Racetrackmasters

Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix were dashed during a standing restart, after he locked-up and went straight on at Turn 1. The Mercedes driver looked set to move back into the lead of the Formula 1 Championship after title rival Max Verstappen crashed out with a tyre failure. That prompted a red flag and a restart. Hamilton started from second, behind Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate, Sergio Perez. Despite a good start to get ahead of the Mexican, Hamilton locked-up and went straight on, taking to the Turn 1 run-off before rejoining at the back of the pack. Hamilton apologised over team radio before mentioning the “magic”, referring to a button or switch Mercedes uses to warm its tyres and brakes more effectively during race starts. “Did I leave the magic on? I could have sworn I turned that off,” the Briton said. After the race, Hamilton explained that he had in fact turned it off, but knocked the switch, re-activating it, when he moved left to counter Perez’s defence at the restart, which moved the brake bias forwards, causing him to go off. “I’m not entirely sure, but I hit some sort of switch that caused only the front brakes to work,” he told media after the race. “There’s a button we have to help keep the front brakes up and, as Perez pulled over, I reacted and accidentally latched on the switch. It just locked up and I went straight on.” Hamilton would go on to finish outside of the points, meaning Verstappen retains his slim four-point championship lead, whilst Red Bull extended their Constructors’ lead thanks to Perez’s win.

Charles Leclerc led the opening stages of the Azerbaijan on Sunday, however the Ferrari driver revealed that a tree branch on track at Turn 15 opened the door for Lewis Hamilton to make his way past. The Monegasque driver started from pole, though unlike in Monaco he was able to make the grid this time out. Leclerc led for two laps before Hamilton found a way past down the main straight, with the Ferrari driver explaining how his attempts to avoid the fallen branch prompted him to cut the track and then back off. “It was starting to be quite ok in the first few laps,” Leclerc told the media. “Then there was something that I think hasn’t been seen on TV. There was part of a tree in the middle of Turn 15, and I actually lost quite a bit of time because I cut the track and I was a bit worried to gain time on Lewis behind that hadn’t cut the track. So I slowed down and then he overtook me. “From then on, it was quite difficult, because I was behind Lewis in dirty air, which I struggled a little bit. As soon as I lost the DRS, Max overtook me and then you are just in a vicious circle that is very difficult, because I had cars all around me that had a bit more pace than I did.” Leclerc finished just outside the podium after a late battle with Pierre Gasly, though he stated his race went as expected. “I really enjoyed the last part, but the first part wasn’t great,” Leclerc added. “Let’s say it was expected. “It wasn’t a huge disappointment. We knew that Max [Verstappen, the Red Bulls and Mercedes had quite a bit more pace than us on the long run. I tried not to fight them too much and focus on my race. “The two big surprises from today were the two Aston Martins that were flying and we need to understand that because they definitely did something right.”

Sergio Perez won a dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Max Verstappen crashed out from the lead with just five laps remaining following a horror tyre failure at 200mph and Lewis Hamilton threw away second place to finish 15th. Verstappen looked poised to race to the flag following a slow pit stop for Hamilton. But a terrifying rear-left puncture sent the Red Bull driver out of control and into the concrete wall on the right-hand side of the start-finish straight. Verstappen was able to walk away from the high-speed crash, kicking the tyre which had failed, with the safety car deployed. The race was then suspended on lap 49 of 51 after Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley urged FIA race chief Michal Masi to red-flag the event fearing another devastating puncture. Indeed, questions will now be asked of Formula One’s tyre supplier, Pirelli, after Lance Stroll also suffered a high-speed blowout on lap 31. The drivers were permitted to take on fresh rubber for what was effectively a two-lap race before Hamilton launched a gung-ho move on Perez for the win only to run down the escape road at the opening corner in a plume of tyre smoke. “I am so sorry, guys,” said the world champion. Sebastian Vettel rolled back the years to drive from 11th to second to claim Aston Martin’s best result of their return, with Pierre Gasly third for AlphaTauri. Hamilton’s late mistake means Verstappen remains four points ahead of the British driver after the opening six rounds. Hamilton started from second before taking the lead at the beginning of the third lap when he roared past pole-sitter Charles Leclerc on the start-finish straight. Verstappen and team-mate Perez followed suit on laps seven and eight to put the pressure on Hamilton, who had been unable to build a gap in a Mercedes which has largely been off the pace this weekend. Hamilton then made his sole stop on lap 11, but with Gasly pitting at the same time, the seven-time world champion’s release was delayed. The Mercedes driver’s pit-stop took 4.6 seconds, paving the way for Verstappen to take the lead of the race when he pitted for fresh rubber on the following lap. Hamilton’s slow stop also enabled Perez to leapfrog him. While Verstappen remained unchallenged at the front, Hamilton hustled Perez, but despite being faster than the Mexican in the final sector he was unable to find a way past. On lap 31, Stroll suffered the first terrifying puncture. The high-speed failure sent Stroll’s Aston Martin into the concrete wall on the left-hand side of the pit-straight, but while the Canadian sustained extensive damage to the front of his car he emerged unscathed from the horror crash. The safety car was deployed for five laps to clean up the debris, with Verstappen executing the perfect restart to leave Perez trailing. Behind, Vettel, who ran longer in his first stint to lead the race for a brief period, then fought his way past Leclerc and Gasly to move up to fourth. Verstappen was in complete cruise control – on course to move 16 points ahead of Hamilton – until the dramatic late turn of events on the Caspian Sea. The race was suspended for 30 minutes and ahead of the restart Hamilton told his team “you have to remember this is a marathon not a sprint”, seemingly content to take second and his 18-point haul. But the seven-time world champion sensed an opportunity to pass Perez and win the race at the first bend only to run off the circuit. 2021 F1 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX – RACE RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 51 laps 2 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team +1.385s 3 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda +2.762s 4 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow +3.828s 5 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team +4.754s 6 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team +6.328s 7 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda +6.624s 8 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow +7.709s 9 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team +8.874s 10 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen +9.576s 11 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen +10.254s 12 Valterri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team +11.264s 13 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team +14.241s 14 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team +14.315s 15 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team +17.668s 16 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing +42.379s DNF George Russel GBR Williams Racing 48 laps DNF Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 46 laps DNF Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 29 laps DNF Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 3 laps

