But it’s RAWE CEEK! After a whole weekend without F1, we’re heading to Baku.
Have Red Bull sorted their pace? Even with Verstappen at the wheel, they’ve fallen back to the pack, and McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes are all capable of beating them. Verstappen is under contract for a while, but that won’t prevent him from just going racing in other disciplines if he doubts the car will be viable. Maybe he pulls an Alonso and wanders over to endurance racing.
Will Lando stop screwing up? If he doesn’t crack under the pressure, he could make a viable challenge for the WDC. At the summer break, he needed to make up eight points per race to catch Verstappen. He’s managed exactly that in both races since then, and the McLaren is the class of the field at the moment. Will Papaya Rules be changed if Norris needs the buffer and defense to finish the job?
Who comes out as top dog at Mercedes? Russell started the season strong, and but for a couple pounds of weight, would be tied neck and neck with Hamilton. As it stands, George is an average #2 driver behind Lewis.
Overtakes should be interesting. The DRS zone down the main straight of Baku has been lengthened again.
Will Bottas have a seat next year? The Sauber car is atrocious, the engineering is atrocious, the pit crew is atrocious. Next year is a new year (as AUDI!), but still…
How will Colapinto do? He finished 12th in his first race, and didn’t look too bad. It probably sucks replacing someone in a car you know you won’t be in next season, but can he prove enough to get one of the last few seats?
That was my take as well, Perez was probably looking down the road at Leclerc and not thinking that Sainz would follow the racing line. Sainz knew Perez was there and could have done more to give him room, but it was Perez’s incident to avoid. Very unfortunate since he was having such a great race, and now RB has lost the lead. I’m fine with it being called a racing incident because I don’t think a penalty is warranted, but Perez can’t afford to be making these mistakes.
I’ve watched every F2 race for the first time this season. Kush Maini has been incredibly unlucky - he has been in the hunt for podiums/wins at least five times this year before getting screwed by other drivers crashing into him, badly timed safety cars and the like.
This week he took himself out of the feature race from fifth on the grid. He apparently stalled the car because he forgot to engage the “race start mode,” which holds the clutch on the line or something like that.
Maini started the first race of the season on pole with his teammate (Gabriel Bortoleto) in second. Bortoleto is leading the championship while Maini is now 11th.
Isaac Hadjar led the championship for most of the season but has been off the pace for five or six races. I’m glad because he is incredibly whiny and I want to punch him every time I hear him on the radio.
That really was a great race. Piastri’s lunge to the inside to take the lead was just chef’s kiss. And then holding off LeClerc for almost thirty laps before the Ferrari’s tires completely died? More, please.
Norris catching up and passing Verstappen after leaving in Q1 was a great narrative through the race. I still want to know why they pitted him on a flying lap that was almost certain to get him to Q2. First time this year McLaren hasn’t had two cars in Q3.
And that crash. If Sainz was six inches further back from LeClerc, he could have clipped the apex of T2 and Checo wouldn’t have had any chance to be alongside, AND Sainz would have had DRS past LeClerc’s worn rears. A bit less aggressive on that run from T1 and he’d have locked up the podium for certain, and a very good chance to finish P2. After T2, they just drifted ever-so-slightly into each other, and spectacular spectacular - they’re both in the wall. Definitely a racing incident - though I’d lay it about 75/25 to Perez, as he was behind and could see it coming. Same way I fault Magnussen a bit for Monaco.
Bearman’s already in the seat next year, and Magnussen is gone, right?
I don’t see a reason to bring KMag back either, except to watch him crash out RBJV every race to help Hülkenberg take 6th in the WCC all by himself, knowing he almost certainly can’t accrue enough penalty points for another DSQ before the end of the season.
He was ordered to perform community service as a punishment for swearing at the last press conference. So he basically pulled a Marshawn Lynch and refused to give more than one-word answers at the subsequent press conference as a form of protest.
Like Hamilton being ordered to remove his nose ring, this seems to be one of the few times all the drivers agree on something - they all think the punishment is stupid.
