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2021 Azerbaijan Thoughts

THE BIG PICTURE: We have to admit, we thought the idea of stopping the race with two laps to go, restarting it with a standing start, followed by a two-lap sprint was very unfair for what all the drivers worked for in the previous 48 laps. It smacked of being very NASCAR-ish. But, we also have to admit, we absolutely loved it. However, it's really not something we want to see every race. Leave those actions for gimmick races, not F1.

EVENT: Silverstone 2020 all over again.

TRACK: Yeah, we still love this track.

QUALIFYING: This is what everyone thought Monaco would be like -- crash, crash, crash, crash. Leclerc wins out due to someone else's crash this time, Hamilton finds his pace and wins the key duel as Verstappen is behind him, Gasly is superb, Bottas is not, and Yuki calms down until the end.

RACE: Well, if that didn't get you jumping off your seat, you're not a racing fan.

START: Amazingly another super clean street circuit start, Leclerc has a superb getaway, Verstappen is conservative, and Perez aggressively gains two positions.

RESTART: Hamilton's brakes were smoking, Perez doesn't quite get the jump he wants, but Hamilton locks up and slides off, while Gasly and Leclerc have an epic battle.

PEREZ: Sergio is finally getting the hang of the Red Bull at a track he has always loved. Even if he "backed into" the victory, it was well deserved as he drove calmly and fast under intense pressure. And that's not even considering how his car barely held together to the checker.

VERSTAPPEN: That was Max's race victory. No doubt. Remember this one when the season ends and the championship points are final.

HAMILTON: By the same token, remember this mistake by Lewis when the season ends and the championship points are final.

BOTTAS: Another miserable, slow race by Valtteri at a street circuit.

VETTEL: Another fantastic drive coupled with the team's smart decision to change tires during the safety car.

GASLY: Super fast all weekend, Pierre was properly rewarded with a podium.

LECLERC: He knew he didn't have the car for the win, but considering the wild ending, Charles did have the car for the podium, but his friend beat him to it.

SAINZ: Carlos pulled a Lewis before Lewis pulled a Carlos.

MCLAREN: Norris and Ricciardo weren't quite as fast and lucky as the Ferraris, and for that the papaya team dropped behind the red team in the standings.

ALONSO: New tires and a restart saw Fernando act like his younger self for the final two laps.

TSUNODA: Much, much better. After four terrible races, Yuki got his act back together.

HAAS: The Russian Haas driver tries to kill the German Haas driver. And in typical Steiner fashion, Guenther tells us there is nothing to see here.

STROLL: A nasty hit through no fault of Lance.

LATIFI: Terrible communications by his team left Nicholas out to dry.

PIRELLI: If all the failures were indeed caused by cuts from debris, one has to wonder how this track gets cleaned...

F2: Some of the decisions by the Stewards were head scratchers. Nonetheless, Estonian Juri Vips dominated the weekend with wins in the second sprint race and the all important feature race.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Left Rear.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 4 -- The number of red flags during qualifying, tying for the most with 2016 Hungary.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: Haas tweeted out the excitement we all felt before the restart, "SPRINT RACE!"

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: There was only one word which could be understood in the tirade from Max Verstappen after crashing, "Beeeeeeeeeep tire beeeeeeeeeeeep."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Sebastian Vettel in his excitement getting back on the podium, "That's a podium, man! That's a wrap!"

SCHEDULE: Any race after Baku is going to be a letdown. But to follow this up with Paul "where the hell is the track" Ricard is a huge disappointment.

Copyright © 2021 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.



RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Perez 51
2. Vettel 51
3. Gasly 51
4. Leclerc 51
5. Norris 51
6. Alonso 51
7. Tsunoda(R) 51
8. Sainz 51
9. Ricciardo 51
10. Raikkonen 51
11. Giovinazzi 51
12. Bottas 51
13. Schumacher(R) 51
14. Mazepin(R) 51
15. Hamilton 51
16. Latifi 51
17. Russell 48
18. Verstappen 45
NC Stroll 29
NC Ocon 3

Time of Race
2:13:36.410

Margin of Victory
1.385 secs.

Safety Car
2 for 8 laps

Lead Changes
6 among 5 drivers

Lap Leaders
Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc

Fastest Race Lap
Max Verstappen

Pole Position
Charles Leclerc

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Verstappen 105
2. Hamilton 101
3. Perez 69
4. Norris 66
5. Leclerc 52
6. Bottas 47
7. Sainz 42
8. Gasly 31
9. Vettel 28
10. Ricciardo 26
11. Alonso 13
12. Ocon 12
13. Stroll 9
14. Tsunoda(R) 8
15. Raikkonen 1
  Giovinazzi 1

  Team Pts.
1. Red Bull 174
2. Mercedes 148
3. Ferrari 94
4. McLaren 92
5. AlphaTauri 39
6. Aston Martin 37
7. Alpine 25
8. Alfa Romeo 2
 
 

2024 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Japan
China Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco
Canada Spain Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Azerbaijan Singapore United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Qatar Abu Dhabi

2023 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Azerbaijan
Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco Spain
Canada Austria Great Britain Hungary
Belgium Holland Italy Singapore
Japan Qatar United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Abu Dhabi

2022 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Emilia Romagna
Miami Spain Monaco Azerbaijan
Canada Great Britain Austria France
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Singapore Japan United States
Mexico City Sao Paulo Abu Dhabi

2021 Thoughts
Bahrain Emilia Romagna Portugal Spain Monaco
Azerbaijan France Steiermark Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Russia Turkey United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Qatar Saudi Arabia Abu Dhabi

2020 Thoughts
Austria Steiermark Hungary Great Britain Anniversary
Spain Belgium Italy Tuscany
Russia Eifel Portugal Emilia Romagna
Turkey Bahrain Sakhir Abu Dhabi

2019 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
Mexico United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2018 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2017 Thoughts
Australia China Bahrain Russia
Spain Monaco Canada Azerbaijan
Austria Great Britain Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2016 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Russia Spain
Monaco Canada Europe Austria
Great Britain Hungary Germany Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2015 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore Japan Russia United States
Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2014 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia Bahrain China
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan Russia
United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2013 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Great Britain
Germany Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore South Korea Japan India
Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2012 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2011 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Turkey
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi Brazil

2010 Thoughts
Bahrain Australia Malaysia China
Spain Monaco Turkey Canada
Europe Great Britain Germany Hungary
Belgium Italy Singapore Japan
South Korea Brazil Abu Dhabi

2009 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Turkey Great Britain
Germany Hungary Europe
Belgium Italy Singapore
Japan Brazil Abu Dhabi


Archived CART/Champ Car Thoughts
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