Friday and said he was happier with his car
▼ Ran softs instead of mediums in Q2 and failed to make the cut
▶ Started on hards and ran a long opening stint
▶ Leclerc let him by into eighth
▶ Couldn’t attack DRS train of cars ahead of him at the end
▼ Messed up attempt to hand eighth place back to Leclerc
4/10: Paid the price for slipping up in qualifying again
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Max Verstappen
▶ Built up the pace steadily over practice as usual
▲ Mastered challenging qualifying conditions for an excellent pole position
▲ Kept his lead from pole position despite starting on hard tyres
▶ Was never headed on his way to victory
9/10: Had little to do in the race but was supreme in qualifying
Yuki Tsunoda
▶ Immediately declared himself happy with the car after practice
▶ Took his best starting position yet for Red Bull but was a second off Verstappen
▼ Gained a place from Russell thanks to Antonelli, but lost it again
▼ Couldn’t pass Lawson despite much fresher tyres – but perhaps he preferred not to
6/10: Better but still far from his team mate
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
▲ Stuck with the medium tyre compound for final run in Q3 and out-qualified Russell despite gust of wind at final corner
▲ Passed Lawson after emerging from the pits close behind him
▶ Couldn’t get close enough to Sainz to attack the Williams
7/10: Treaded carefully to bank much-needed points
George Russell
▶ Qualified fifth after switching to softs for final run in Q3
▶ Lost a place to Tsunoda when Antonelli forced him wide
▲ Repassed Tsunoda which was vital for his strategy
▶ Ran long in a bid to ‘overcut’ Sainz
▲ Super-committed pit lane entry helped him jump ahead of the Williams
▶ Took second place despite being unwell all weekend
9/10: Exceptional in the race, qualifying let him down slightly but very strong given his illness
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Lance Stroll
▶ One of many drivers who was infuriated by a change in wind direction, went out in Q2
▼ Passed by Colapinto early on
▼ Ran a long opening stint despite lacklustre pace and was undercut by several rivals
▶ Hoped for a Safety Car but didn’t get one and fell to 17th
4/10: Did not look competitive at any stage and resorted to a strategy gamble
Fernando Alonso
▲ Beat Hamilton’s Ferrari in Q2 and nearly reached the final 10
▼ Jumped the start as Piastri ahead of him did the same, copping a five-second time penalty
▶ Despite the extra time lost at his pit stop he was still the first Aston Martin driver home
5/10: Start error probably didn’t cost him a point at weak track for Aston Martin
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Franco Colapinto
▼ Blamed a gust of wind after crashing heavily at turn four in Q1
▲ Passed Bearman at the start
▶ Had just come out of pits in front of Albon when the Williams hit him
▶ Kept Gasly behind for 10 laps at end of race before dropping to last
4/10: Unlucky to be hit by Albon but had already compromised his weekend in qualifying
Pierre Gasly
▼ Apologised to the team after an error on his last lap in Q1 put him out
▼ Tried to run a long opening stint on hards but lost time being passed by Bortoleto and Albon
▶ Spent several laps stuck behind Colapinto
▲ Cannily used blue flags when Verstappen caught them to pass his team mate
5/10: Smart pass on Colapinto was highlight of his weekend
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Esteban Ocon
▼ Ran three sets of softs in Q1 but couldn’t join his team mate in Q2
▶ Had to start from the back of the grid after being disqualified
▶ Knocked sideways by Hulkenberg at the start
▶ Ran a ‘hail Mary’ strategy by attempting to run to the end on hards after the Safety Car
▼ Rose as high as 13th before Bortoleto and Albon passed him
▶ Let Bearman through when told to by team
6/10: Not quite as quick as Bearman but largely stayed out of trouble
Oliver Bearman
▼ Reached Q2 but hit a wall and went no further
▼ Passed by Colapinto at the start and lost two places at the restart
▲ Passed Alonso soon after his pit stop
▶ Ocon let him by into an eventual 12th
5/10: Pace looked better than Ocon’s but his execution was weaker
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Isack Hadjar
▼ Furious with himself after squandering a strong start to his final run in Q3 with a mistake at turn 16
▲ Passed Norris at the start
▼ Repeated his turn 16 mistake and lost places to Leclerc and Norris
5/10: Understandable frustration after turn 16 mistakes
Liam Lawson
▲ Gained eight tenths of a second between his two runs in Q3 for third on the grid
▶ Kept his position at the start
▼ Admitted he could have managed his battery better to keep Antonelli behind
▲ Did manage his battery better under pressure from Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton
▶ Delivered a strong fifth place
8/10: He was probably always going to drop behind the Mercedes after excellent qualifying performance
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Alexander Albon
▼ Took himself out of qualifying early by hitting the inside of turn one
▼ Tried to ‘undercut’ Colapinto, didn’t get ahead and then hit the Alpine
▲ Passed Ocon and Bortoleto, the latter on fresher tyres
▶ Penalty for Colapinto collision dropped him one position to 12th
3/10: Strange qualifying error and poorly-judged move on Colapinto
Carlos Sainz Jnr
▲ Superb qualifying performance nearly delivered shock pole position
▲ Quick enough to see off undercut threat from Antonelli…
▶ …but Russell’s stunning in-lap proved too much for him
▶ Kept Antonelli out of DRS range in sprint to the chequered flag
9/10: Awesome job in qualifying and did well to out-run Antonelli in the race
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Nico Hulkenberg
▼ Hit the wall in Q1 and was eliminated
▼ Knocked Ocon sideways at the start but avoided a penalty
▲ Great pass on Gasly and Bearman at the restart
▶ Ran long on a set of hard tyres but never got the break he needed
5/10: Decent drive in the race after another qualifying disappointment
Gabriel Bortoleto
▶ Reached Q2 but got no further
▲ Passed Alonso early in the race
▶ Was the earliest driver to switch to mediums and suffered for it near the end
▶ Passed by Albon late in the race but gained the position back due to his rival’s penalty
▶ Held Bearman back but never looked likely to crack the top 10
7/10: Didn’t look like there was much more left in the Sauber, though strategy wasn’t ideal
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
