Motor Verso F1 2018 Season Summary - Azerbaijan Grand Prix review

Photo: Pirelli Media

I have done my best to squeeze my take on a dramatic and corkscrew Azerbaijan GP to our burgeoning mega Motor Verso F1 2018 season summary article.

A race so odd that Lewis Hamilton winning felt strange, and the Red Bulls taking each other out of the race became rather a footnote.

You can check the latest article out here: https://www.motorverso.com/2018-f1-summary/

Do check out the Motor Verso site too; you'll find motoring news, car reviews and features - the team on the site carry out week-long test drives of the latest cars - as well as photos and videos of the machines.

Azerbaijan GP Betting Preview - That perilous stuff

Betting on F1 in 2018 is a perilous business. A towel can be thrown over the 'big three' teams Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Adding to the confusion the Pirelli tyres are knife edge - this has manifested most noticeably with Mercedes dropping off the pace in Bahrain and China qualifying, but Merc insists others have had rubber related variation too such as Ferrari being off it in Melbourne.

Potentially madcap Baku presents problems,
and opportunities, for the gambler
Photo: Pirelli  Media

Adding further to the confusion the claustrophobic Baku street race for this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix is one that could more generally go either way. On the basis of its inaugural race two years ago it could be a soporific demonstration run. On the basis of last year's it could be raucous with incidents, safety cars and jumbles of the order aplenty. Demonstrating as much Daniel Ricciardo won it having been 17th after an early unscheduled stop while the unlikely Lance Stroll finished on the podium.

If it remains quiet then this weekend seems a good time for Mercedes to bounce back from its woes. It dominated in Baku last year on the stopwatch particularly in Lewis Hamilton's hands - he took pole by half a second and was over a second clear of the nearest non-Merc. Dodging acrobatically between walls is just his thing.

Bookies still seem to like him and Merc but with the recent failures their odds to prevail are a bit longer than usual and may be worth your wager - 5/4 for a Lewis pole and 13/10 for a Lewis win.

Baku Preview: Contrast and potential

In 2016 F1 rocked up to a new street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan, told to expect something "not like anything we've seen before in F1".

The Baku street circuit's challenges are unique
Photo: Pirelli Media

A lot of things have been seen before in F1 of course, but in fairness this track's challenges are somewhat detached from the modern norm. Not least in their contrasts.

A real downtown circuit. Plenty of near-to-hand walls. Much of the track claustrophobic with a twisty narrow section around the old city walls redolent of Mirabeau-Station Hairpin-Portiers at Monaco. Yet there's also a 2.1 km straight longer than anything at Monza. Appropriate for a city that likes to say it blends old and new; east and west...

Appropriately also on the basis of the two F1 races here things can go either way. We expected frolics aplenty in the first visit - safety cars and trips down narrow escape roads. Also an ultra generous DRS zone leaving even quick cars vulnerable to being overtaken, particularly on restarts. The GP2 rounds indeed gave us all of that.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Ferrari's Most Crucial Race Of 2017 Yet?

Ferrari arrive under pressure at the Red Bull Ring - one of the most beautiful circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. Has the FIA evened out the supposed bias towards Ferrari? On one hand, it's let go Sebastian Vettel fairly leniently (says the public!) and on the other hand, it's clamped down 'oil burn' which most rivals believe has slowed down Ferrari. The general perception is that Ferrari is back to chasing Mercedes; so is the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix Ferrari's most crucial race of the season yet?

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we applaud the FIA's humour on the serious investigation of Vettel's transgressions in Baku and we wonder whose word we trust more - Toto Wolff's or Eddie Jordan's? With nearly a quarter of a million pounds after his McLaren exit, should Ron Dennis buy-out Force India - or the to-be-named Force One Formula One Team? Finally, Robert Kubica's heroic comeback will be granted super-heroic status if it is with the scarlet red Ferrari instead of the taxi-coloured Renault. Tune in!

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and audioBoom for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour.

(Season 2017, Episode 25)

Red Bull Ring Preview - Changing of the seasons

F1 has developed a season. A bit like the tennis calendar has a grass court season (though that phrase always amuses me given it seems to consist solely of Wimbledon and some warm-up tournaments for Wimbledon). It now is in a mini-run of tracks cut from the same cloth.

