A black and red racing car on racing track

Fiona Mansell

The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was an event marked by high drama, strategic uncertainty, and the unique challenges of racing through the streets of the Baku City Circuit.

Free Practice One

The first free practice was an event session full of near misses with multiple drivers sliding and heading to escape roads to avoid collisions including, Alex Albon, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. It was an eventful session with Esteban Ocon having power unit problems, as well as some more serious crashes with several red flags through the session

The first practice started off badly for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc as he found himself in the barriers at turn 15. He was, at that time, the fastest man on track and is normally successful around the streets of Baku. He has been on pole position three times. However, this brought out the red flags and caused an end to the session for the man from Monaco. Carlos Sainz also had a couple of close calls, locking up at turn 7 and taking to the escape road. He also tapped the wall exiting turn 6.

More red flags followed as new driver, Franco Colapinto, also had a disappointing end to his session after he slid through turn 4 ending up in the walls. Not the impression he was hoping to make in his second race weekend in Formula 1 after replacing Logan Sargeant at Willaims. However, this was only the first practice of the weekend so plenty of opportunities for him to improve.

This was also our first opportunity to see Ollie Bearman on track. He drove to Haas, replacing Kevin Magnussen who’s numerous penalty points have resulted in a one race ban. He previously replaced Carlos Sainz in Ferrari in Saudi Arabia where he showed an impressive drive, finishing seventh. This ultimately secured him a seat at Haas next year. Everyone was watching if the British teenager would repeat his success. He went on to finish this session in eleventh place.

Red Bull started the weekend off strong with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez securing the first and third fastest times of the sessions, respectively. However, Hamilton split the drivers securing second.

Free Practice Two

Leclerc was once again having issues with his car after he had crashed previously. Instead, he safely resorted to the run off area and expressed his concern over the car before pitting. It seems the issues was quickly resolved as he headed back onto the track and set the fastest times of the weekend so far.

Red Bull was looking strong in the first sessions but Verstappen was not enjoying the second practice session. He complained of understeer and had a close call with the barriers and taking to the run off at turn three. He was also not enjoying the conditions, expressing problems with visibility.

Verstappen was not the only one having problems staying on track. Sainz also took to the run off at turn three and Lando Norris went wide at the final corner. Norris also faced problems with traffic after taking emergency action on a flying lap as he met Pierre Gasly, sharing he had a ‘problem with the battery.’

Mercedes was also running an older floor plan that seemed to be showing some success. Both drivers seemed to be more comfortable with the car then in previous sessions. Hamilton ended the FP2 in third.

Free Practice Three

Once again we saw lots of cars resulting to the run off and near misses. The streets of Baku mean that every centimetre counts when racing. Red flags were brought out once again in final practice. This time for Bearman who didn’t make the the corner or the run off in time at turn one. This resulted in him ending up in the barriers and out of the session.

Alpine again had more issues of reliability with their cars. This time Ocon was facing problems as he attempted to accelerate out of the final corner to find his car giving up on him. Leading to more red flags and the end of his session. This left the Frenchman with little practice after also retiring from FP1 earlier in the weekend.

The red flags meant lots of drivers wanted to make up for loss of track time creating a lot of traffic and frustrated drivers. Sainz went the wrong side of a bollard at turn 15 to avoid Perez. However, it was George Russel, Leclerc and Norris who rounded out the top three.

Qualifying

Q1 had a shock first exit with Norris not able to complete a lap due to a brief yellow flag induced by Ocon which Norris then pitted. Leaving him unable to improve his time and resulting in a disappointing elimination from the session.

Charles Leclerc claimed his fourth consecutive pole position at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. Sergio Perez and George Russell secured fourth and fifth, respectively, while Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had to settle for sixth and seventh.

A strange moment occurred in Q3 when Alex Albon’s Williams FW46 left the pit lane with the airbox cooler still attached, causing a brief commotion. He was able to remove it himself from the cockpit and throw it to the side of the circuit. However, it ultimately prevented him from getting to the timing line for a final push lap.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri secured a thrilling victory, beating Ferrari’s Leclerc in a dramatic race on the streets of Baku. Piastri, who initially trailed Leclerc, seized the lead after the pit stops and defended his position against intense pressure from Leclerc, Perez, and Sainz. He showed an impressive and talented drive and securing his second race win in formula one.

The race took a dramatic turn on the penultimate lap when Perez and Sainz collided while battling for third, sending both into the wall and ending their races. The crash allowed Russell to claim an unexpected podium finish in third, while Norris and Verstappen rounded out the top five.

Norris also demonstrated an impressive drive after being promoted to P15 to start the race after Hamilton and Ocon started from the pitlane due to power unit changes. He manage to climb his way up through the grid and overtake Verstappen, continuing to try and fight him for the world championship.

The race ended under a Virtual Safety Car, securing Piastri’s second Grand Prix win and propelling McLaren to the top of the constructors’ standings. Behind the leaders, Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto scored valuable points, while Lewis Hamilton recovered to finish ninth after a back-of-the-grid start. Bearman made history in Baku by becoming the first driver to score points for two different teams in his first two Grand Prix starts.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a thrilling race filled with drama and surprises. McLaren impressed with standout performances from Piastri, and Norris, despite his early Q1 exit. Their consistency throughout the season now sees McLaren leading the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc maintained his dominance in Baku with another pole, but challenges from Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren added tension. The race solidified McLaren as a serious title contender, setting the stage for an exciting season ahead.

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Featured image courtesy of Jen Ross via Flickr. No changes have been made to this image. Image licence found here.

Fiona is now undergoing a master's degree in 'Visual Journalism' in Cardiff after recently graduating with first-class honours in 'Performance and Media.' Most of her writing focuses on her passion for motorsport.

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