Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Race mid-day Sunday 12 June

[SteveB]

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Race mid-day Sunday 12 June

Round Eight of the Championship {fifteen left, including this one}

Azerbaijan GP Winners: 2016-2021
2016 Nico Rosberg
2017 Daniel Ricciardio
2018 Lewis Hamilton
2019 Valtteri Bottas
2021 Sergio Perez

Baku City Circuit
• Circuit length: 6.003km
• First (championship) grand prix: 2016
• Laps: 51
• Race distance: 306.049km
• Race lap record: 1:43.009 (Charles Leclerc, 2019)
• Number of corners: 20

Qualifying results.
1) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2) Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4) Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5) George Russell (Mercedes)
6) Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
7) Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8) Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri)
9) Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
10) Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
11) Lando Norris (McLaren)
12) Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
13) Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
14) Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
15) Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
16) Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
17) Alex Albon (Williams)
18) Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
19) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
20) Mick Schumacher (Haas)

[Corsasport]

And Russell in front of Lewis once again, it’s all the time now,
Mail is time for Lewis to retire..

[Ryankelvin]

LeClerc gets another pole , but he needs to win races , his conversion rate of poles to Grand Prix wins is not great
Mercedes really struggling

[SteveB]

LeClerc gets another pole , but he needs to win races , his conversion rate of poles to Grand Prix wins is not great
Mercedes really struggling

Valtteri Bottas is the only person to win from pole here. Conversion rate not good for anyone here; pole position does not seem to be an advantage.

[SteveB]

Sergio Perez good bet for a winner here.
Max Verstappen seems to be pushing it and making mistakes.
Two Ferraris don't seem to have a good set-up.

But it is a track that punishes mistakes. Easy for anyone to hit a wall.

[SteveB]

Sergio Pérez gets a good start. Leads the race now.

[SteveB]

Carlos Sainz out with what looks like gearbox problems. Virtual Safety Car. Everyone pitting now.

[SteveB]

Sergio Perez's greatest threat now is team orders. Red Bull will want Max Verstappen to win.

[SteveB]

Why didnt the red bulls pit steve? Is it strategy or a gamble or what.

It is a long way to the end of the race. It is considered a one-stop race. It is a gamble. If the tyres don't last, it could be a risky two-stop.

Also, the Virtual Safety Car was brief and needed track position and quick thinking to make the pit stop.

[SteveB]

Max Verstappen overtakes Sergio Perez. Cryptic Red Bull message to Sergio Perez, "No Fighting". Obvious team orders.

Sergio Perez pits. Unusually for Red Bull, a slow stop.