Toto Wolff isn’t all that surprised that Red Bull performed better than Mercedes during practice on Friday, noting that their ability in the twisty parts of Baku and their flexible rear wing gives them the optimum combination. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were both well off the pace in FP2, finishing 11th and 16th respectively. Perhaps more worrying was the deficit to Red Bull, who finished atop both sessions, which stood at over a second. Wolff stated that Monaco and Baku are both tracks that don’t suit Mercedes, however Red Bull’s flexible rear wing has helped the Milton Keynes outfit make the gap that much bigger. “We knew that Monaco and Baku are not tracks that suit us,” Wolff told RacingNews365.com and other members of the media. “They [Red Bull] were very good in those twisty parts in Monaco so they are very good here too and Ferrari also. “Then on the straights if you have a wing that gives you this additional speed, you have the optimum combination, against us. So you just need to to take it on the chin for here and try to give it the best performance and collect the most points.” While Baku isn’t a track that Mercedes excels at, Wolff isn’t just willing to assume that their performance will simply return in two weeks time in France. “You can never take that assumption because neither Red Bull or Ferrari or any other team [will just] sleep,” Wolff added. “If we say it’s gonna be okay in France and in Austria, that can you can fall flat on your nose. It’s about learning here and trying to understand why these type of tracks don’t suit us.”

Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he has had no discussions with Mercedes over a new contract but that he expects such talks to take place soon. The Finnish driver sees his deal with the Silver Arrows come to an end at the conclusion of his campaign and there has, naturally, been speculation around his future because of that. Indeed, Mercedes product George Russell is being widely-touted as a future Merc driver and that could even come at the expense of Bottas, with 2022 potentially the year where the change happens. Ultimately, though, we do not know for sure as to how things are going to play out and Bottas admits that there hasn’t been much in the way of dialogue so far with the team, though he expects that to change in the coming weeks He said in his press conference ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: “We haven’t yet talked about anything, because this is being a pretty demanding championship and we know how much it matters to be able to work in peace, let’s say, when you can focus on the main thing, that is performance. “But that time will come, for sure, it hasn’t been yet, but for sure time flies, especially as we’re soon going to go to triple headers. So I would imagine that, naturally, over the next month or so you need to start to speak and I know from previous experiences that the sooner you can sort things out, the better for everyone. It will come soon, but not yet.”

The weather in Belgium is usually changeable, and there have been many wet races at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. On Friday however, some very bizarre images surfaced: Spa was ravaged by a storm, resulting in a flooded circuit. At the moment the thunderstorm hit the circuit, the Spa Euro Race was ongoing and had to be stopped due to the circumstances. According to the organisation, the storm was so violent that it damaged the circuit. The circuit then turned into a swirling river, with flooding between La Source and Eau Rouge. An access tunnel was also flooded. Recently it was announced that the Belgian government wants to admit 75,000 fans at the Belgian Grand Prix, which is scheduled for August 29.

Good news for Belgian and of course many Dutch Formula 1 fans. The Belgian government has given the green light for major events today. That means good news for the Belgian Grand Prix. Today the Consultative Committee of the different governments is looking at new relaxations of the Covid-19 measures in Belgium and according to the VRT As of August 13, “large events could be held, with a maximum of 75,000 participants. These are events such as Pukkelpop, Tomorrowland or Formula 1.” The Belgian Grand Prix will take place from August 27-29 on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. According to the new measures 75,000 visitors could come to the Ardennes. Previously around 265,000 visitors came to the Belgian Grand Prix over three days. However visitors to the race would have to be vaccinated or have a negative test.

