Well, we learned that Baku is not the circuit for F1, and we also learned that Vettel is human and Hamilton sanctimonious.
This was the second Grand Prix to be held at the Baku circuit in Azerbaijan, not a venue known for being steeped in motor sport. Mongol hordes perhaps, but car racing, not really.
The whole concept of racing around anybody’s houses is not practical with today’s 350 km/h F1 cars. The circuit narrows to around 7 meters in places and then widens to accommodate four cars wide, just asking for collisions as they arrive at the corner.
However, the biggest problem with Baku is nobody thought about how to retrieve stopped vehicles or debris. There is no room outside the fences for cranes, tractors etc., so all that eventuates is a series of Safety Car periods, which the Azerbaijan GP gave us three of them, and a red flag stoppage for good measure as well.
On paper it looked like a Lewis Hamilton benefit, head and shoulders above the rest of the field in performance, but all sorts of things can change that – and did.
On the first lap the Toro Rosso pair managed to run into each other, Bottas (Mercedes) ran into his countryman Raikkonen (Ferrari) again and a couple of laps further on, the Force India pair of Perez and Ocon managed to run into each other as well.
The pits were a waiting room for nose surgery with the Force Indias doubled up on the forecourt.
It was then that Kvyat (Toro Rosso) really showed up the deficiencies of the circuit when he stopped on the straight and there was no way to remove the car! The only way was to yellow flag the event, get the tractor on the track and go from there.
Then we had carbon fiber shards everywhere, so more yellows with Azerbaijan’s answers to Usain Bolt running down the track picking up sharp bits.
But the farce didn’t end there, it only really started then. The safety car pulled off with the train comprising of Hamilton followed by Vettel and the rest. Hamilton then pulled a very old trick by brake testing Vettel and the Ferrari made contact. Vettel threw his hands in the air and then drove out alongside and banged wheels with Hamilton, he was so angry. The stewards were not impressed with the impetuosity and leveled a 10 second stop-go penalty on Vettel, who said, “I don’t know why I got the penalty and Lewis didn’t. It’s disappointing, because it could have been a better result. I don’t have a problem with Lewis but I just think that what he did on the track was not ok.”
But the drama was not over yet. Hamilton’s head rest had become loose and he had to pit to change it. The protagonists rejoined mid-field. To finish 4th and 5th.
Hamilton, in his best Dale Carnegie style then came on with, “We all feel that pain, but it’s on me to gather my thoughts and try and lead the team through this adversity. We’ll pull together and move forwards. I’m proud of my performance and I hope we can take the speed we’ve shown this weekend forward. I definitely didn’t brake-test Sebastian. I felt a bump from behind, but that wasn’t the issue for me – everybody saw clearly what happened after. All the young kids in other series look up to us, as champions, to set an example and that is not the behavior you expect to see from a multiple champion. But we know that when times get tough, true colors show. Personally, I want to do my talking on the track and win this championship in the right way.” Truly nauseating, Mr. Hamilton.
As well as all that, Ricciardo (Red Bull) snuck by to win, Bottas (Mercedes) recovered to be second and Lance Stroll (Williams) claimed his first podium.
Banku provided action, but most of it the wrong kind!
