F1: Five things we learnt from the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

F1: Five things we learnt from the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Round 17 of the championship ended in a collision between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez on the streets of Baku

Hannah May 6 min read

2024’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix featured a dramatic end to the race, but what else did it teach us?

Azerbaijan Grand Prix McLaren
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri claimed victory in Baku, marking his second F1 win after his debut win in Hungary. (Image Credit: @McLarenF1 on X)

Oscar Piastri drove to victory on the streets of Baku for the championship’s 15th round. Piastri started in P2 on the grid and battled with the Ferrari of pole-sitter, Charles Leclerc. The Australian overtook the Monegasque to achieve his second Formula 1 victory.

The Grand Prix also featured a late-race crash between Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, promoting George Russell and Mercedes to a P3 podium finish.

What else can we take away from the race around the historic streets of Baku?

McLaren storm ahead

After a strong start to the season by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, winning seven grands prix, many believed we would see a repeat of his 2023 season dominance. However, three other teams have achieved race wins since Verstappen’s last win at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix.

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri have achieved two wins each in 2024. Both drivers achieved their debut win – Norris in Miami and Piastri in Hungary. They then followed it with a second – Norris in the Netherlands and Piastri in Azerbaijan.

Due to the team’s strong performance and results, they closed the gap to Red Bull before the race in Baku. Perez crashed out of the race and Verstappen finished in P5, whereas Norris secured P4 and Piastri took the top step of the podium.

Therefore, McLaren officially passed Red Bull in the Constructors’ Standings.�The Woking-based outfit now has 476 points, 20 more than Red Bull’s 456. The reigning Constructors’ Champions will need to rediscover their form if they hope to protect their run of consecutive Constructors’ Championship victories.

Was this Checo’s last chance at a podium?

Perez has suffered from a difficult season so far this year. The Mexican driver has failed to achieve the results expected by the reigning Constructors’ Champions. With this season being more competitive and Verstappen’s dominance reduced, it has unfortunately highlighted that Perez has not provided the support required to stop McLaren from surpassing Red Bull in points.

In the Drivers’ Standings, eight drivers from four different teams sit in the top eight – Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes. All four teams have had wins this season. All but Red Bull have had both drivers claim victory in 2024. Verstappen is in P1 of the Drivers’ Standings. However, Perez sits in P8. Consequently, McLaren – in P2 (Norris) and P4 (Piastri) – has now overtaken Red Bull for the lead of the Constructors’ Championship.

Known for being the ‘King of the Streets’, Perez has a good record in Baku. He has the most wins of any driver at the circuit in Azerbaijan. At the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Perez looked set to achieve at least P3, which would have been his first podium since China.

However, a racing incident with Sainz cost Perez his chance at redemption at a circuit where he excels. All weekend, Perez had outperformed his teammate, Verstappen. But the lap 50 of 51 crash dashed Perez’s hopes of securing Red Bull much-needed points in their battle with McLaren.

The battle for the lead was a joy to watch

In their fight for P1, Leclerc and Piastri drove fiercely but fairly. The pair showcased some fantastically entertaining driving. A highlight of the race was Piastri’s overtake of Leclerc into Turn 1 on lap 20 and Leclerc’s attempt to reclaim the position.

Speaking after the race to Sky Sports F1, Piastri described how he “went for a pretty big lunge […] and then hung on for dear life for the next 35 laps”. Whereas Leclerc spoke about his tyre difficulties with the hard compounds, he said: “In one corner or two I thought that I would put it in the wall”.

Unfortunately for Leclerc, Baku adds to his total of pole positions that have not ended in race victories. However, for Piastri, this is his second F1 race win in only one and a half seasons as a driver. He has achieved the same number of victories as his teammate, Norris who has been in the sport for five and a half years.

Furthermore, the 23-year-old Australian was crowned Driver of the Day for his calm and collected performance in Azerbaijan. He is also the top scorer in the championship over the last seven races, collecting 135 points.

Rookies perform at a tricky circuit

Considering the difficulties of such a tight and dangerous street circuit, F1’s rookies performed well for their teams. Williams’ Franco Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant from Monza, and Haas’ Oliver Bearman stepped in as reserve driver in Baku due to Kevin Magnussen’s one-race ban. Both rookie drivers scored points at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Williams enjoyed a double points finish and moved up to P8 in the Constructors’ Championship. Alex Albon crossed the line in P7 with his new teammate just behind in P8. Thus, Williams scored 10 points in total.

The Haas drivers also crossed the line one after the other. Bearman took the final points scoring position of P10 to score one point for the team. Nico Hulkenberg finished in P11 just missing out on the points.

Colapinto has now scored more points than his Williams predecessor and both Sauber drivers. Bearman scored six points in Saudi Arabia for Ferrari, covering as reserve driver for Sainz, and one point in Baku for Haas. He has more points than Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

A record-breaking race
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Many records have been broken following the events of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. (Image Credit: @Max33Verstappen on X)

Following the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, there have now been five multi-race winners this season. This has not happened in F1 since 2012 when Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel all achieved multiple victories.

Verstappen has seven wins while four other drivers – Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, and Leclerc – all have two wins. If Mercedes’ Russell and/or Ferrari’s Sainz win again in 2024, the number will increase to six or seven multi-race winners.

The reigning champion, Verstappen now has as many non-podium finishes in the last 10 races as he did over the past four F1 seasons combined. From 2020 to 2023 his total was six non-podium finishes. In 2024 he failed to step on the podium at the grands prix in Monaco, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Monza, and Azerbaijan.

Piastri’s win also marks the 13th consecutive podium finish for McLaren. That record equals their second-best F1 podium streak, their first being from Australia in 2007 to Malaysia in 2008.

As we know, McLaren has now taken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship. It marks the first time since the 2014 Australian Grand Prix for the Woking-based outfit. It also marks the first time in 55 races that a team other than Red Bull has led the Constructors’ Standings (since the 2022 Miami Grand Prix).

After scoring four points for Williams, Colapinto becomes the first Argentine driver since Carlos Reutemann at the 1982 South African Grand Prix to score points. He has also scored more points in two appearances for the Grove-based outfit than Williams’ previous drivers. Nicholas Latifi and Sargeant scored fewer points between them over the prior 69 races. It was Williams’ biggest points haul since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, where they also achieved 10 points.

After starting from pole position, Leclerc led multiple laps of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Following a round of pitting, Leclerc’s teammate, Sainz also briefly led the race. Therefore, Ferrari have become the first constructor to lead at least one lap at 500 different races.

With Bearman acting as reserve driver for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia and Haas in Azerbaijan, he becomes the first driver in F1 history to score points for two different teams in his first two F1 races. And, finally, in finishing in P11, Hulkenberg breaks the unfortunate record of finishing one place outside the points the most times in a single season.

Featured Image Credit:В?@McLarenF1 on X

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