The fourth race of the year, one thousand eighty-second (1082) in absolute number, held on Sunday, April 30, 2023, at the Baku City Circuit in the capital of Azerbaijan of the same name, did not leave any special sensations for the spectators and the main characters.

Red Bull dominated without a threat, despite the commendable efforts of Leclerc, whose pole position in Friday’s qualifying put him in the lead at the start of Sunday’s race. On Saturday afternoon, he placed second in a seventeen (17) lap sprint race behind Verstappen, who ran with a hit to his left side after the squeeze and contact he received from Russell early on – one third of a regular – matchup. . The start ranking – to the delight of an enthusiastic public, a “small” race of eight points evenly distributed among the eight finishers in a row – is determined in a newly established qualifying test called shootouts. and where Charles Leclerc finished the fastest. So, the two fastest laps for the Monegasque Ferrari and the two first places in one and a third of the race for the Mexican.

Verstappen finished third and second respectively. In Sunday’s race, he overtook Leclerc, who was 17 seconds ahead of the two drivers of the Austrian team at the finish line. The rest of the riders and their teams just fill the frame with variety and variety. Adrian Newey did a great job of addressing the suspension and aerodynamics of the car with the minimal downside of making it difficult to get the front tires up to the right temperature before qualifying. That is why many times Ferrari, i.e. Leclerc, claims and achieves first position (pole position) in qualifying tests. The talent and ability of the young driver of the Italian team is noteworthy, which, unfortunately for him and his team, but mainly for the spectators and organizers of the races, are not expressed in competitions within the framework of Sunday matches, because Ferrari cannot give it. a single-seat, worthy car designed by a veteran British aerodynamicist and inventor (in a sense) of active suspension, an achievement that dates back to his graduate work at the University of Southampton in the 1980s.

Race

The start of the race passed without difficulties and accidents. Immediately after activating DRS before the first corner, Verstappen passed Leclerc comfortably. Perez followed on lap 6/51. Hamilton retains fourth place but is pressured by Alonso, who is being followed by teammate Lance Stroll. On lap 10/51, Hamilton drives into the pits. After some time, Dutchman Nick de Vries of Alpha Tauri crashes into the outer fences of the fifth left turn. Verstappen’s mechanic Gianpiero Lambiase misjudges the little Dutchman’s problem, and Verstappen himself doesn’t see the Red Bull auxiliary team driver’s broken suspension and wheel from race screens. He pulls into the pit lane, making the usual 20-inch stop to change the tires, which hampered him a bit in the race and gave Perez the opportunity to get close to him at DRS (drag reduction system) overtaking distance. After the race, he admits his mistake by not pushing the car further to get away from Pérez. As soon as he leaves the shift, the safety car leaves the track. Perez and the others make a “cheap” 11″ stop. After the safety car was removed and the cars resumed on the move, Pérez was in first place, and shortly afterwards Verstappen was in second place, passing Leclerc. Further back, Alonso makes a masterful pass to Sento, while the “unlucky” Hamilton makes a matching but less impressive pass to his teammate and Stroll. The Red Bull driver duo will fight for their nerves to the end. Perez will touch the defenders of the 15th move once, while Verstappen will slightly slip twice. The remaining six riders, who will form a small group, will keep their positions until the finish line, ahead of the rest. Ocon will arrive for a mandatory tire change on the last lap, risking hurting the crowd of people who have entered the pit lane to make room for the trophies. Together with Halgeber, hoping for an accident and an advantage in tire change time, they remained with “hard” starting tires until the end. However, the regulations oblige teams to change tires during the race. Quite late, Alonso, who loves tactical and exhibition racing, chased after Leclerc, but could not catch up with him.

Verstappen tried to soften the bitterness of his defeat by replacing it with the experience he and his engineer had gained, mainly in understanding the complexity of car systems. On the other hand, Pérez boosted confidence thanks to the success of his ease of driving when his team mate tried, with the help of his mechanic, to rely on torque and brake ratio telemetry. Pérez is six points behind Verstappen in the overall drivers’ standings. Alonso is third with 60 points, thirty-three less than first. In the list of manufacturers, Red Bull ranks first with 180 points, Aston Martin second with 87 and Mercedes third with 76.

Next Sunday, teams and spectators will gather at Miami’s newly built “urban” track. The inauguration took place last year. Two more American Grands Prix in Austin and Las Vegas will follow towards the end of the season. American interests, if you can call them that these days, who own Formula 1, seem to want to increase the sport’s market in the United States. After Miami, the “circus” will tour Europe, except for one game in Canada, until the end of the summer. Then we will see it in the Arabian Peninsula, in Asia and South America. In the upcoming race at Imola, Mercedes promised a change. We hope for the best, that is, for the fastest.