THE F1 BLOG
The Formula 1 season carries on as the circus now lands in the streets of Baku ahead of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with the Constructor's Championship at stake here in Azerbaijan. McLaren could have their names on the Constructor's Championship for the second year running if both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can get a 1-2, with even a 1-3 is good enough. With the Driver's Championship still at stake, it's all to race for with teams pushing upgrades, tight corners, tighter rivalries, we're ready for another entrahlling weekend in Baku. From the mind that brought you the Champions Blog, this is the F1 Blog.
ROUND 17: Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan Circuit Length: 6,003 km
First Grand Prix: 2016 (as the European Grand Prix), 2017 (as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix)
Number of Laps: 51
Number of Turns: 20
Fastest Lap Time: 1:43.009s: Charles Leclerc (2019)
Race Distance: 306.049 km
Last Race (2024):
Pole Position: Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari): 1:41.365 s
Fastest Lap: Lando Norris (United Kingdom, Mclaren): 1:45.255 on Lap 42
Podium:
1. Oscar Piastri (Australia, Mclaren)
2. Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari)
3. George Russell (United Kingdom, Mercedes)
Day 1: 19th September
The first set of races took place on a warm Friday afternoon on the streets of Baku, with the first practice session in Azerbaijan taking place at 12:30 local time. During the first practice, it was another McLaren 1-2 as Lando Norris topped the timesheets, leading his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri and to wrap up P3 was Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, finishing .552 seconds slower to Norris. In between, the session was red-flagged due to a loose kerbing from William's Carlos Sainz going into Turn 16. There was also plenty of drama from the session, from Alex Albon losing one of his mirrors to Lewis Hamilton clipping the wall and George Russell battling illness. Norris finished with a staggering time of 1:42.704 lap, putting him a full second clear or reigning world champion, Max Vertsappen. Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc wrapped up P2 and P3, while George Russell, Alex Albon, and Yuki Tsunoda wrapped up favourable positions in such a tricky, fast Baku circuit.
Picture Above: Practice 1 winner, Lando Norris of McLaren racing against a corner
In the second practice, it was the 7-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton who took pole position in the session, narrowly ahead of his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, with former Mercedes teammate, George Russell coming in P3. As for the Constructor's Championship leaders, McLaren has a session to forget, when Lando Norris after hitting the wall in Turn 4, had the retire the car early, seeing him finish in P10, while his teammate, Oscar Piastri clipped the barriers, costing him time culminating in a disappointing P12 finish for the Championship leader. Ferrrari showed pace throught the entire session, with Leclerc breifly leading before Hamilton reclaimed P1 on the soft tyres. Rookie, Kimi Antonelli impressed us all, finishing in P4, followed by another impressive performace by Haas rookie, Oliver Bearman, finishing in P5. Verstappen could only grab sixth while Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon wrapping up the top 10 and wrapping up Day 1 here in Baku.
Picture Above: Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton at the famous Castle Corner turn en route to his Practice 2 win
Day 2: 20th September
The following day, Lando Norris returned to the top of the podium after a dismal FP2 session last time out, setting the pace in Baku with a blistering time of 1:41.223 seconds, while Max Verstappen finished in P2 while his Mclaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, completed the top 3. Overnight in Baku, we experienced strong winds and rain, making the session a tad more tricky, with some drivers going off the track, most notably Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson. Norris recovered strongly after his FP2 crash, while Verstappen briefly led in the session before Norris edged him out. Just outside the podium, Lewis Hamilton finished P4, finishing 0.276 seconds ahead of Norris, while Mercedes rookie, Kimi Antonelli finished P5. Hamilton's Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc could only manage to grab P10 after mistakes, as his and everyone else's focus switched to qualifying, where the Mongasque looked to grab his fifth consecutive Baku pole.
Picture Above: Max Verstappen of Red Bull racing driving down one of the main straights
A couple hours later, we witnessed one of the most craziest qualifying sessions we've ever witnessed in Formula 1 history, featuring six red flags, a new record for most amount of red flags in a qualifying session in the competition's 75-year history. The first of many red flags came from the Williams of Alex Albon, tapping the barriers on turn 1, damaging the suspension and bringing out the first red flag, and putting an end to what looked like a promising qualifying session for the Thai driver. Two more red flags came out in Q1, coming from Nico Hũlkenburg of Sauber and Franco Colapinto of Alpine, both crashing on Turn 4, losing out on their front wing and rear, respectively. Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly also joined the three unfortunate drivers in those being eliminated in Q1.
