There are many things which can be said about the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and many things which cannot. The race was fairly eventual, and the track has proven to be fairly competitive with its narrow passage ways and ultra smooth surfaces. But the event was not very well attended. It appears if the race is held in a ghost town. The entire race course is rife with empty overlooking balconies, and stark city scapes. There were some bleachers setup around the track, and only the most prime seats were taken. There was a croud of about 150 to 200 fans around the final race winning prize podium. There were actual echos in the empty streets ….
Lewis Hamilton easily won the race when his teammate Valtteri Bottas was retired from the race after a blow out. Daniel Ricciardo ran his Red Bull into his teammate Max Verstappen. As Ricciardo attempted to pass his teammate, Max mad two moves, to the right, then to the left. Ricciardo was taking too much speed into the corner and the second block by Max caused fireworks.
This was lap 40, and the safety car was deployed. At this time Romain Grosjean was running in a strong 6th position after pitting under caution. It was lap 43, while still under caution that Grosjean spun out, and crashed. This occurred before Bottas retired from the race, so it was realistic for Grosjean to finish 5th and score 10 points for the Haas squad.
Kevin Magnussen started the race 15th, and finished 13th. Nothing to see here…
Of note, Sergio Perez finished third for Force India, behind the Ferrari of Vettel.
What a boring race, and proof that the FIA will have a race anywhere on the planet for the right price.
Next… To the Continent, Espana’ The Spanish Grand Prix!