Incredulously, the format of the sprint weekend was only decided when the teams had already arrived and started setting up at the track. I can't imagine the rules of any other sport being decided so close to the event. Previously, Qualifying on a Sprint weekend set the grid positions for the Sprint race, now it sets the grid positions for the actual race and the Sprint has it's own Qualifying.
There was only one Free Practice session, in which Gasly's car caught fire and it took both sides of the garage to fix ready to qualify.
Many Red Flags were predicted for the weekend and De Vries brought out the first one under competitive conditions, putting his Alpha Tauri nose-first into the wall. This element of jeopardy and cars being trashed has highlighted Baku's unsuitability for being designated a sprint weekend.
The second Red Flag was for Gasly, this time for smashing sideways into the wall. I really don't know if this pressure enhances the event for spectators. All the drivers were quizzed by the media this weekend for their feelings about the format change and Sainz summed it up - he'll do it if the spectators and media want it.
Everyone was out together to secure their places for the second Qualifying session. Magnussen retired with a car problem. Out he went with the crashed De Vries and Gasly, his team mate Hulkenberg and Zhou.
The second Qualifying session was much more civilised, with all the drivers likely to crash already out. The result was a bit of a shocker though, with both Williams out, having looked so promising, both McLarens through, having looked to unpromising, Ocon and Bottas, unsurprisingly and the Mercedes of Russell, just ahead of his team mate. The team were unable to take advantage of their own engine power with customer teams able to. Albon blamed Sainz, who had to reverse his car on the track. The surprise driver through was Tsunoda.
There was huge relief for Ferrari in the end, with LeClerc able to take pole, ahead of Verstappen and then Perez. And it was a dominant lap. Sainz followed them, continuing to show that, despite being ahead in the championship, his team mate is the team's championship hope. Hamilton beat Alonso, whose streak of top 3 finishes seems to be coming to a halt. Ferrari and LeClerc were surprised with their result, establishing his reputation as the fastest driver over a single lap.
Even is Verstappen dominated the Sprint day, it left spectators some hope for race day.
No comments:
Post a Comment