In Q2, the red flag was raised for the fourth time of the afternoon, when the Haas of Oliver Bearman, hit the wall on Turn 2, breaking his suspension, within four minutes in Q2. No further incidents took place, but there were some surprising names in the drop zone, with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finishing in the drop zone, meaning they'll start in P11 and P12 rescpectively.
Going into Q3, the session was suspended after four minutes when Charles Leclerc found the wall on Turn 15, ending his streak of pole positions in Baku, bringing out the fifth red flag of qualifying. Rain began to fall during the stoppage and once again, Carlos Sainz proved why he's the best driver in the rain, shocking everyone and getting pole position ahead of the Racing Bulls duo of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. Immediately afterward, Oscar Piastri hit his car against the wall on Turn 3 while bringing out the sixth red flag of the evening. After the session resumed, it looked as though Sainz would obtain a surprise pole, but Max Verstappen proved once again, why he's the reigning world champion, pipping Sainz almost half a second, meaning the Dutch driver will take provisional pole the following day. Liam Lawson will start the race in P3, while Kimi Antonelli starts P4. Norris will start P7 while his teammate, Piastri starts P9; and for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix in 2021, a Williams driver will be present at the front of the grid.
Picture Above: Max Verstappen celebrating after getting pole position in qualifying on Saturday
Day 3: 21st September
After qualifying, we were all set for the race on the shores of the Caspian Sea. 51 laps stands between Mclaren and the Constructor's Championship, but with both drivers in unfavourable positions in P7 and P9, a lot of work is required in order to bring the title back to Woking. Esteban Ocon of Haas, after qualifying in P18, was sent to the back of the grid after being disqualified due to a technical infringement on his car, sending him down to P20. Rookies, Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli locked up the second row, with the former looking to become the first Kiwi driver to step on a Formula 1 podium in over 50 years. However, it was the former Toro Rosso pair, in Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz who lock up the front row, with the latter looking to get Williams their first podium since George Russell got P2 in Belgium back in 2021.
Unfortunately for Mclaren, things went horribly wrong for them when Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, crashed on the first lap. The Australian locked up, sending him tumbling down to P20 and gone straight on around Turn 6 and straight into the wall; and on the day where Mclaren could clinch the Constructor’s Championship, all hope lies on Lando Norris, who needs to score at least 9 points over both Ferrari drivers combined to secure Mclaren their second title in a row. In lap 5, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso got a 5-second penalty for a false start, and for someone who at the time was in P11, it’s not gonna get better for Andy Cowell’s side. In lap 17, around the same corner where Piastri crashed out, William's Alex Albon was involved in a collision with Franco Colapinto of Alpine, causing the Argentinean to spin out, but luckily not into the barriers. The incident was noted by the FIA, and Alex Albon was found guily, and was handed an 10 second penalty. Mclaren's race in Baku wouldn't get any better as when Lando Norris came in to pit on lap 38, the stop lasted 4.1 seconds due to the Mclaren pit crew not tightening the car's front right tyre, dropping him down all the way from P4 to P8. Following successful pit stops from Red Bull and Mercedes, Verstappen and Russell were able to see out the rest of the race with no trouble at all.
In the end, Max Verstappen proved once again why he's the world champion, seeing the checkered flag as dominated the Grand Prix from start to finish, while finishing 14 seconds over the Mercedes of George Russell, while Carlos Sainz secured his first podium for Williams, finishing P3, the first Williams podium since 2021. Kimi Antonelli narrowly missed out on his second career podium for Mercedes, finishing in P4, while Liam Lawson finished in a career best P5 for Racing Bulls. Lando Norris could only attain P7 following another struggling pit sequence, but was able to close the gap between him and Oscar Piastri's title lead to 25 points following the Australians opening-lap crash. Yuki Tsunoda managed to get his best position for Red Bull, finishing P6, while Ferrari endured another tough day in the office, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finishing P8 and P9 respectively. To wrap up the top 10 was Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, and while Alex Albon finished P11, the 10 second penalty he received for his collision with Franco Colapinto, moved him down to P13.
The streets of Baku have witnessed one of the most entertaining race weekends of the season, as we witnessed high drama, heartbreak, and history. In the end, it was a grand slam victory for Max Verstappen, his first since Bahrain last season, as he goes level with Lewis Hamilton with 6 Grand Slams victory. Williams have celebrated the end of a long wait for one of their drivers to stand on the podium while rookies in Lawson and Antonelli continued to impress. Mclaren's wait for the Constructor's Championship would unfortunately go on to Singapore as Mercedes overtakes Ferrari in the standings. We're heading into the final stretch of the season and one thing is certain - this Formula 1 season is far from over. The F1 Blog will return soon following the race weekend in Singapore
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