Race 2018 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Full Race Replay

Race 2018 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Full Race Replay

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Race Info
Date    29 April 2018
Official name    Formula 1 Rolex Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Location    Baku City Circuit
Baku, Azerbaijan
Course    Temporary street circuit
Course length    6.003 km (3.730 miles)
Distance    51 laps, 306.049 km (190.170 miles)

Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018 What to Watch

This weekend, Formula 1 will make its third trip to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, who won the Chinese Grand Prix, will be looking for a second consecutive victory at this track after an unexpected success in Baku in 2017.

Lewis Hamilton, the current champion, is still seeking his first victory of the year, while Sebastian Vettel leads the drivers' standings by nine points going into the fourth race of the year.

Listing the things that didn't happen last year would be quicker! Despite starting tenth on the grid, Ricciardo managed to escape all the collisions and win one of the most exciting races in recent memory. When things went wrong for Vettel and Hamilton, the Australian was in a position to profit from a restart after a safety car period, where he executed a spectacular three-car overtake to beat both Williams drivers and Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident involving Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton behind the second safety car is likely what most remember most about the race. After running into his title rival's rear end, Vettel pulled up beside the Mercedes driver, made a gesture, and struck the Briton once again. 

Vettel received a 10-second stop and go penalty, which dropped him down the pack and damaged both cars.

After the two Force India drivers collided, the race was briefly red-flagged to give marshals time to collect debris. Mercedes had to send Hamilton into the pitlane to make sure the device was fitted correctly after a loose headrest wrecked his race after the restart.

After finishing third and barely missing out on second place after being passed by Valtteri Bottas in the closing seconds of the race, Lance Stroll became the youngest rookie – and second youngest ever, behind Max Verstappen — to secure a Formula 1 podium.

Despite being ranked 14th, Kimi Raikkonen actually took two breaks from the race! Just before the red flag, the Finn's car sustained damage from debris and was forced into the pit to withdraw. Ferrari was able to fix the vehicle and bring Raikkonen back into the race, but an oil leak ended his race five laps before the finish.

The Baku City Circuit is a street circuit, so not much can be altered there. The race will take place on the second-longest track on the Formula One calendar, behind Belgium, and will cover the same distance and number of laps as the previous year.

However, as no driver used the medium rubber throughout the race last year, Pirelli has chosen to use different tire compounds. During the race on Sunday, drivers will be able to use soft, supersoft, and ultrasoft tires instead.

Another factor that can change this year is the race's time. The event is happening a few months sooner this year than Baku's two prior races, which were held in the summer. Because most teams are storing their first significant modifications for the Spanish Grand Prix next month, the cars will be less developed than in recent years and run at temperatures that are different from what is typical for the circuit. 

Although teams have previously competed on Monaco's narrow, winding street circuit before, this will be the first time this year's vehicles have been put to the test on such a course.

Speaking of tires, this weekend offers a variety of individual tire options. The race tyre of choice in Azerbaijan last year was the supersoft, but this year's teams are unsure about which tyre will be ideal because a softer compound is available. Ten pairs of the purple-striped tires are being brought to the track by Stoffel Vandoorne of McLaren, Sauber, and Ferrari, who are leaning toward the ultrasoft. However, Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz only have seven sets and four of the supersofts, so Renault isn't persuaded.

Last year, there was a lot of pitlane action due to three safety cars and a red flag period. Romain Grosjean had four pit stops during the race, while Ricciardo and Bottas both required four sets of tires to secure the top two positions on the podium.

There probably won't be as many pit stops in 2018 unless there are a lot of incidents at the race this year. Most of the top ten drivers only made one pit stop at the 2016 European Grand Prix, which was Formula One's inaugural visit to Baku. They switched from supersofts to softs, although several drivers had to make two stops.

Compared to June, when the race was held last year, Baku is normally about 12°C colder during this time of year, and there is also more rainfall. But according to the current prognosis, this weekend won't require wet tires or intermediates.

throughout fact, Friday and Saturday are predicted to be exceptionally warm for this season, with highs of 24°C throughout the city. Cloudy and sunny conditions will alternate during qualifying and practice.

According to the forecast, the race day will be rather milder for April in Baku, with a temperature of about 19°C, more clouds, and wind. Sunday's cooler weather may cause some teams to enter the race unsure of which tire would perform best.

It's hard to say how crucial grid position is at the track because the Azerbaijan event is still relatively new. Half of the competitors who placed on the podium in the two Baku races we've seen so far, including the victor from the previous year, started outside the top six. But in 2016, Nico Rosberg prevailed from pole position.

Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen are two drivers who will be arriving this weekend in a desperate attempt to prevent another disaster.

After wrecking his car in Bahrain and colliding with Vettel in China last time out, Verstappen has drawn criticism, and Vettel will be anxious to prevent a recurrence of the Hamilton incident from the previous year.

At a street circuit, a safety car always seems likely. Prior to the red flag being raised to address debris last year, racing had to be stopped three times. When the event was first held in 2016, there were minimal incidents, and some drivers expressed surprise that there were no safety car intervals.

Despite Kevin Magnussen's impressive efforts for Haas, McLaren and Renault are leading the best of the rest race outside the top three teams.

Romain Grosjean, Magnussen's Haas colleague, has had a difficult season thus far after retiring in Australia, finishing in 13th and 17th place. Grosjean has struggled at the track, finishing outside the points on both of the race's previous runnings, despite the Dane placing seventh in Azerbaijan last year.

However, don't count on Williams to replicate their prior performances in Baku. Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin have both dropped out of qualifying in the first qualifying round of the last two races, but the team has never had a driver start worse than eighth in Baku.  Stroll's third-place finish from 2017 is unlikely to be surpassed this weekend. 

However, Sirotkin did well on the track in both GP2 and F2, so he might be worth watching. He finished on the podium twice at the track in 2016 before earning points in the sprint and feature races at his sole Formula Two event in 2017. Charles Leclerc of Sauber, who won the F2 feature race in Baku last year, will also be hopeful that this track can earn him his maiden F1 points.