Classy Checo wins first Sprint race of the season in Baku
Sergio Perez put in a calm, calculated and comfortable drive to win the first Sprint race of the season in Baku. Charles Leclerc finished the race in second place whilst teammate Max Verstappen rounded out the Sprint podium.
Not much happened
Today’s Sprint race was 17 laps long and it felt like there was barely more than 3 laps of action. George Russell and Max Verstappen collided at turn 2 which Max Verstappen was not at all pleased with both during and after the race. Personally, I thought neither driver did anything wrong. Yuki Tsunoda then managed to put his car in the wall which completely stunned me before he stupidly decided to carry on which resulted in the Safety Car being deployed. When the race got back underway on Lap 6, it was clear that Sergio Perez was quicker than Charles Leclerc and he passed him as soon as DRS was enabled. Elsewhere, Lance Stroll pulled off a good move on Alex Albon to move into the final points-paying position (P8) whilst Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon all struggled massively with their tyres.
The Highs and Lows of the Sprint
I only gave out one 10 for the Sprint race today and that was obviously for Sergio Perez. As soon as Checo got past Leclerc, he was able to drive off and take a very good victory. This guy really is a “Street Circuit master”. I also thought Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon had great drives in the Sprint whilst Max Verstappen, George Russell and Oscar Piastri can be proud of their efforts.
In terms of the lowest possible grade, I gave out two 1’s. The first one was for Esteban Ocon who started in the pitlane and ended up finishing last on the road (18th). The Frenchman had no pace and was forced to pit. Kind of sums up Alpine’s weekend so far. The other driver that received a 1 grade was Yuki Tsunoda. I really can’t understand how and why Yuki Tsunoda binned his car where he did. It’s a quick, almost flat corner so for him to crash there is pretty appalling. However, what was arguably more appalling was the decision from both him and his team to carry on for another lap after entering the pitlane. I also thought Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg had pretty bad days.
Overall Sprint Race Results and My Ratings
Sergio Perez: 10
Charles Leclerc: 9
Max Verstappen: 8
George Russell: 8
Carlos Sainz: 6
Fernando Alonso: 7
Lewis Hamilton: 6
Lance Stroll: 6
Alex Albon: 9
Oscar Piastri: 8
Kevin Magnussen: 6
Zhou Guanyu: 5
Pierre Gasly: 4
Nyck de Vries: 3
Nico Hulkenberg: 2
Valtteri Bottas: 2
Lando Norris: 2
Esteban Ocon: 1
Yuki Tsunoda: 1 (DNF)
Logan Sargeant: - (DNS)
My Predictions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso
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