F1 Azerbaijan GP Driver Ratings – Redemption for Bottas

This year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix was no classic in Baku but it was an enjoyable ride for Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn secured his second race win of the season after beating teammate, Lewis Hamilton, to the finish line.

Both Bottas and Hamilton have now won two races each after the opening four races. The silver arrows are flying after being the first team ever to pick four 1-2 finishes in a row. That puts big pressure on rivals Scuderia Ferrari who are yet to win a race in 2019.

Sebastian Vettel finished third in Sunday’s race while Charles Leclerc finished 5th after starting in 8th.There maybe another 17 races left on the calendar but this year’s driver’s championship is creating a two-man battle between Bottas and Hamilton.

It’s starting to look like 2016 all over again when Hamilton went up against Nico Rosberg for the world championship.But for now there are still many races to go – leaving Ferrari with a glimmer of hope if they can quickly turn things around.

Here are your driver ratings for the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix…

#10 Williams

George Russell - 15th

George Russell had a bit of a bizarre weekend in Baku especially during one of Friday's practise sessions.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc somehow opened up one of the drainage lids when driving out on a flying lap.

Russell approached the track moments later and unfortunately drove over the lid that would completely shatter the car - taking the Briton out of practise.

Driver rating - 2/10

Robert Kubica - 16th

Another uneventful weekend for Williams' Robert Kubica who finished the race in last place after retirements from Pierre Gasly, Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

2019 could be such a long year for the Pole.

Driver rating - 2/10

#9 Toro Rosso

Daniil Kvyat - DNF

Daniil Kvyat will be frustrated with how his weekend finished after his ex-team mate, Daniel Ricciardo, took him out of the race.

On lap 33, Ricciardo attempted to overtake Kvyat when approaching one of the corners. Unfortunately for the Australian, Ricciardo's brakes were cold and went off track forcing Kvyat to go off too.

No collision was made between the two at first - up until Ricciardo reversed into Kvyat, damaging the Toro Rosso car. A frustrating way to go out, the awareness was just not there for Ricciardo.

Driver rating - 1/10

Alexander Albon - 11th

Alexander Albon's 4th ever race in his Formula One career sees the man from Thailand just miss out on the points by a single place.

Albon was bidding for a third straight points finish after reaching the top 10 in Bahrain and China. No points this week for Albon and Toro Rosso.

Driver rating - 4/10

#8 Haas

Romain Grosjean - DNF

Last year at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean took himself out of the race after colliding with the wall while warming up his tyres during a safety car run. Last weekend in Baku was a chance for the Frenchman to put that memory behind him. But he didn't as Grosjean failed to finish the race for Haas after bowing out on the 38th lap.

In his first four races this year, Grosjean has faced three DNFs and only finished one race at the Chinese Grand Prix which was in 11th place.Pressure must be starting to build on the 33 year old.

Driver rating - 1/10

Kevin Magnussen - 13th

The first race was a honeymoon start for Kevin Magnussen when he finished 6th at the Australian Grand Prix. But three races later and the Dane is struggling to add anymore points to his tally. Since then Magnussen has always been finishing outside the points and Haas are falling behind in the constructors' championship.

Driver rating - 3/10

#7 Renault

F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan - Final Practice

Daniel Ricciardo - DNF

The first couple of months at Renault for Daniel Ricciardo have been tough.

While his old team mate Max Verstappen and his former employers Red Bull are consistently finishing either on the podium or just outside the top 3, Ricciardo and Renault have been nowhere to be seen.

It's always tough for a driver when they are starting out at a different team and factory but if this form was to continue for the Aussie - you start to wonder when the spark will come this season.

Driver rating - 1/10

Nico Hulkenberg - 14th

Nico Hulkenberg was simply nowhere to be seen in Sunday's race whatsoever. The German had a poor qualifying by failing to reach Q3 on Saturday and was the slowest car out in Q2. His race performance was not much better as he only climbed up by one spot.

Driver rating - 2/10

#6 Alfa Romeo

Kimi Raikkonen - 10th

Kimi Raikkonen had a race weekend of two halves. The 2007 world champion had a qualifying to forget after missing out on Q2 by only being 19th fastest in the opening qualifying session.

But Sunday was a different story as the Finn came out of his shell to score a point for his team.Was there any doubt? Raikkonen has finished in the points in all four races this season.

Alfa Romeo will be going places in the constructors' championship with this guy behind the wheel.

