Here’s Giles Richards’ snap report.
A word from a man who was absent this weekend, but won his first race since 1990 at Nürburgring yesterday.
The first lap of the Baku race was the most powerful statement @ValtteriBottas has made since joining Mercedes. And he didn’t need to say a word.
— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) April 28, 2019
Here’s those standings as the drivers douse each other in champagne.
FINAL CLASSIFICATION: Round 4, Azerbaijan
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019
Bottas wins and takes the drivers' championship lead 🏆#F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ZS4JTzooLc
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Hamilton speaks.
Congratulations to Valtteri. He made no mistake. For me, it was all lost in qualifying...this is the best start to a season we have ever had. It’s a team effort, a true testament.
Bottas speaks.
It was a tough race but maybe not that much happening at the front. I could not make any mistakes. I was happy to see the chequered flag. It is amazing as a team what we are achieving. I am so proud to be part of that.
That was a revenge of sorts for Bottas, after last year’s disaster. Hamilton has been first or second for the last six GP races, so he is not slipping away at all. Mercedes had that race locked down from start to finish, in truth. Forget Ferrari, this already looks like Mercedes’ championship.
BREAKING: @ValtteriBottas has won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019
The first pole ➡️win this season
He leads the drivers' championship by just 1️⃣ point to Hamilton#F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/SAJs2ChKT0
Valtteri Bottas wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Lap 51/51
Leclerc takes the lap record, which takes a point off Hamilton, and that means Bottas will go top of the standings. That’s the fourth 1-2 in a row. Vettel comes in to claim third, Verstappen in fourth and Leclerc in fifth.
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Lap 50/51
Bottas is told that Hamilton has DRS, and the battle begins, only for Hamilton to go too wide. As Bottas uses DRS to overtake George Russell, one of the backmarkers, the race is all but secured. Hamilton’s chance is gone, it seems.
Lap 49/51
Hamilton and Bottas take each other on now through the old town section of Baku. Hamilton wants to claim a win. The gap as they cross with two to go is under a second. Here comes the battle. Hamilton has DRS in his back pocket.
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Lap 48/51
Bottas is essentially on four victory laps; let us recall he got a puncture when three out and leading last year. Will lightning strike twice? It seems he is headed for the top of the championship standings. Lewis Hamilton, should he land the fastest lap, would be joint top of the table. However, Leclerc, seeking restitution from a day that has gone against him, has gone into the pit lane to get the tyres that can claim the fastest lap.
Lap 46/51
The battle between Hamilton and Bottas does not look to be materialising. Bottas has driven with real calm today, with little spectacular. Leclerc was the main threat, but he was extinguished by that tyre gamble.
Lap 45/51
Bottas has now set the fastest lap, worth an extra point these days. He is advised by his team that Leclerc will be doing similar soon, but not to take risks and chase that down. The win and the points are more important for Team Mercedes.
Lap 44/51
Leclerc and Mercedes’ gamble with the tyres has not paid off. He is almost 30 seconds down and a podium finish looks out of sight. Verstappen and his Red Bull team seem to have settled for fourth.
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Lap 42/51
So, there could be nine laps of fireworks between the Mercedes, though Vettel’s first sector time suggested he is not done just yet. Hamilton and Vettel are the quickest cars on the road, but the problem for Vettel is the traffic ahead.
Lap 40/51
Romain Grosjean has also abandoned. Parks his car up and that’s it for him. Up at the front, Bottas and Hamilton try to protect their tyres in the virtual safety car slowdown. That could be good news for the likes of Vettel and Leclerc. The VSC ends and off they go, with a sound of squealing tyres. Max Verstappen was all over the road as he was asked to speed up again.
Lap 39/51
Verstappen is still the holder of fourth position and the fastest lap. He is closing in on Vettel but doesn’t look too concerned with passing Vettel. Team-mate Pierrie Gasly, from Red Bull, slows down, and he cannot continue. He shows initiative to plough down a side road in an attempt to avoid the safety car. Unfortunately, his car can’t quite get out of reach. It’s a virtual safety car.
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Lap 37/51
Bottas and Hamilton is the story now, so what can happen? The gap is around 1.6-1.7 seconds. A look at Riccardo’s car suggests a knock when Dani Kvyat was the one who was reversed into. Both ended up having to abandon.