The Red Bull Ring has become a popular stop-off
Photo: Octane Photography

We had Montreal, then Baku, and the run is completed this weekend by the Red Bull Ring in Austria. These circuits each are made up mainly of straights, some long, separately almost exclusively by slow turns. Point and squirt, as we used to say. Straightline speed, braking stability and traction are the chief discriminators.

The image of the Red Bull Ring has over time shifted about as frequently as its name. When F1 first rocked up in 1997, to what was then called the A1-Ring, many struggled to forgive it for trampling the magnificent Österreichring underfoot. In sharp contrast the new version seemed then achingly tepid.

It dropped off the calendar after 2003, but then Red Bull money - as evidenced in the current nomenclature - brought it back for 2014. And we then got a demonstration that time is a great healer, or else that things are judged in their context. Suddenly the track had developed a charm in the age of the cavernous Tilke-drome (ironic as this was in fact Hermann Tilke's first F1 effort). It seems now to be a firm fan's favourite.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - A Lose Head & A Loose Headrest

The 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix did test the usage of the words 'lose' and 'loose'! In this week's episode, we wonder if Pirelli will soon run out adjectives for their 'soft' tyres and if they'll debut a mega ultra super soft tyre someday soon. And mind you, a single set of this compound might last the entire race duration too!

We look back at Daniel Ricciardo's 'curse of the No. 3' that actually worked, the much-debated Hamilton-Vettel clash, Valtteri Bottas' recovery drive to P2 and has Lance Stroll proved his critics (including us!) wrong already?

A triple header Formula 1 weekend in 2018 will be a treat for the fans, but if you're a die-hard fan, you can forget about planning a holiday in June/July 2018!

Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast on iTunes and aubioBoom for your weekly dose of Formula 1 humour.

Firstpost Video - Azerbaijan Grand Prix Review

The latest Firstpost Video Grand Prix Review is here. Mithila and Kunal of Inside Line F1 Podcast this time review the extraordinary Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It includes discussion of Lewis-Seb gate, Ricciardo's drive through the pack, and - befitting of the race we got - plenty else besides...

You can watch below:

Azerbaijan Grand Prix review for Motor Verso - The wild ones

It was one of those where it's hard to know where to begin. The Baku race started as very ordinary for 2017 - Lewis Hamilton leading from Sebastian Vettel. But then they had a contretemps. Then they both had delays - in Vettel's case related to the contretemps.

Photo: Octane Photography

Others had their bad luck too. There was plenty of disruption. And through it all came none other than Daniel Ricciardo to win. And in case you think that sounds halfway normal then consider that he had dropped to 19th place after an early unscheduled pitstop. It was that sort of race.

In my latest Motor Verso race review I do my best to squeeze in the important bits: http://www.motorverso.com/azerbaijan-gp-2017-report-wild-ones/

Do check out the Motor Verso site too; you'll find motoring news, car reviews and features - the team on the site carry out week-long test drives of the latest cars - as well as photos and videos of the machines.

Azerbaijan GP Report - Ricciardo cruises through the carnage

Daniel Ricciardo won today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He started tenth after a qualifying crash, and worse made a stop on lap six to clear debris from his brake ducts, leaving him down in 19th.

Daniel Ricciardo came through the Baku carnage to win
Photo: Octane Photography

Valtteri Bottas finished second in today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. And in case you think that bit sounds halfway normal then consider that the Finn lost a lap at the start of this one, after a second turn collision with Kimi Raikkonen. And that he only got his second place literally on the finish line, by a tenth of a second. F1 imitating the end of the Derby.

Lance Stroll finished third in today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He started eighth, and up until two weeks ago was considered an F1 pariah. Yet possibly this weekend he made fewer mistakes than anyone.

Only then did we have the season's chief suspects Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

Yes, it underlines what a unlikely race the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was. Sometimes you should judge a book by its cover.

Baku Qualifying - Expecting the expected

It looked in advance like it was happening again. And it did happen again. Just not in the way we thought it was happening again.