The Singapore Formula One Grand Prix has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday organisers of the race confirmed this year’s event, slated for Oct. 3, would not take place. Last year’s event was also cancelled due to the pandemic. According to the BBC, F1 is weighing up several options as replacements for this year, including Turkey, China or a second race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, which is already hosting the U.S. Grand Prix on Oct. 24. Turkey was briefly on the calendar as replacement for the Canadian GP this month, but it had to cancel that event due to the pandemic. The Chinese GP postponed its 2021 event due to the pandemic. Both hoped a race at the tail-end of 2021 would be possible if circumstances change. Colin Syn, deputy chairman of the Singapore GP, said the decision had not been taken lightly. “We understand that our fans were looking forward to another edition of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix,” he said. “To cancel the event for a second year is an incredibly difficult decision, but a necessary one in light of the prevailing restrictions for live events in Singapore. “We would not be able to deliver a full event experience fans have come to expect over the years, while safeguarding the health and safety of our fans, contractors, volunteers and staff. Ultimately, we have to be responsible, cautious and prudent as safety is our number one concern.”

Mercedes were unsurpisingly not happy with the first Grand Prix day in Azerbaijan. The team were seventh and tenth in the morning session, and a few hours later they weren’t even in the top ten. Lewis Hamilton finished eleventh, while Valtteri Bottas was P16. It was a shocking day for the seven-time reigning double world champions. Friday’s running was a cause of great concern to team principal Toto Wolff who wanted to use the current weekend to regain first place in the world championship. With Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen’s P1 and P2 finishes in the second practice session for Red Bull Racing, the opposite seems to have happened, and Wolff showed his displeasure. The team boss normally takes plenty of time to speak to the media after each session, but Friday afternoon was different. Although Sky Sports F1 were ready to talk to Wolff about where things were going wrong, he decided to head straight to the debriefing and not speak to the press for the time being. His frustration is evident, despite his lack of words to the media.

While there is plenty of continued talk about rear wings, Max Verstappen was keen to keep the front wings on the agenda as well in Azerbaijan. Red Bull’s flexing rear wing is set to be outlawed by the time the French Grand Prix comes around as a Mercedes complaint has led to the FIA introducing a more rigorous test that will eventually prevent teams from running a rear wing that has the ability to flex up and down. Mercedes were not completely satisfied that the current Red Bull rear wing would be allowed to be used on the streets of Baku, so there is a threat of a protest being lodged if the Silver Arrows persist on getting the new tests introduced as soon as possible. Speaking to Sky Sports on media day in Azerbaijan, Verstappen took the opportunity to not only remind everyone that Red Bull have had a legal car throughout the 2021 season so far, but to also state they are not the only team with flexing wings. That was an indirect reference to Mercedes’ front wing which has also be seen to involve a lot of movement based on some on-board camera footage. “It is what it is,” Verstappen said. “I can understand, of course, other people looking into things when we are doing a good job with the car this season. “So I can understand people complaining. But it’s all within the rules so far. There’s nothing wrong we did. Of course, they try to slow us down. “You have to look at the overall picture. The most important and dominant part of the car is the front and we are not flexing as much as other teams there.” After a dismal showing at the Monaco Grand Prix in where Mercedes lost control on both World Championship fronts, they have painted a picture of more doom and gloom to come in Baku. But, Verstappen thinks that will not be the case. “They still have a very good car,” he said. “Monaco never really suited them, they have a very long wheelbase which is not amazing around there. “But overall for the rest of the season it seems like it’s quite a strong tool. “They have been winning a lot of championships so they know what they have to do and I really expect them to bounce back strong.”

FIA race director Michael Masi has issued a warning in Baku to drivers who may be tempted to drive “unnecessarily slowly” in qualifying for the purpose of creating a gap before setting a time. Masi was promoted to introduce the new rule on the grounds of safety because of visibility issues potentially impacting drivers in the final sweep of fast corners of Baku’s track. “During any practice session, any driver intending to create a gap in front of him in order to get a clear lap should not attempt to do this between the entry to Turn 17 through to the exit of Turn 20,” stated a bulletin from the FIA. “Any driver seen to have done this will be reported to the stewards as being in breach of Article 27.4 of the Sporting Regulations.” Furthermore, weaving across the track in any session may be reprimanded by the stewards, while a maximum guide time shall also be established for FP3 and qualifying to ensure that drivers do not drive too slowly during any lap that is not an in-lap. “For reasons of safety, during each practice session, acts such as weaving across the track to hinder another car may be referred to the stewards,” Masi wrote in his pre-Azerbaijan GP notes to competitors. “During free practice session 3 and the qualifying practice, the time published in accordance with Item 8 [the Safety Car line maximum time] of the race directors’ event notes will be used as a guide by the stewards to determine if a driver is considered to be driving unnecessarily slowly on an out lap or any other lap that is not a fast lap or in lap.”