F1: Verstappen, the great winner of the Azerbaijan GP
A new weekend of action in Formula 1 left winners and losers on the grill.
After one of the most rugged qualification sessions of recent times, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix of Formula 1 left few emotions on the track, beyond abandonment in the first seconds of the leader of the table, the Australian Oscar Piastri and a new exhibition of the Dutch Max Verstappen.
What happened on Saturday and the difficulty to pass in Baku caused some surprising results, from which the three greatest winners and the three maximum losers in this event, before the trip to Singapore for the October 5 race to resume the campaign:
Winners
Max Verstappen
While there were up to six red flags and several of its main rivals crashed with the walls, the current monarch of the great circus made a spectacular return to keep the pole position and demonstrate its talent within the Red Bull, a position that the next day defended in the start and starting from there a parade began to the victory in the streets of Baku.
The Dutch linked triumphs for the first time since June 2024 (Canada and Spain) and is excited to re -enter the fight for the title, to remain at 69 PIASTRI points, when there are still seven appointments in the calendar, although that feat looks complicated, that of the Netherlands showed that there is a step above the rest.
Mercedes
The silver arrows prevented the coronation of McLaren in the Builders Championship (beyond the problems of Woking) and had a weekend of 30 points to take distance from Ferrari in the fight for second place and confirm their consideration as the main rival of Papaya color.
Individually, the British George Russell had one of his usual performances, in which he silently goes up to the podium (he was second) to be placed as the fourth best of the classification, while his coequipero, the Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli also shone, but could not be third, despite not making mistakes in such a complicated path.
Carlos Sainz
The Spaniard could finally celebrate with Williams, after arriving in Azerbaijan with a streak of six events without concluding in the Top-10, on Saturday he was close to keeping the pole, although he formed a second place that he later defended on the track and although he could not contain the impulse of Russell, he did handle better than the other 17 participants and stayed with a third place as longed as celebrated as celebrated.
It was Podium 28 of his career, but the first with those of Grove, who did not have a driver uncovering champagne since Russell did in the trimmed GP of Belgium 2021, so it was the ratification that the project is in the right direction and that the Iberian begins to change his fortune in the factory for which he bet to continue his path.
Losers
McLaren
McLaren had its worst weekend in what has been a dominant season and could not secure the collective crown in Baku, which will arrive sooner or later, but what is no longer a certainty is that of pilots, given the threat that Verstappen represents for the two flyers who have never been in this scenario to head the category.
If for Piastri it was a nightmare to be out in the first round of the test, for his partner Lando Norris it was not better because when he had the possibility of cutting units in the championship he stayed in the seventh place with just six points already 25 of the Australian.
Lewis Hamilton
The British still does not find his best way in Ferrari and after being out of Q3, in the race his situation did not improve and while other adversaries, such as the Mercedes or Red Bull added good quantities, the heptacampeon was formed with four goals at the end of eighth.
The English could not even return the position to Monegasco Charles Leclerc, who was ninth and, as if that were not enough, he saw how Sainz (whom he replaced in the rampant cavallino) was able to get a podium before him with his new team and with a car that in theory is behind the historic red.
Aston Martin
On a date on which several teams took the opportunity to collect units that are not usually within their reach, the worst among those fighting in the middle table was Aston Martin that left Baku at zero and lost a place in the classification, when surpassed by Racing Bulls, which is now sixth, with 10 points of advantage over his rival.
None of the green cars reached Q3 and that ruined its Sunday, because the Spanish Fernando Alonso fell until position 15 after being punished at the exit, while Canadian Lance Stroll was further further back, in 17, to close only ahead of the Alpine, which did not complete the 51 laps; There is concern for Adrian Newey and company.