Driver rating - 6/10

Antonio Giovinazzi - 12th

Antonio Giovinazzi is still in the hunt for his first ever points scored in Formula One. Last weekend he finished two places behind team mate Kimi Raikkonen but finished five places higher from where he started in Sunday's race which was in 17th position.

No DNFs to the Italian's name so far in 2019 - not a bad start to a rookie's season.

Driver rating - 4/10

#4 McLaren

Carlos Sainz Jr. – 7th

The opening couple of races this year for Carlos Sainz Jr. were forgetful times for the Spaniard with back-to-back DNFs. Sunday’s race was a convincing one though as Sainz finished in 7th place to help McLaren rebuild for higher positions in the constructors championship.

Sainz began the race in 9th and pretty much had a quiet ride but did have one or two exciting moments when he challenged one of the Red Bulls at the straight. It maybe a slow process, but McLaren are improving.

Driver rating – 5/10

Lando Norris – 8th

If you told Formula One rookie Lando Norris that he would finish in the top 10 in three of the first four races, then the Briton would accept that.

At the start of the season, no one outside McLaren was really sure on how they were going to do this year. Especially with the team recruiting an F1 debutant and an unproven Carlos Sainz, but it’s so far so good for the British team.

Driver rating – 5/10

#3 Red Bull

Max Verstappen – 4th

Max Verstappen will be relieved to put last year’s race in Baku behind him after finishing 4th on Sunday. Many of us still remember his clash with ex-team mate Daniel Ricciardo on the straight in last year’s race. No DNF for the Dutchman this year.

Again Verstappen secures a strong finish as the Red Bull man is consistently finishing either on the podium or just outside the top three in 4th place.

With the rivalry of Mercedes and Ferrari at the top, many are wondering if Verstappen and Red Bull can even achieve a race win this year. Plenty of opportunities yet for Christian Horner’s group.

Driver rating – 6/10

Pierre Gasly – DNF

Life at Red Bull has been a tough one so far for Pierre Gasly after the Frenchman had to accept a DNF in Sunday’s race.

Gasly is slowly adjusting to life at Red Bull while his team mate, Max Verstappen, is consistently fighting at the top.

A driveshaft problem haunted Gasly on lap 38 as he was looking to add some points towards Verstappen’s 4th place finish.

Driver rating – 1/10

#2 Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel – 3rd

Sebastian Vettel’s plans in 2019 are currently going out of the window. Four races in and the German has no race wins and only two podium finishes and is nowhere to be seen in the driver’s championship.

Just what is going on with Vettel and Ferrari at the moment?

This time last season, Vettel had won the opening two races in Australia and Bahrain placing him in pole position for the world championship. If Vettel is to continue missing out on race wins to the silver arrows, then 2019 is going to be a better luck next year message for the German.

Driver rating – 5/10

Charles Leclerc – 5th

Another weekend that could have been so much more for Charles Leclerc. The young Monegasque was looking strong in Saturday’s qualifying by going into Q3 until a collision with one of the corner barriers put him out of the remaining qualifying session.

Leclerc had to start the race in 8th despite his qualifying pace looked to have the Ferrari driver challenging for pole.

There was a patch where Leclerc was leading the race, without a visit to the pitstops while his rivals went in to change their tyres early on.

As expected, Leclerc lost the race lead after his late pitstop but recorded the fastest lap with a couple of laps to go. Leclerc was yet again voted Driver of the Day.

Driver rating – 7/10

#1 Mercedes

Valtteri Bottas – 1st

Last year’s race in Baku was a dark day for Valtteri Bottas. The Mercedes man was leading the race that day and looked to have the race in full control. But then a crash between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bulls left plenty of debris on the straight.

Sadly for the Finn, Bottas’ tyres caught some of the debris – puncturing one of his tyres in the process. The one race that got away as Hamilton took home the 1st place trophy.

Bottas took it very hard on himself in the post race interviews and would not win any races last season. But this year redemption was on his side as he won his second race of the year. This is a very different Bottas in 2019.

Driver rating: 8/10

Lewis Hamilton – 2nd

In a weird way, it was a quiet weekend for Lewis Hamilton after picking up the runner’s up trophy. The Briton started the race behind Bottas but challenged the Finn from the word go after nearly overtaking his team mate on the first corner.

If this was 12 months ago, Bottas probably would have backed off and conceded the overtake but the 2019 version of Bottas is a lot more determined.

Still a good result for Hamilton as Baku does not seem to be his favourite track on the calendar. Hamilton has only ever won once in Azerbaijan, which was last year.

Driver rating – 6/10

Edited by Mustafa Ismail