Lewis Hamilton stunned on his way to another pole position
Photo: Octane Photography

In yesterday's practice Mercedes struggled, and the story seemed familiar. A low grip, temporary track. Slow corners. The car struggling apparently to get its tyres in range. Montreal, wherein it had bounced back in just those sort of circumstances, was by the looks of things a one-off.

Yet, when it mattered, not a bit of it. Come this morning's running silver was back on top in that highly familiar way. But in another as-seen part of the tale it looked that of the Merc pair Valtteri Bottas - like in Sochi and Monaco - was the better equipped in such moments. Come qualifying though, not a bit of that either.

Lewis Hamilton on a track that requires brave shaving of walls and acrobatic skills was again on another level even of the two Mercs. At last providing a bit that makes sense. And Mercedes more generally looked even further ahead of the rest than before.

Azerbaijan GP Betting Preview - A close call

This column is losing what little reputation it had. In Monaco I backed Lewis Hamilton to win and we got Sebastian Vettel. In Canada? Yes, you guessed.

Sebastian Vettel versus Lewis Hamilton
continues to be hard to call
Photo: Octane Photography

And this one in Azerbaijan is far from safe ground to strike back. As in advance it looks a very close call between the usual suspects Ferrari and Mercedes - or more to the point between Vettel and Hamilton. This is reflected in the odds, with Lewis even money to win this Sunday and Seb 2/1.

Prior to Montreal we felt safe in assuming that this street track in Baku was the sort to trip up Mercedes in 2017 - low grip, slow turns... But in Montreal as the opening paragraph intimates Merc surprised us by taking a one-two on precisely that type of circuit. This weekend much will hinge on whether the Brackley squad has indeed had a eureka moment, or whether Canada was a one off.

Adding to the confusion, last year in Baku Lewis on Friday looked set to dominate - which made sense given it's an acrobatic track that rewards bravery. But after that he went on to have one of his off weekends.

Baku Preview - Through the looking glass

As we know, F1 does like to exist beyond the looking glass.

Last year's inaugural Baku race was not as expected
By crossland_alan - https://www.flickr.com/photos/57293550
@N07/27719040512/in/dateposted/, CC BY-SA 2.0,
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55250694

Twelve months ago the sport rocked up to a new street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan, expecting something "not like anything we've seen before in F1".

Certainly its challenges looked different. A real downtown circuit. Plenty of forbidding walls. Much of it claustrophobic with a twisty narrow section around the castle reminiscent of Mirabeau-Station Hairpin-Portiers at Monaco. But also a 2.1 km straight longer even than anything at Monza.

In the event much was familiar though. Based on the GP2 races we expected frolics aplenty - safety cars and trips down narrow escape roads making it a lottery. Also there was an ultra generous DRS zone with even quicker cars vulnerable to being overtaken, particularly on restarts. All making it a matter of survival.

In Retrospect: The 1999 European Grand Prix, by Steven Critchley

F1 action will return to Baku's treacherous street circuit on 25 June, after a successful hosting of last year's European Grand Prix, which returned to the calendar after a three-year absence. This time, it will be host to the inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix, once more testing the technical abilities of constructors in a more diverse way, while also forcing drivers on the circuit to time their overtakes to perfection.

As a street circuit, Baku offers little margin for error from anyone, regardless of how experienced or decorated they may be. Another battle of Ferrari versus Mercedes is expected, but the negation of the disparity that once existed is reflected by Mercedes's Valtteri Bottas being priced at 28/1 on bet365's F1 betting odds to win this year's title. However, the unpredictability that typically characterises a new F1 circuit was in full evidence last year, when Sergio Perez enjoyed a rare moment in the sun in an unfancied Force India car and finished third.


19 June 2016: Drivers speak to press after the inaugural F1 race in Baku. 

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Ban The DRS, Not The Radio

The radio ban is unfair, and Lewis Hamilton will agree. How can you expect drivers to race and solve engineering puzzles at 300kmph? For all the stupid rules Formula 1 has, DRS continues to live on. In this week’s episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, ban DRS and not radio, we say! And till then, Lewis will be happy to know that the radio ban does not extend to Snapchat!