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Lap 35/51
Riccardo makes his apologies to his team. Leclerc pits and is there for just 2.8 seconds. So, what can he do to the rest of the field? Pierre Gasly was in the way as Leclerc came out of the pit. Leclerc is in sixth, and 28 seconds down on Bottas the leader. Kvyat is in the pits and that looks to be that. Leclerc gets up to fifth, finally, by DRS-ing his way past Gasly, who was being a pest.
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Lap 34/51
Ferrari’s strategy a little cautious? They didn’t want to pit, and think the soft tyres will not last long enough. The aim is to give their men every chance, and Vettel is allowed to pass Leclerc to take third. He will be the main challenge to the Mercedes duo.
Lap 33/51
Leclerc to pit now? No, Bottas and Hamilton are still chasing, and then Bottas takes the lead...oh, but here’s the first casualties of the race; Riccardo and Kvyat involved as they get locked down with each other. Riccardo has reversed into his Russian rival, whoops. Did Leclerc run over some debris? Hamilton then goes past Leclerc, and it’s a 1-2 Mercedes. Leclerc just allowed him through and indicated he had to let that slide. Riccardo is forced to retire, and we are down to 19.
Lap 31/51
The leading teams scoping each other out while Leclerc’s new tyres are being readied. With the gap to Bottas at 1.2 seconds or so, he is in range for a DRS turbo boost, with Hamilton chasing down his team-mate.
Lap 30/51
Under two seconds for that gap now. Ferrari’s next move is awaited but little happening at the moment. Verstappen retains the quickest lap time at the moment. Hamilton is closing in on Bottas.
Lap 28/51
The gap between Bottas and Leclerc down to under three seconds and they are well within range of each other. The Mercedes team are now circling the Ferrari leader. Nobody has crashed out or retired just yet. Which is quite amazing for what looks a testing track.
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Lap 26/51
Leclerc has not quite given up just yet, as he has taken his fastest lap so far. The gap is, as the Mercedes team say on the radio, within the range of one of their pit stops. It’s around the 3.2 second mark, well within range.
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Lap 25/51
Romain Grosjean almost came to grief near the pit lane as Riccardo went past him, and he spun, but was able to resume. He has a tyre problem and will require a new one.
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Lap 24/51
Leclerc’s lead down to under five seconds now. Hamilton is advised by his team that they are “confident that opportunities will come at the end of the lap”. Leclerc is slowing down but so is Hamilton, as Vettel gets closer in. The Ferrari cars the quickest on the roads at the moment.
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Lap 22/51
Verstappen has set the fastest lap as he chases down Vettel. Bottas and Hamilton in second and third is looking likely to be a battle imminently as to be who the main challenge to Leclerc will be.
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Lap 21/51
Leclerc’s advantage ebbing away? He has had a second taken out of him by Bottas. There are 20 cars out on the track at the moment, nobody has yet abandoned or crashed out. Vettel drops behind the flying Hamilton. Leclerc’s raw pace looks Ferrari’s main chance of success.
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Lap 19/51
The temperature is dropping, which may have implications on later in the race. Bottas is now being advised to step things up, while Hamilton sets the fastest lap for the second lap in a row.
Lap 18/51
Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest lap, but then Bottas takes a second and a half out of him. The advice from his team is to slow down as he has tyres to preserve. They want to get to Leclerc, still flying, who is 10.6 seconds or so clear and has a fine chance of winning his first ever grand prix.
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Lap 17/51
Bottas is now chasing down the flying Leclerc, who has a pit coming up, dependent on those tyres. But his team seem to be waiting for a safety car to come in.
Lap 15/51
Verstappen pits now and drops to sixth. Hamilton is now being chased hard by one of those flying Ferraris in Vettel.
Lap 14/51
Hamilton will pit, and Leclerc, who began in eighth, then dropped to ninth at the start, is in the lead. Hamilton takes 2.3 seconds in the pit and is in fourth. Verstappen in second, Bottas in third. Vettel is in fifth having set the fastest lap. Kubica’s penalty is a drive-through penalty before his allotted pit stop. A blow for Williams, who don’t appear to know what they did was wrong.
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Lap 13/51
Bottas is set to pit, and and is out in eight seconds, as he changes to those medium tyres. That means Hamilton has the lead, but will have to pit soon enough.
