This weekend, we witnessed probably one of the maddest F1 races in recent times – arguably more exciting and chaotic than any we’ve seen in the current era of V6 engines. It also yielded a very interesting result that had a third car win a race in the same season – something that has not happened since the 2013 F1 season!
At times, the race felt somewhat like a lottery – only three drivers led the race, but due to all of the chaos, up to 9 other drivers stood a chance to win in Baku. Here are the permutations:
Stroll: Possibly the biggest surprise of the weekend – Stroll would have finished second had he gotten a better exit off of the final corner of the race, and perhaps could have won the race if he had not made it so easy for Ricciardo to pass him into turn 1 earlier in the race. Regardless – a podium is a stunning achievement for the youngster, who was heavily criticized due to poor performances in the races leading up to Canada, where he scored his first points. Go Lance!
Bottas: Made contact with Kimi Raikkonen in the second corner, which gave him a nasty puncture on the first lap of the race at the high speed circuit. This put him a lap down on the entire field, though he was assisted by the safety car periods to climb back up the order, and passed Stroll for second place on the finish line. Had he not made contact with Raikkonen, he most certainly would have won.
Raikkonen: Unlucky as ever – Raikkonen made contact with Bottas for what felt like the hundredth time these past couple of years, which hampered his progress due to damage – though he probably took less pain than Bottas initially. However, he sustained a puncture later in the race, which virtually destroyed the floor of his Ferrari due to the tyre delaminating and flailing around. He would eventually retire after his floor was replaced during the red flag period.
Vettel: Threw away certain victory after bashing Hamilton’s car in retaliation for Hamilton slowing almost to walking pace to attempt to back up Vettel at the end of a safety car period. Vettel lost parts of his front wing due to the maneuver, and was furious with Hamilton, pulling alongside him and bashing into him. The LIA (Lewis International Assistance) issued Vettel with a 10 second stop-go penalty, which demoted him to an eventual 4th place.
Hamilton: Would have won if the race had any semblance of being normal. His headrest came loose mid race, which forced him to pit from the lead for a new one. It could be argued that karma loosened the headrest, as he got off scot-free after using his engine braking to brake test Vettel in an attempt to sabotage his race. He would then beg Mercedes to have Bottas slow down Vettel – a request that Mercedes ignored. Sportsman of the year nominee?
Massa: Would have stood to benefit from the lead cars’ troubles, but damper failure doomed him to retirement. This could have been his first race win in nearly 9 years, and perhaps cost Williams a double podium – even a 1-2.
Ocon: Would have been in very strong contention if he had not made contact with Perez. He sustained a puncture due to the collision, but would still finish 6th. He continues to impress this season, but he may have cost Force India their first race win.
Perez: Like Ocon, he was looking extremely good for the win, but the pink panthers ran into each other mid-race, destroying multiple components on Perez’s car. He would eventually retire, bringing to an end his 30+ race finishing streak.
Verstappen: Outqualified the eventual race winner in the same car and would have most likely been miles ahead of Ricciardo on the road by the time Ricciardo had climbed his way up the order – had his car not failed him (again). That’s his 4th retirement this year, sadly.
All of these drivers’ troubles allowed for Ricciardo to take his fifth career win. He’s really starting to rack them up – slowly but surely! This leaves the Australian fourth in the championship – in a car that has completed less total mileage this season than the Mclaren-Honda.