Formula 1 went wrong with their map, letting a country that's more in Asia host the European Grand Prix. Guess money can buy anything in this sport! If Baku becomes a night race, we won't get to see the pretty castles - through we are no longer sure if they were just giant print outs of castles? We also deconstruct the entire incorrect engine mode saga (Mercedes, so stupid).

Formula 1's favourite bromance has gone further downhill after Lauda openly criticised Hamilton’s race at Baku. Nico Rosberg is not just copying Hamilton's car setup, but he's also copying helmet manufacturers. Hamilton has managed to get Mercedes to sponsor his acting films, smart guy. But just what does he have to do to get Penelope Cruz's attention?

Sebastian Vettel should be appointed as the Official Joker of Formula One - as Bernie Ecclestone's successor, we mean. Perhaps Heineken will consider a sponsorship with Ferrari because the team seems drunk all the time - they still think they can win the Constructors' Championship! Vettel made Ferrari change their pitstop strategy mid-race, so obviously it's him running the team and not Arrivabene. Could Sergio Perez have won the race if not for his gearbox penalty? Alonso is having a 'luxury retirement' at McLaren, is that why the team has just appointed a lifestyle partner?

Lastly, Red Bull Racing had a forgettable outing in Azerbaijan, but it seems that Daniel Ricciardo chose to forgive and forget while renewing his contract. Or is this a hint that Ferrari will renew the always struggling Kimi Raikkonen?

Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 21)

European Grand Prix review for Motor Verso - Nico's switch of fortunes

In the oddly-monikered European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mercedes was miles ahead on pace. But we all thought things would not be nearly that simple in the new circuit's tight inner-city confines. There would we thought likely be several prangs (and resultant safety car periods), while Sebastian Vettel could like in Canada take the lead off the line. But neither of these happened, so Mercedes, or rather one Mercedes, had the place to itself.

Photo: Octane Photography

It was a surprisingly tepid race, but F1, and Lewis Hamilton, found an unlikely source of drama nevertheless. A matter of switches on steering wheels. In terms of things for races to pivot on, for us all to froth over, F1 cannot be said to be predictable. Despite some immediate appearances.

I give my take on it all in my latest Motor Verso race review. You can have a read via this link: http://www.motorverso.com/european-gp-2016-review-nicos-switch-fortunes/

Do check out the Motor Verso site too; you'll find motoring news, car reviews and features - the team on the site carry out week-long test drives of the latest cars - as well as photos and videos of the machines.

European GP Report - Tales of the unexpected

You can never second-guess this game. Despite regular appearances suggesting the contrary. Before qualifying for the inaugural European Grand Prix we were sure that it was going to be a Lewis Hamilton cruise. Not so, it was crazy (and Lewis certainly did not cruise). Before the race we expected it to be crazy, but it was a cruise. And a cruise for Nico Rosberg who led for the whole distance; never seen by the rest after scampering off in short order.

Nico Rosberg won as he liked in Baku
Photo: Octane Photography

Frankly the F1 drivers behaved themselves too much in the tight confines of Baku's streets. The repeated carnage and repeated safety car periods from both GP2 races was not even begun to be repeated, to the point that some wondered if all pilots had made a conscious, and cautious, effort not to repeat the frolics of their junior pretenders (not that, as someone pointed out, being more sensible than them was much of a bar to clear).

The safety car was never seen. No driver binned it (Felipe Nasr nudged a wall and continued at one point but that was your lot). Aside from Esteban Gutierrez love-tapping Nico Hulkenberg at the opening turn (both continued, natch) there were no collisions either. There only were four retirements and all were technical. You could say even that the F1 driver class was too good. Not that this amounted to much consolation on what was a soporific late afternoon.

Baku Qualifying - Failure has many fathers

The Baku City Centre track is one with many cousins. Any new circuit will attract comparisons, especially so these days for a number of reasons, but it's hard to think of a debut venue that ever has attracted as many as this one.

