AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX RECAP

Finally, a proper Formula One race. The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a race that will simmer and marinate in the minds of many for a while, and good reasons. There is a lot to unpack, but here are my major takeaways: 

PIASTRI WINS 

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the race in a thrilling battle against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was the race leader until about Lap 20 (of 51). Piastri was dedicated to outdriving and preventing an overtake from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in that first near-half of the race. I have to give credit here to both teammate Lando Norris (who started P15 and speedily caught up to the top five. He finished P5 behind Max Verstappen) and Alex Albon of Williams (more on him later) for holding up Perez just long enough to provide Piastri with sufficient distance to overtake Leclerc in his signature serpentine ambush. 

After that, Piastri and Leclerc were consumed in their pas de deux as the laps went on while the other eighteen drivers competed with each other. Even their race engineers got involved, desperately trying to make dummy calls over the radio to outsmart the other team. After the outcome of the Italian Grand Prix, which saw Piastri come second to Leclerc in what ultimately came down to pit-stop strategy, this battle was personal to the Australian driver, and his admirable fervor to win bubbled to the surface. Leclerc, who held his own, came in second. 

UNLUCKY DAY FOR PEREZ AND SAINZ

This plot twist left viewers and commentators, including yours truly, completely speechless. Here is a quick summary - on Lap 50 of 51, Sergio Perez passed Charles Leclerc for P2, but the Monegasque driver quickly took back the position. Carlos Sainz, it appears, took this opportunity to overtake Perez to seize P3 and seal what briefly looked like a Ferrari 2-3 finish. Not long after that, Perez and Sainz made contact while going down a curved straight, causing both drivers, particularly Sainz, to drift and crash into the wall. Perez was furious and swearing in the immediate aftermath, while Sainz seemed genuinely bewildered.

Thankfully, both drivers were alright, and FIA stewards later regarded the crash as an incident (meaning that neither driver would be penalized). 

As the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers were obviously out of the race after hitting the wall, George Russell finished on the podium in third place. This is the second time this season that Russell has immediately benefitted from two drivers crashing ahead of him - the Mercedes driver ended up winning the Austrian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided, prompting Verstappen to drop behind and Norris to retire his car. 

As someone following the saga surrounding the Mexican driver’s performance in recent races, I genuinely felt bad for Perez. I was excited to see his luck finally turn around, and I was confident that he would finish in the top three. DNF aside, this was his best race since the Chinese Grand Prix back in April. My fingers are crossed that he regains his momentum in Singapore.

MCLAREN NOW IN CONSTRUCTOR’S LEAD 

Piastri’s win, Lando’s top-five finish, and Perez’s DNF enabled McLaren to lead the Constructors’ standings with 476 points, while Red Bull is now in second with 456 points. I knew this would happen, and the fight between the two teams is officially on, as I highly doubt that Red Bull will willingly accept a second-place finish. 

Max Verstappen is still in first place with 313 points, while Norris is still second with 254 points. Oscar Piastri, in fourth with 222 points, is steadily creeping up behind Leclerc, who is third with 235 points. 

There is a very high chance that Max Verstappen will still win the Drivers’ World Championship due to his dominance early on in the season. Still, it is obvious to me that the 2025 season will be proper and even fight between Leclerc, Norris, and Piastri… unless something or someone else decides to take everyone by surprise. That, of course, is a discussion for another time. 

DOUBLE POINTS FOR WILLIAM

This is the first time since the 2023 US Grand Prix that both Williams drivers have scored points. Alex Albon, who was P3 at some point during the race (and only dropped due to a pit stop), finished seventh place, while Franco Colapinto finished in eighth place in his second Formula One race. The drivers earned ten points, a massive feat for a mid-field team. James Vowles’ decision to bring in Colapinto is beginning to pay off. By the way, the new driver has earned more points (four points) in this race than Logan Sargeant did (one point) in the 2023/24 seasons. 

I wonder how much progress Williams would have made by now if that decision had been made before the summer break.

I know that Colapinto is an interim driver until the end of the season, but for the love of god, someone give this man a seat! If Ollie Bearman can land a seat at Haas after a P7 finish in his first F1 race, someone can surely sign the Argentinian driver after his P8 finish. Perhaps Kick Sauber (soon to be Audi) can take him? VCARB, if things don’t work out with Liam Lawson? There are only seven races left in the season and plenty of opportunities for him to prove himself and for either Kick Sauber or VCARB (most likely Sauber) to connect. 

My fingers are crossed, my eyes are open, and my ears are alert. 

HISTORY AND MILESTONES

Speaking of Bearman, the young rookie made history as the first driver to earn points for two teams (Ferrari and Haas) between two Grand Prix races - he first drove as a substitute for Carlos Sainz during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He was a substitute for Kevin Magnussen during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Of course, we can’t discuss Formula One without mentioning Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver surpassed 100,000 km in his F1 career in Baku. He is the second driver to hit this milestone after Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. 

Vintage & Coupe will next cover the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix from September 19th to September 22nd, 2024.