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The Azerbaijan GP comes in at a pivotal point in the championship with seven races out of the way. The season has already featured that one major upgrade in Barcelona from most teams. Slowly but steadily, the season is settling itself into a nice rhythm where, other than a trip to Canada, the core of the season in Europe starts taking shape.
Heading into Baku, there is a certain level of intrigue present: first, with the track, second, with this being the first race on the track following the new regulations, and third, with the championship currently poised in the way it is. There are certainly some key questions that need to be answered as we head into the eighth race of the season and in this piece, let's take a look at some of them.
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#5 Who will be the leader of the midfield?
The midfield does not appear to have a set pecking order at the moment. Before the Spanish GP, it did appear that Alfa Romeo had cracked the code and was going to run away with things. All that turned on its head in Monaco as McLaren jumped back into contention.
The track for the Azerbaijan GP has a middle sector similar to the Monaco GP layout, but the fast-speed S1 and S3 make things interesting. The battle for fourth in the constructors' standings is heating up between McLaren, Alfa Romeo, and Alpine. It will be interesting to see who jumps to the front out of the three.
#4 How impactful will the new regulations be in the Azerbaijan GP?
The track layout at the Azerbaijan GP tended to put a massive dampener on racing in the early parts of the race. Since everyone had fresh tires, it was next to impossible to pass the car in the front, despite being faster.
This is because the tight and twisty midsection of the track makes it impossible to follow and the chasing car has to drop back in S2. The new regulations should ideally have put paid to this problem and made it easier to close the gap in the second sector. Will this change in car characteristics help produce even more overtakes? We will have to wait and watch.
#3 Can Daniel Ricciardo bounce back?
It was a rather rude approach taken by Zak Brown to publicly call out Daniel Ricciardo. Consequently, the Monaco GP turned from bad to worse for the Australian as he was unable to do much in the race. While the marriage is all but over with McLaren, Ricciardo will have a point to prove in Baku. The Australian has had some spectacular moments here with the 2017 win being one of them. The driver will be looking to draw inspiration from that and get something meaningful on the board. Whether he can get that done is something that we'll have to wait and see.
#2 How close will Mercedes be to the front?
Mercedes should have a certain level of excitement heading into the Azerbaijan GP. Its performance at the Spanish GP was an eye-opener. The car looked fantastic and the bouncing effect was a thing of the past. Even though the peak qualifying lap was still not there, the race pace was pretty good for Lewis Hamilton.
While some of the issues came back in Monaco, they were specific to the track. Even then, George Russell was extremely quick in the race trim. While Baku does have a Monaco-like middle sector, the track may not be a disaster for Mercedes by any means. The high-speed S1 and S3 should play to Mercedes' strengths. The German team might not be able to challenge in qualifying but watch out for its two drivers in the race.
Will Mercedes have an impressive race pace? That's a bit of a given at the moment. The question though is how close it will be to Red Bull and Ferrari. If it is within striking distance, we have ourselves a third championship contender.
#1 Can Ferrari bounce back?
The Azerbaijan GP track layout might not be best suited for Ferrari with its long straights. If there is one thing, however, that has been strikingly obvious this season, then it has been the team's ability to excel in qualifying. Charles Leclerc has scored 5 pole positions in 7 races this season and somewhere down the line, this does come down to Ferrari holding a distinct advantage in qualifying, irrespective of the track.
The Italian squad heads to the Azerbaijan GP on the back of 4 consecutive losses to Red Bull and with a desperate need to bounce back in the championship. Having said that, it remains to be seen if the team can get that done in the Azerbaijan GP.