Nico Rosberg prevailed for pole
in a madcap qualifying session
Photo: Octane Photography

Street circuits almost inevitably are judged at least to some extent against the Monaco yardstick, and this one has with its tight and twisty section near the castle a particular Principality redolence. Yet in Baku too there is a flat out part that even dwarfs Monza's in length. Perhaps the combination made it more like Montreal. The wide open downtown streets made up of long straights and tight turns was a lot like Singapore some said; others thought there was a bit of Valencia in there. The smooth asphalt was reminiscent of Sochi's. Some even ventured outside F1 by stating the mix of a full throttle section near the sea plus an intricate and up and down hill section inland was a lot like Macau.

But in today's inaugural European Grand Prix qualifying session in Azerbaijan we can go full circle, back to the first comparison mentioned. The hour to set the grid was pure Monaco. All disruption, a matter almost of survival, not just from the walls but from traffic. As well as from yellow flags, even a red one, that can and did ruin attempts to set a mark. Cars venturing down escape roads has been a routine occurrence all weekend. At times it's looked a little like amateur hour. And many of the escape roads are so tight that cars could only reverse out of them, thus increasing the length of the yellow flag disruption. Laptimes banked counted for more than pace on paper. "There was a lot going on all over the place, and that's down to the track" said Nico Rosberg afterwards aptly. Things were crowded; disjointed; unpredictable. And it was reflected in the final order in large part.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Paddock Conspiring To Crown Lewis Hamilton World Champion Again?

Lewis Hamilton may have won in Canada, but it was the second time this season he was gifted a victory. First by Red Bull Racing and now by Ferrari – it seems like the entire paddock is conspiring to have Lewis Hamilton as World Champion again! Pity Justin Bieber wasn’t around to celebrate with Lewis on the podium.

Max Verstappen or Carlos Sainz Jr. - which future World Champion had a better race in Canada? And Kimi Raikkonen could learn a trick or two from Verstappen's brilliant defence over Nico Rosberg's charges in Canada. What’s common between a Formula 1 race and the Amber Lounge bar menu? We tell you.

Speaking of conspiracies, Daniel Ricciardo had a slow pit-stop again (and we are not surprised). Should he jump ship to Ferrari? Given his recent slump, is it game over for Nico Rosberg this season already? His four consecutive race wins seem too far away.

Formula 1 pitches its tent in Baku this weekend for the European Grand Prix. We tell you what to look out for and the best seats in the stands. We also pray it's an exciting race, because they say it'll be around for ten long years.

Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 20)

Baku Preview - Old wine in a new bottle

In following F1 you would be forgiven for feeling that you need as much familiarity with geopolitics, foreign policy and the international human rights movement as the sport's esoteric matters. And this in a pursuit that at its core is as simple as which car can complete a distance most quickly.

The new round will take place near Baku's sea-front
By Elkhan Jafarov - My computer, CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27711742

But it is a sport also that over time has developed a weakness for keeping bad company. And with this it tends to have at any moment at least one round that causes particular discomfort, for reasons that reverberate way beyond the circuit's perimeter. For a while it was Bahrain. Then for a time it was Russia, which with its president appearing in the podium ante-room after the race left little to the imagination. Others such as China have had their associated murmurings.

Now we have Azerbaijan, debuting on the F1 itinerary this weekend. And beware judging a book by its cover. The image presented will be one of an oil-rich capital of Baku, all high-end boutiques, smart eateries and elegant architecture - classical and modern - next to the lapping Caspian Sea. Indeed there have been plenty of efforts already to project that image. But, as was the case in those other host countries mentioned, beneath the veneer things become rather less savoury.

New F1Plus.com article: It’s right to object to Azerbaijan, but some are for the wrong reasons

"A view to Baku and its Boulevard" by Okinawa - Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Over the last weekend it was announced that as of 2016 there is to be a new addition to the F1 calendar, a 'European Grand Prix' in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This incited some derision; that it wasn't a 'classic' venue, that it won't get a crowd, some even complained on the grounds that they didn't know where Azerbaijan was.

In my latest article for F1Plus.com, I argue that while people are right to oppose the new race, many are doing it for the wrong reasons.

You can have a read here: http://www.f1plus.com/en/news/item/6431-its-right-to-object-to-azerbaijan-but-some-are-for-the-wrong-reasons