Victory without discussion for Sergio Perez. Second Verstappen, third Leclerc for the first Ferrari podium of the year.
– Red Bulls continue to play another sport. The circuits change, updates arrive but the script is always the same. The two bull-liveried single-seaters created a vacuum behind them again today, despite Ferrari’s progress. It is and will be a continuous head-to-head between Verstappen and Perez but we continue to believe that we are witnessing the least contested World Championship in the history of F1;
– Sergio Perez has finally outclassed Max Verstappen. The Mexican is confirmed as the absolute specialist of street circuits. Baku 2021, then Monaco and Singapore 2022, Saudi Arabia and Baku again this year make Checo is the driver who probably loves low walls and the absence of escape routes the most. Despite the third place on the starting grid, Perez quickly managed to recover, overtaking Leclerc on the track and Verstappen taking advantage of the pit stop. Overtaking his teammate, however, would probably have reached the track as well. Too superior Checo today, perhaps for the first time really objectively stronger than his teammate;
– The updates have brought the Ferrari a hair further than before the pit stop. Not that there is an exciting step, for charity. Red Bull has yet another job but having kept a very fast Alonso behind with all those laps on the hard tire is a comforting fact. “There is still a lot of work to do” as stated by Leclerc, author of a fantastic weekend: Pole and Shoot Quali conquered and two podiums between Spint and Gara. Ferrari fans, after witnessing the first red podium, hope at least to be able to fight continuously for the top positions. Perhaps bringing home a daring victory, which seems to be the best Ferrari can aspire to this year;
– A sleepyhead Sainz risked ruining the Ferrari race. Not having resisted even one lap in front of Fernando Alonso when the Safety Car entered was gross naivety, which could have denied Leclerc and Ferrari the joy of their first podium of the season. In weeks in which there is much speculation about the possibility of Leclerc’s farewell, the last thing expected is for Sainz to give such disheartening signals. Eight tenths taken in qualifying, more than 20 seconds taken in the race by his teammate are a bad sign. Today probably no Ferrari fan has the hope that the top driver for the next few years could be Carlos Sainz, with all due respect to well-mannered conservatives. To be the first Ferrari driver talent is required first of all;
– The two old lions are still the baddest on the track. Both Alonso and Hamilton showed a viciousness that would make the many twenty-year-olds on the track envious. Hamilton to wage war with Sainz until the end to conquer a fifth place, Alonso, finished fourth, to snatch a sensational fast lap at the end of the race. Two forty-year-old boys who still want to demonstrate that they can have their say in this F1 made of hybrid engines and drs. In defiance of the next gen.
The article Scattered considerations after the Azerbaijan GP comes from Sportellate.it.