It’s a back-to-back weekend for the Formula One crews, as they travel across the world to Azerbaijan from Canada. This weekend marks the return of the European Grand Prix to the Formula One calendar… this time hosted in Asia at a new street circuit.
Heading into the weekend, no one really knew what to expect from the circuit. The track has been heavily criticized for its extremely long straight and some sections of the track that are considered a bit too narrow. Although the circuit is a bit wider than the average street circuit in most areas, the walls are still very close to the edge of the racing surface and very unforgiving.
Lewis Hamilton was the star for all three of the free practice sessions, putting his Mercedes on top in each one. However, he wasn’t able to do the same when it counted, as his teammate beat him in the first two qualifying sessions. Hamilton starts from P10 on the grid after crashing in the final qualifying session, while Nico Rosberg takes the pole position once again this season. He was the runner up to his teammate in the free practice sessions, but was able to find some serious pace on Saturday afternoon. Given the pace that the Mercedes car has shown this weekend, he almost certainly has the race victory in his pocket this weekend.
Rosberg would have been joined by an unfamiliar face on the grid, as Sergio Pérez qualified alongside the World Drivers’ Championship leader. This was the Mexican’s highest grid position of his career, until he was penalized for his crash during the practice sessions. In the free practice sessions, Pérez was capable of setting times near the top five. Although the pace of the Force India may not be enough to compete with the big boys, Pérez should be able to remain in the top five.
While Kimi Räikkönen’s pace throughout the weekend has not been the greatest, Sebastian Vettel has done a decent job of setting quick times in the Ferrari. He starts alongside Daniel Ricciardo, who shouldn’t be too much competition, given that the Red Bull has not clocked many impressive lap times this weekend. It will be interesting to see if Vettel is able to challenge for the lead, although the race victory will most likely come down to race strategy.
This weekend has been a big learning experience for the drivers, as it is always a big task to learn a new circuit. We’ve saw what the laps look like at the circuit, but it will be interesting to see what surprises it will through at us during the race.
