Max Verstappen taught again and won the pole of survival in Azerbaijan
In a batch full of red flags and that lasted two hours, the Dutch again showed his category to chop on the tip. Carlos Sainz was the surprise and will leave second. The McLaren and the Ferrari, to row.
Red and red and red … Six times the red flag was shown during the very long classification of the Azerbaijan GP, 17th F1 date! So many were the interruptionsthat the batch that should have lasted an hour, doubled in time. Clesled, with names that appeared in places that do not usually frequent … the qualy in the street of Baku became a survival battle, because if something was missing, there was threat of rain and a few drops fell And just as drops, the heavy ones fell, the pilots who make noise in every weekend of the World Cup: Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piestri … Everyone was staying outside, less one Max Verstappen. Who stayed with the pole position? Yes, the tetracampeón.
Alex Albon, Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto (the three in Q1), Oliver Bearman (in Q2), Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piestri (both in Q3) generated the six red flags. Azerbaijan street became a trap that no one could leave. The issue was that, with each interruption, the teams had to vary their strategy. Putting the temperature tires was almost impossible and, in some cases, they even worn out in turns that ended up being useless, because the red one was just when the quick return was to end.
Q3 went to infarction. Leclerc ended against the wall and the red came out, when almost no one had marked a while, except Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar. The rain drops began to fall, while withdrawing the battered SF-25 of Monegasco. The track was enabled, they all rushed and opened around all those who needed to mark a record. But, red, the sixth and last one. And it was for Piastri, nothing less. The World Cup leader did not feel comfortable throughout the Azerbaijan weekend. He had been close to the wall in a moment, but had been saved. Melbourne’s did not have full confidence and paid her at the key moment: Golpazo in the third curve and great destruction in her MCL39.
There was only a possible attempt for everyone, there was no more time. And Max appeared, with a memorable return to keep on 1. marked 1m41s117 to get out of 478 thousandths to Sainz! The Spanish who grumbled so much in his first year in Williams, which cost him so much to trust the FW47took advantage of the scrambled river and took a second place of departure from the galley. And the third? Liam Lawson, another who took advantage of the falls of others! Baku is the redemption appointment, Sainz’s, fired from Ferrari to receive Hamilton, and Neozyre, degraded to Racing Bulls after just two races on Red Bull as a companion of Verstappen.Alera.
“To be honest, it was a long classification and with so many red flags that it was very difficult to get the perfect return. Most of the time, the tires are not really prepared for a new red flag, especially with the Q3 and a little rain. It was a very difficult session. In the last lap you simply have to go for all, I didn’t even have the best tires I wanted, but due to the red flags, you basically run out of tires. I am very happy with how the weekend has gone so far, because from the FP1 we were not so bad and we continued to improve a little. Then we were there in the classification, which is when it really matters, “Verstappen said.
And now? Verstappen is the great candidate, when Friday had not gone from sixth place. Ferrari, the most painted on the first day, will have Lerclerc from the tenth place and Hamilton, 12th, in another frustrating classification. The McLaren, with Ninth Piastri, their car under repair and their trusted trust. Norris, seventh and with a qualy that closed with a very weak last round. It is true that their soft tires were already spent, but it was 1S122 of Max, a universe of distance.
Will Azerbaijan mark a new start of the championship? Verstappen comes from an overwhelming triumph in Italy, where he took advantage of his Red Bull that is so well with low load. Beyond Monza’s success, putting it again on the title candidate board seemed daring, because he arrived in Baku with 94 disadvantage points on Piastri. But… What if Max wins this Sunday and Piastri is again fallible on a track that did not like him well? What if Norris can’t advance much? The difference is still big, but while the McLaren girl has to go out to explain her controversial papaya rules and manage races trying to live in a naif world, one Verstappen seems not to want to give up. And if the river is still scrambled, the tetracampeón will be ready to give the slut.
