Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool
I don’t think anybody could have possibly predicted the outcome of the Azerbaijan GP- particularly Qualifying, because after that it was a pretty clear pending Verstappen win. It was a pretty good race with some good battles and overtakes, and I generally think Baku is a good race that provides plenty of entertainment.
1 | Winner – Carlos Sainz
If you know me, you know that I am, first and foremost, a Carlos Sainz fan. The season so far has been incredibly disappointing for the Spaniard, but his luck finally turned around in Baku! After the most disastrous Qualifying I have ever watched, Carlos ended up starting on the front row through a mixture of genuinely strong pace, flawless timing and strategy from Williams, and a healthy dose of pure luck. He finished the race in P3, once again showing pace in the car and having the pit wall nail his strategy (and pit stops!). A first podium for him in blue and the team’s first podium since 2021. Tears were shed. And not just by me!
Carlos was, of course, powered by Sparkles the unicorn.
Smooooothhhhhh operatorrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!
2 | Loser – Oscar Piastri
Undoubtebly, the biggest loser in Baku was Oscar Piastri. Despite usually being a very consistent driver, Piastri crashed. Twice. Not only causing a red flag in Qualifying, but also sticking the front end of his McLaren in the wall on lap 1 of the race. That’s got to hurt, I mean it definitely hurt his championship battle with Lando Norris- even if not by very much, as Lando was also not on top form and only took 6 points out of Oscar’s lead.
Dare I say … McLaren’s dominance is fading? Verstappen has bested them two races running now, and now has more pole positions than either McLaren driver. Obviously, they are still going to win the WCC, and whilst Max can’t be counted out for the WDC, one of the papaya boys will probably win that too. Baku could have been a fluke, but I’ll be interested to see if this streak of poor form continues. I’ll also be interested to see if their pit crew can learn how to do a decent pit stop in the break before Singapore.
3 | Winner – Max Verstappen
Okay, quite literally. Another win for Max- and not just a win, but a grand slam! Pole position, race win, lead every lap, set the fastest lap. He didn’t really put a foot wrong all weekend. I know I have chatted a lot of crap about Verstappen in the past, but the McLaren dominance has irritated me so much I’m starting to warm to him. I also think since Horner was fired I haven’t felt as much hatred in my heart for Red Bull, so that could help. Helmut Marko next guys???
Great weekend for Max, and it puts him just 69 points behind Piastri in the WDC standings. Verstappen winning his fifth consecutive championship would be the funniest (and most impressive) possible outcome of the 2025 season.
4 | Loser – Alpine
Lord take all of Franco Colapinto’s pain, double it, and give it to Flavio Briatore.
After causing one of six red flags in Quali, Franco actually had a great start to the race! He was running in P13 for a while and holding off a DRS train behind him, and I let myself get excited that he might finally finish higher than P19.
He finished P19. He was spun around by Alex Albon and dropped to the back of the field, him and Pierre Gasly being the only cars eventually lapped in the race. I don’t understand why fans are acting like it’s Franco’s fault that his results have been poor- that’s not to ignore any actual driver errors from Colapinto, but Gasly hasn’t been doing all that much better than him in recent races. Alpine are dead last in the WCC and the car is clearly significantly lacking pace. And I seriously doubt that being kept in the car on a race-by-race basis and having Paul Aron glaring over your shoulder is helpful for motivation.
I guess this isn’t especially specific to Baku, I do expect that the rumours will keep flying for the rest of the season. Unless Alpine pull off some sort of miracle, I doubt they’re going to bring themselves back to their old point-scoring selves this year. At least if they let go of Franco, I can manifest that he finds himself back in the Williams garage.
5 | Winner – George Russell
When I’m ill, I’m dramatically bedridden for a week and only get up to endlessly complain to my mother. When George Russell is ill, he finishes P2.
He actually said that if it had been Singapore this weekend, he would have withdrawn from the race- Singapore is very physically demanding, and there have been multiple incidents of quite worrying health concerns for drivers after the race. But he pushed through in Baku and earned a podium finish for his efforts. Now, he can have a week off to rest and recover and hopefully be back fighting in full health next race.
This Russell and Sainz fan was very, very happy with the results of the Azerbaijan GP!!!! Bring on Singapore!
formula evie 
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