Verstappen wins Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Ferrari suffers retirements

Max Verstappen won the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after both Scuderia Ferrari cars were forced to retire due to reliability difficulties in the middle of the race. 

After being out-qualified by teammate Sergio Pérez, the Dutchman started third on the grid, but showed faster pace in the early parts of the race around Baku City Circuit.

Pérez overtook Charles Leclerc for the lead at Turn 1 and maintained control of the race until a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, at which point Oracle Red Bull Racing chose to stay out and take track position. 

Later, Red Bull team was given another opportunity for pit stops, and Verstappen took the lead over a struggling Pérez after switching to the Hard compound of tyre. The Mexican was told not to argue the lead change, which resulted in the team’s comfortable one-two finish.

On lap ten, disaster struck for Ferrari as Carlos Sainz Jr suffered a hydraulic breakdown at Turn Four, forcing the Spaniard to retire for the third time in the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship, bringing out the first Virtual Safety Car, which many drivers chose to stop under. 

Leclerc’s engine flared up in smoke ten laps later on the pit straight, forcing the number sixteen driver to retire for the second time in three races. Ferrari will be frustrated with a pointless Sunday afternoon after capturing pole position and fourth place in qualifying on Saturday.

Ferrari’s retirements were a blessing in disguise for Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, as the Silver Arrows capitalised to finish third with George Russell and fourth with Lewis Hamilton. In the pitstop phase of the race, Mercedes chose to double-stack their drivers, with Russell possessing track position, while Hamilton’s delayed stop put him farther down the field.

Russell remained in third for the remainder of the race, while Hamilton fought back to finish fourth overall after overtaking Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, and Pierre Gasly. The British driver, on the other hand, complained that the porpoising was hurting his back and that he was having trouble getting out of the car after the race.

After duelling with Hamilton for the entirety of the race, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly Gasly ended in a commendable fifth place. In qualifying, the Frenchman split the two Mercedes and was able to hold Hamilton off in the opening stint.

Both Gasly and Tsunoda, on the other hand, chose not to pit during the second Virtual Safety Car period, allowing Hamilton to pass them both on fresh tyres. However, after a fracture in his rear wing caused just half of the DRS flap to move, Tsunoda, who was running sixth after Hamilton passed him, regrettably went out of the points.

As a result of this, Tsunoda was issued the black and orange flag (a flag that urges a driver to pit immediately owing to a potentially dangerous mechanical fault), and the Italian team swiftly attempted to tape the wing and put the vehicle back out. Tsunoda would place twelfth in the race, which was disappointing because AlphaTauri were expected to score a lot of points.

Sebastian Vettel drove a fantastic race for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team, after qualifying in eighth place. At the start of the race, the four-time World Champion was in a battle with Hamilton and Ocon before locking up at Turn Three during one of his overtakes and spinning back on track.

Despite the error, he was able to rebound to a spectacular sixth place, putting the British-racing green team on par with the Haas F1 Team in terms of points. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll had to withdraw the car with a few laps to go as a precaution due to strong oscillations in what turned out to be a forgettable weekend for the Canadian.

Fernando Alonso finished seventh and Esteban Ocon finished tenth, giving BWT Alpine F1 Team a double points finish on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the race, the duo battled with the likes of Hamilton and Vettel, but were unable to narrow the deficit in the second stint.

Daniel Ricciardo finished ahead of his teammate at the chequered flag, allowing McLaren F1 Team to gain double points in the race. Ricciardo was eighth to cross the finish line, with Lando Norris in ninth place.

When it came to chasing down Alonso, McLaren had planned to use a team orders strategy, with Ricciardo moving aside for Norris to give him a chance to pass the Spaniard, and then returning the position if it didn’t work out; however, the papaya-colored team opted to hold position when they discovered Alonso’s pace was too fast for them to match.

In the final laps of the race, McLaren also told the pair to maintain their position. Norris accelerated and demonstrated that he could have passed a cruising Ricciardo if he wanted to, but he remained respectful of the team’s demands.

Valtteri Bottas finished a dismal eleventh place finisher for Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, while Guanyu Zhou failed to finish the race owing to engine problems. Zhou was putting in a strong performance in the race, but he was forced to retire.

Alexander Albon put in another strong effort for Williams F1 Team on Sunday afternoon in Baku, finishing in twelfth place and only missing out on points. So far this season, the Thai driver has had some amazing races, only finishing worse than twelfth on one occasion when he completes the race. Meanwhile, Nicholas Latifi, in fifteenth place, would be the last of the running drivers to cross the finish line.

Finally, Haas continued their poor streak, with Kevin Magnussen retiring due to a power unit issue in the second half of the race, while Mick Schumacher finished fourteenth. Four Ferrari power units would fail to finish in Azerbaijan, which does not bode well for reliability, especially as Mercedes is the only constructor to finish all races in the current season.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Full Results