F1: 2022 Azerbaijan GP preview: can the title contenders bring the race win home?

The 2022 Azerbaijan GP has its shares of favourites, but as has always been the case with the Baku street circuit, we may finally see a surprising podium.

By
Mihir R Barve
, Published: 10-Jun-22 11:51 PM IST

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Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc and Verstappen are only 15 points apart.

The Azerbaijan GP has always delivered a dramatic race, and the road race’s journey in 2022 promises to be more dramatic than ever. Many F1 drivers have claimed that racing 2022 F1 cars feels akin to ‘go-karts’ racing, and that would certainly be a good thing when racing on a track like the Baku City Circuit. The fight for the top of the championship is also close, and with the top 3 drivers only 15 points apart, the GP may reshuffle the order between these drivers. What makes the Baku City Circuit interesting is that the track contains extremely tight sections, like the Monaco GP track F1 did last weekend, but it also has the longest flat-out section of the calendar, which exceeds the top speed. offers. Monza! While this may sound exciting to many F1 spectators, it is less than ideal for team engineers as they have to compromise on the setup of their cars, and the team is still trying to understand their cars, whatever the team. Finish a class ahead of your rivals that can complete the ideal setup.

The Baku City Circuit offers a mix of tight turns and extremely long straights.

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Undoubtedly, one of the favorites – or perhaps ‘the’ favorite – going into the Azerbaijan GP weekend is the newest Monaco GP winner, Sergio Perez, and there are many reasons for that. The F1 circus is moving from one street circuit to another, with only a weekend separating them, and getting 2022 Monaco GP wonCome to this race, Checo will be at the peak of his confidence. Perez has steadily improved his performance since joining Red Bull last year, and earlier this year also claimed the first pole position of his F1 career, after what he claimed was a poor qualifier. Notably, this pole position was built at the venue of the Saudi Arabian GP, ​​which was also a fast street circuit. The Mexican didn’t put a foot wrong that entire weekend, and his victory was taken away from him because of a too-timed safety car, which allowed Leclerc to take a free pitstop and win the race with it. Checo’s morale will be boosted by the fact that he does justice. Signed a contract extension with Red BullWhich will keep him in the Milton-Keynes based squad until the end of 2024. And if all this wasn’t enough to lift his spirit, he was also the winner of the 2021 Azerbaijan GP.

Sergio Pérez won his first Monaco GP from third on the grid.

Max Verstappen can never be discounted in predicting the outcome of any race. The Dutchman is also in terrific form, and except for one blip at the Monaco GP last weekend, where he finished third and didn’t have the pace to beat Ferrari or his teammates, he has finished the year in each. The race is won. Verstappen led most of the 2021 Azerbaijan GP before an unlucky and spectacular tire failure hit a wall just 3 laps from the finish. Verstappen is currently leading the championship and will certainly look to extend his lead, as his main title rival Charles Leclerc has suffered 2 unlucky weekends where he has dropped valuable points, and has been hit with hammer and tongs. Will come with them. Leclerc hasn’t had the best results on this circuit, but after Ferrari’s poor pitstop calls to him losing the lead in his home race and falling from P4, he will be more determined than ever. Mercedes has also brought a number of upgrades to its W12 car that it has been battling with, and George Russell will certainly look to keep his race for a Top 5 finish in every race of the season this weekend.

Charles Leclerc lost a lot of points in the last few races due to terrible luck with some mistakes.

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Rumors of F1’s “silly season”, or team change of drivers, also started earlier this year. With Sergio Pérez confirmed for a Red Bull drive for next year, Pierre Gasly has been left wondering when the shot might come a second time in a bigger team. Helmut Marko said Alfa Tauri is still the best team he can be in F1 right now, as Carlos Sainz has also been confirmed with Ferrari for 2 more years, and will not open a seat at Mercedes until until Lewis Hamilton chooses to retire. “What would be the alternative? I don’t think there’s an option for him at the moment that would be much better than Alfa Tauri”, Marko said. Now however, Gasly has been relegated to the McLaren drive, as even in his second year Daniel Ricciardo is struggling to build up his pace compared to Lando Norris. McLaren boss Zak Brown previously said in an interview, “I don’t want to go to the contract, but there are mechanisms in which we are committed to each other, and there are mechanisms in which we are not”, indicating that if Ricciardo Fails to progress, may have to hold his seat. If Ricciardo leaves, it will be difficult for him to find a seat where he can fulfill his ambition of winning the world championship.

Pierre Gasly could replace Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren, should he fail to perform.

2022 Azerbaijan GP Schedule

F1 Drivers’ World Championship standings after Round 7 – Monaco GP

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