Salam, MiniFans! One week of rest and we’re back at it in Baku, which was welcomed us in its windy state, with a chance of rain throughout the weekend. McLaren arrives with their first chance of clinching the constructor’s title after a Sunday when a team decision left them under fire, whereas Verstappen touches down with renewed energies after a victory that was cheered for by the tifosi
Not trusting that the relatively calm weather would remain so, eveyone was ready and lining up in the pitlane as the clock ticked down to signal the start of Q1 with just a coule of exceptions from the top teams, who’d rather wait in their boxes for the queue to clear up. Softs were predominant, but McLaren and Red Bull felt safe enoufh to send their drivers out in mediums to test them out. The first times were set by backmarkers, as it’s usual, but the top dogs didn’t take too long to make an appearance in between biref yellow flags until one became a red flag. Albon was sitting still between turn 1 and 2, with his front left tyre not looking good, as he had hit the inside wall of the first corner.
When the area was clean of debris, the session restarted with only Piastri and Antonelli, who was also being investigated for a yellow flag infraction, were left without a set time. However, they weren’t the only ones in a hurry to get a spot in the queue, which was now filled with mediums after seeing how they were performing. Antonelli wasn’t exactly having the time of his life, struggling with both the car and the flags coming out. A second red flag halted his attempt, as Hulkenberg had smashed head first into the barriers of turn 4, forcing everyone back into the pitlane for the second time in barely ten minutes.
The third and last mini session of Q1 was restarted with little more than six minutes on the clock. The Alpines surprised by staying in with both cars until very late in a very risky bet, while most of the ones at the front, including a very surprising Hamilton in first, settled for already used tyres, knowing they were not in danger. The softs fit on Norris’ car helped him shot up to first, but Verstappen set a time that wasn’t even a hundedth slower than the McLaren while in mediums, trying to prove that Monza wasn’t just a one-time deal. The session was once again, and for the last time, halted by a red flag, this time thanks to both Alpine drivers. Gasly first, not managing to stop in time and having to use the escape route, and Colapinto right after him, crashing right on the exit of the same corner. The replays proved that he had been shown the pertinent flags, leaving work for race direction to make a decision on. The eliminated drivers in Q1 were Colapinto (P16), Hulkenberg (P17), Ocon (P18), Gasly (P19) and Albon (P20).
The Q2 start was slightly pushed back, as the track had to be cleaned of the debris left by Colapinto in his last minute crash. When it finally kicked off, the queue was once again long, as the track doesn’t allow for two push laps in a row and its length requires long out and in laps. The first timed laps weren’t even done when the fourth red flag came out due to Bearman, as a brush on the wall with a rear tyre finished his run and stopped everyone else’s attempts.
The last ten minutes of Q2 started with Leclerc going wide in turn 1, proving that the track, rather than improve, was getting colder and harder to maintain grip on. This mistake also bombed Hamilton’s lap, as the brief yellow that came out caught him taking the corner. Sainz and the Racing Bulls shot up to the top spots, mostly securing their ride into Q3, until the fastest ones came thorugh the finish line, with Norris and Piastri sandwiching the Mercedes between them. Ferrari was struggling hard, as Leclerc hadn’t even set a time due to struggling with braking points and Hamilton’s laps had him right in tenth. The Monegasque saved the day almost in extremis, but his teammate’s old softs couldn’t keep up as he was pushed down the timing tower. Verstappen had the complete opposite experience, pushing McLaren out of first with a set of mediums that had seen better days, finishing the session in style. The eliminated drivers in Q2 were Alonso (P11), Hamilton (P12), Bortoleto (P13), Stroll (P14) and Bearman (P15).
The main difference at the start of Q3 was that rather than waiting in the queue, the pitlane only roared to life when the first car came out with the lights already in green. Verstappen remained in the pits, only leaving a handful of minutes in, as Lawson commented over the radio that he had had a couple of raindrops fall on his helmet, but it seemed as if it would remain that way. The first timed laps came from those not expected to fight for the front rows, leaving Sainz, Lawson and Hadjar commanding the timing tower, and before anyone else could beat them, the fifth red flag came out. Leclerc was the culprit this time, crashing head first on the outside of turn 15. As the cars returned to the pitlane, Antonelli confirmed that the track wasn’t exactly grippy, comparing the white lines to ice.
As they waited, a few more drops started to fall beside the track, which was taken over by the wind, not helping with the alredy colder track surface due to the lack of sun. However, the rain didn’t go further and the cars lined back up again, ready for their one chance at setting a lap. Verstappen was the first one out, carefully scouting every nook and cranny to avoid surprises. The track seemed to be a bit better, as both Verstappen and Norris were pulling decent times, with the McLaren even painting the first sector in purple, but Piastri didn’t quite agree. He smashed right into the tecpro barriers on the exit of turn 3, finishing his run and forcing the sixth and last red flag.
This last red flag still left Sainz in first, followed by the Racing Bulls, with less than four minutes on the clock. The Spaniard had been carrying out a strategy that had him warming up everything in his first out lap with used tyres and entering for a quick change to fresh ones when the red flag caught him. Other drivers were in the process of copying it, seeing themselves stopped as well until the session was finally restarted. The track was still tricky, so the balance between care and risk as very hard to manage. Norris’ had his McLaren slipping around, even kissing a wall or two, but he wasn’t the only one. Neither Norris nor Russell managed to beat Sainz, but eyes were on Verstappen as he crossed the finish line, being the only one who could actually go faster than the Spaniard, relegating him to a second place that still tasted incredible after all the troubles he’s had during the season. Third place was also a welcome surprise, as Lawson clinched it for Racing Bulls and pushing the Mercedes drivers aside.
The session was interrupted continuosly by red flags, halting runs and breaking the flow of competition. With it running so much later than expected, the track kept getting colder and more slippery, forcing drivers to take more risks and, in turn, make it harder for everyone else as every mistake had a flag glued to it. The pole hopefuls, however, didn’t seem to get the memo, as they still pushed full throttle, at least until Leclerc was one of the red flag culprits. His interruption meant that everyone else would have just one attempt, which both Sainz and Verstappen took full advantage of. The Spaniard had clocked an incredible time before the break, and Verstappen went down to the line to shave half a second off of it, while the championship leader and his temmante were in ninth and seventh, both messing up in key moments and leaving the front row on a silver platter for the rest to take it.
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