Lap 12/51
No battle for third between Ferrari’s cars as instead Vettel pits to change his tyres, which is done quickly in under three second, and Leclerc takes his place. Vettel slips into fifth.
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Lap 11/51
The Mercedes pair are keeping well clear. Vettel is putting up not so much of a fight, and is making little impact on their lead. His last lap was unremarkable, and Leclerc, on on those medium tyres, looks favourite to catch them if anyone can.
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Lap 9/51
Leclerc and Verstappen is the battle now, as the Monagasque is hunting down the Dutchman in a chase for fourth. Verstappen tells his team that his braking is not working and then Leclerc, using DRS, flies past into fourth. He has got the right tyres for this one, and is thus eating up the field. He and Vettel will be going nose to nose now.
Lap 8/51
Vettel is 16 seconds behind Bottas as the Mercedes team takes full charge. Dani Riccardo is dropping back, having gone past Leclerc at the start.
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Lap 7/51
It appears Robert Kubica, who began the day from the pit lane, is under investigations for irregularities. Kimi goes into the pits. “I can’t fight like this,” he says to his pit crew, and they change the tyre. Kubica is believed to have been put in the pits too early and may well be punished.
Lap 6/51
Leclerc goes past Sainz using DRS, on a hell of charge, to go into seventh and then sixth. He is making use of his tyres. Kimi Raikkonen, coming off the back of the grid, is flying along in his Alfa Romeo. Verstappen goes into fourth by rounding Perez, breathing the chance and whipping through. Kyvat pits; his tyres are already a wreck.
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Lap 4/51
Bottas has taken 2.3 seconds on Hamilton. This is a Keke Rosberg-style performance of Flying Finn. Leclerc climbs back up to eighth after going past Kyvat.
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Lap 2/51
The grid at the front held its place beyond Norris stepping up over Danill Kyvat. Most of the chicanery taking place at the back of the grid. Vettel is two seconds off the leading Mercedes, who pull well clear. Leclerc on soft tyres, pulls beyond Riccardo.
An away we go!
Lap 1/51
The lights go out and Hamilton goes flying and Bottas only just holds him off. It was wheel to wheel but Bottas just held the lead. Lando Norris steps up to sixth. Bottas blazes away on the big straight.
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Pierre Gasly, Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen sit in the pit lane, in reverse order of that. Gasly will be able to join the race last.
The engines are being revved, the drivers are in their cockpits, and the correct tyres have hopefully been strapped on. The parade lap begins and they saunter round the course at ear-bleeding volume but stately pace.
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The start is just moments away in the 1001st F1 grand prix as the streets of Baku take the strain of 51 laps over 3.7 miles of a track. This a course of no little difficulty, with some tight turns, which should make for some thrills and spills.
Small cameo from a bearded Bernie Ecclestone there, who is happy about it being a “good sunny day” in Baku. He continues with “I should be doing the best I can” rather mysteriously, to close out one of the great pit lane non-interviews.
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Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari is eighth on the grid after his crash yesterday, and there are some visible scratches to the cockpit. Looks like nobody called the body shop to get it touched up.
Just before the Azeri anthem gets an airing for what is a most Eurovision rendition, Valtteri Bottas has his say on the race, and enter the business bingo sphere.
“Anything can happen,” he said. “We just need to be ready and reactive.”
Thanks for that, Val.
A reminder of one of the issues thrown up in the buildup to this race by the Caspian Sea.
Preamble
To Azerbaijan now, where Mercedes have a stranglehold on the front of the grid. It’s not Lewis Hamilton but Valtteri Bottas who is sat on pole. The rest of the contenders have had an indifferent weekend so far with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari crashing out, though teammate Sebastian Vettel is sat in third.
Bad news for Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, who has has been demoted from eighth on the grid to a pit lane start after his car was disqualified for failing “a front wing deflection test in post-qualifying scrutineering when his car’s front wing flexed more than 5mm under a load of 60N”, it says here. That means this graphic is now a little awry but you get the picture.
Here's how the top 10 line up later#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/BHeoQKgdsw
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019
Leclerc moves up to eighth, which may be good news for him.
The driver starting 8th has been on the podium for the last 2 years in Baku (Perez in 2018; Stroll 2017)
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019
FYI: Kimi Raikkonen starts 8th on Sunday 🤔#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/u1SyT1bauo
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