Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Azerbaijan-podium

Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Race Report

With the first race being held at the Baku Circuit just last year – in 2016, NO ONE could have expected the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2017 to turn out in the way that it did.

There was action right from the beginning and below we have all the details in the race recap along with team and driver reactions that you want to know about…

Race Recap – Azerbaijan Grand Prix 

Lewis Hamilton started in 1st position and led the race right from the start, keeping out of all the drama that occurred behind him. Maintaining the speed throughout and during one of the safety car periods, there was a slight ‘issue’ between Hamilton (Mercedes) and Vettel (Ferrari).

It seems that Sebastian Vettel got caught out as Hamilton was getting ready for the restart however instead of continuing with the race, Vettel then drove alongside Hamilton – showing him that he was unhappy, driving into him – yet again.

The stewards then looked into the incident between the two drivers and it resulted in Vettel getting a 10-second-penatly for dangerous driving.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, at the same time – he had an issue with his head rest which had come loose. With the team telling him to ‘lock’ it back into position unsuccessfully this then resulted in an unwanted pitstop meaning he lost first place.

Ricciardo then coasted to victory with Bottas also making his way through the grid and in the last section of the race – overtaking Stroll and gaining 2nd position.

Red Bull Racing – Azerbaijan Grand Prix 

Daniel Ricciardo 

Daniel Ricciardo – “I have never had a boring win and today was certainly not that. After all the chaos and the red flag – that podium was in reach but then once Lewis had to pit and Set had the penalty, I knew the win was possible.”

“I kind of said yesterday that after my qualifying mistake and starting in tenth place, today was going to be a race of no mistakes and capitalising on moments and opportunities – which I felt like we did and everything we could do we did this afternoon.”

“The odds of a podium or win got pushed even further back when we had to make an unscheduled pit stop early in the race and I think I was back in 17th place.”

“Things fell into place quite nicely and the last re-start was the most important – it was also a real shame for Max today but it’s a great victory for everyone int he team.”

“I felt better for us overall and hopefully both of us can be on the podium together soon – what a day, it’s been crazy but it’s sinking in.”

Max Verstappen – Azerbaijan Grand Prix 

Max Verstappen – “After what looked like a promising race at the beginning, I was gutted to be let down once again by a technical problem.”

“After an action packed race we were confident that we could have had at least a podium here in Baku – I am very disappointed with this outcome.”

Christian Horner – Team Principal 

“Certainly an action-packed Grand Prix and an unbelievable afternoon.”

“It started with chaos and we had to pit Daniel early to get rid of that debris  – unfortunately a sudden failure with the engine eliminated Max from the race which is hugely frustrating.”

“From then, we focused on Daniel and he was coming back through the order with great passing moved and restarted – the team had a handle on the strategy and following the red flag, he had another great start.”

“An unbelievable tale of two halves but today, it’s fantastic for the team to score it’s 53rd Grand Prix victory.”

Mercedes – Azerbaijan Grand Prix 

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas – “Today was a crazy race – especially for me. I had a puncture on the first lap and after the contact with Kimi on Lap 1, I was a lap down.:

“I then had to overtake the field under the safety car and the second safety car really helped me out – step by step, we moved from there.”

“My main goal today was to fight for the win but that went out of the window after the first stint, I was actually last at one point but I got my head down and gave it everything I could and tried to get the absolute maximum out of every single corner.”

“We didn’t manage to win, but from P2 and from where we were – it’s a great feeling and very important for the team, we scored more points in the fight with Ferrari and I got some good points for myself as well.”

 

Lewis Hamilton – Azerbaijan Grand Prix 

Lewis Hamilton – ” It’s difficult to swallow a result like this after such a strong weekend – I drove my heart out today, right to the line and I gave it everything.”

“I know that the team will be devastated about the issue with the headrest but what we have to take away from this weekend is the great performance that we have shown – we all feel the pain, but it’s on me to gather my thoughts and try to lead the team through this adversity.”

“We’ll pull together and move forwards, I’m proud of my performance and I hope that we can take the speed we’ve shown this weekend forward.”

“I controlled the pace under the safety car and just like with any other restart, I slowed down in the same place on the entry to T15 – at this point, it is up to me to control the pace and then I felt a bump from behind – that wasn’t the issue for me, everybody clearly saw what happened after that.”

“All the young kids in other series look up to us, as champions, and to set an example – that is not the behaviour you expect to see from a multiple champion.”

“We know that when times get tough, true colours show and we have managed to apply some good pressure in the last few weeks – personally, I want to do my talking on the track and win this championship in the right way.”

“More than ever after this weekend and I believe that we can.”

Ferrari – Azerbaijan Grand Prix 

Sebastian Vettel 

Sebastian Vettel – ” First of all, I think that the car today was very good. The pace was strong in the race and I think that you could see we were losing a little bit here and there but overall, it was a good race.”

“It was a very busy start and Valtteri was very aggressive – as for what happened at the safety car restart, I don’t know why I got the penalty and Lewis didn’t.”

“It’s very disappointing because it could have been a better result. I don’t have a problem with Lewis, I just think that what he did on the track was not ok – by now, the decision is done but in an episode like this one – I still think that if you give out a penalty, it should be to both drivers.”

Kimi Raikkonen – Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen – “Today, many things happened that were out of our hands and unfortunately we paid a big price. After the start, I got hit by Bottas – I don’t know what he was doing, he braked very early and let the brakes off too fast and hit me.”

“I had massive damage and we were able to keep going but then I was unlucky. Some debris flew off the Force India’s and destroyed my rear tyre – as a consequence, the whole flower and the rear wing were damaged and we decided to retire.”

“With the red flag, we thought that we might try and go back on track – the mechanics all did an amazing job and mangled to change the flower and endplate in a very short time.”

“My car was still not perfect but without all these things happening, my car would have been good – there is nothing else that we could have done, we tried our best.”

 

McLaren – Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso 

Fernando Alonso – “Starting 19th because of our penalties – on one of our least competitive circuits and yet still scoring our first championship points is just unreal – a complete surprise.”

“The race really came through to us and the many retirements and also a lot of action. I managed to stay away from he walls and just brushing them here and there.”

“Nevertheless, I think we could have fought for a podium finish today – perhaps even a victory. We were behind Ricciardo during the first safety car period and then Lewis had a problem with his headrest and was forced to pit.”

“Sebastian then had a penalty and Kimi retired (briefly) and the two Force India’s touched so automatically, we found ourselves in a decent position.”

“We missed out on further opportunities – we were not quick enough in the race and couldn’t hold on to the position, still – we got our two points of the season so let’s just take that.”

Stoffel Vandoorne – Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Stoffel Vandoorne – ” I made a decent start and there was a lot of mayhem – a lot of debris and I had to avoid a few slow cars on the run down to Turn 3 but I managed to keep my nose clean.”

“Then the ream did a great job to cover Romain Grosjean – I switched to the option tyre and came out ahead of him – I had good pace on that tyre and then the red flag came out and took away my advantage as it meant everybody on the prime tyre could now effectively get a free tyre change.”

“After my final stop, I was catching the Saubers by 1.5s per lap and then it was impossible to overtake – they were saving all their energy until the last corner and I was also trying to do the same in order to get the maximum boost available.”

“Apart from that – our pace was strong today and it was great for the team to score our first points of the season – we deserve it.”

More Photos From Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The Formula 1 Girl 🙂

xx

Images – Kym Illman F1

 

 

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1 Comment

  1. 6th July 2017 / 1:07 pm

    Wow what a race this was! Thank you for the post Formula 1 Girl it was great to see reaction from drivers.
    Tom