MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will try to get back in the fight for victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the eighth round of the Formula 1 World Championship to which both Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) like Fernando Alonso (Alpine) arrive wanting to shine.
The Baku Circuit hosts the second consecutive street race after the one held two weeks ago in Monaco, where for the first time in the entire season, the first step of the podium was neither for Verstappen nor for Leclerc, although the current champion did climb to the box to keep his distance from his main rival.
What did not change in the Principality, where another chaotic Sunday was experienced due to the rain, was the current dominance of Red Bull that added its fourth victory in a row and fifth in total thanks to the Mexican Sergio Pérez, who obtained a nice reward for the ‘favor’ what he had to do to his partner in Montmeló (Barcelona).
And now, the Austrian team arrives at a circuit where it usually performs well and where it has won on two of its five visits (in 2016 it hosted the European Grand Prix), but never with Verstappen. The Australian Daniel Ricciardo did it in 2017 and the ‘Czech’ last year, in this case relieving a team that lamented the Dutchman’s puncture when he was on his way to victory.
Mercedes, with the German Nico Rosberg (2016), the Englishman Lewis Hamilton (2018), who continues this year in the doldrums and without being competitive, and the Finnish Valtteri Bottas (2019), won the other three races in Baku, a stage where Ferrari can only boast of the second (2016) and third place (2019) of the German Sebastian Vettel, although he has been more protagonist on Saturdays.
Verstappen will try to defend his nine-point lead over Leclerc at a circuit where he has left empty three times and where his best result is fourth place in 2018, just like Leclerc, who needs to feel dominant over Red Bull again , which has overtaken him since his second and final win of the season in Australia.
In addition, Leclerc, who can be encouraged with his ‘pole’ from last year, is stalked by Pérez, who is only six points away, who is good at this circuit where he also has two podiums with Force India (2016 and 2018 ) and that he will try to repeat victory to get fully into the fight for the title, as long as he has ‘permission’ from Christian Horner and Verstappen’s interests are not there.
And in search of approaching the ‘Top 3’ is a Carlos Sainz who goes to Baku with renewed energy after being the best driver of the ‘Scuderia’ in the last two Grand Prix, with a valuable second place in Monte Carlo.
The man from Madrid has taken two podiums (third in Miami) in the last three races, but still remains in fifth place overall with 83 points, although he is only one behind the British George Russell (Mercedes), while the ‘ Checo’ is far away (27). Sainz will try to get back in the fight in Baku, where he has always added, with a fifth place, with Renault, as his best result in 2018.
For his part, the Asturian driver Fernando Alonso also hopes to transfer his improvement to this Grand Prix, where Alpine will have new aerodynamic improvements in search of increasing the competitiveness of his car.
The two-time world champion was seventh in the Principality in what was his second consecutive race in the points and now, on a track that he does not dislike and where he was sixth last year after an excellent Sunday, he hopes to be back in the fight for the middle zone.
Despite its urban nature, the streets of the Azeri capital where the race takes place do not have much to do with those of Monte Carlo, where overtaking is almost an impossible mission, quite the opposite of this event. In addition, the possibility of uncomfortable wind must always be taken into account for single-seaters where aerodynamics are vital.
-Friday.
13.00-14.00 Free 1.
16.00-17.00 Free 2.
-Saturday.
13.00-14.00 Free 3.
16.00-17.00 Qualification.
-Sunday.
13.00 Race.
