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The 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the Formula 1 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix,[1] was the fourth round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Baku City Circuit on 29 April 2018.[2]

In qualifying, Sebastian Vettel took his third pole position of the season, after his teammate Kimi Räikkönen made a mistake near the end of his final flying lap while trying to go higher than sixth. Therefore, Lewis Hamilton qualified second, whilst Valtteri Bottas was third.

In the race, Vettel stayed in the lead ahead of Hamilton, but a couple of first-lap incidents resulting in the retirements of Sergey Sirotkin and Esteban Ocon put the race under the safety car until the end of lap 5. In the middle stages, Hamilton and Vettel both pitted whilst Bottas stayed out. On lap 40, Daniel Ricciardo rammed into the back of his teammate Max Verstappen, putting both Red Bull drivers out of the race and deploying the safety car for a second time. Following an accident from Romain Grosjean three laps later, the safety car stayed out until the end of lap 47, when Vettel made a move on Bottas, but locked up at the first corner and fell behind Hamilton and Räikkönen. A lap later, Vettel was passed by Sergio Pérez, whilst Bottas hit a piece of debris and immediately suffered a puncture that forced him to retire from the race. Therefore, Hamilton took the lead and his first win of the season, while Räikkönen came home in second, and Pérez completed the podium to score Force India's first podium since the 2016 European Grand Prix.

Background[]

The F1 circus would head to Azerbaijan for the fourth round of the 2018 season, returning to the picturesque, if unpopular, Baku City Circuit.[2] The circuit remained unchanged from its debut back in 2016, retaining the same mix of sharp 90° corners, long apex twists and the excessively long back straight.[1] What had changed was the date of the race, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix taking over the position of the Russian Grand Prix as the final race before the European tour.[2]

Elsewhere, there would be conformation of some of the technical specification for the 2019 season, with the FIA deciding to increase the maximum fuel allowance to 110 kg, up from 105 kg.[3] The provision was made to reduce the perceived amount of "lift and coast" going on during races, although its impact would be questionable given that the engine limit was set to remain at three for the entire season.[3] Other changes, which were agreed at a meeting between the FIA, the Formula 1 Commission, and the Formula 1 Strategy Group, included the separation of drive weight from the minimum car weight, and the need for drivers to use biometric gloves to aid any potential medical assistance.[3]

Pirelli, meanwhile, would publish the available compounds for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, picking the second softest range of tyres they could supply.[4] In terms of compounds chosen there would be little variation between the teams, although Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc would share the title of having the "softest" selection, having chosen ten "ultra-softs", and just one "soft".[4] The "hardest" choice had been made by Renault, who had decided to pick a whole two sets of "softs" for Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz, Jr., and just seven sets of "ultras".[4]

The Italian tyre manufacturers would also be revealed as the title sponsors for the returning French Grand Prix in June, amid a wave on sponsorship announcements by Formula One.[5] The other major sponsorship deal came in the renewal of Singapore Airlines' contract to sponsor the Singapore Grand Prix.[5]

Into the Championship and the dramatic conclusion to the Chinese Grand Prix proved to have an equally drastic influence to the Championship, with race winner Daniel Ricciardo shooting up into the top four. The Australian racer was still seventeen points of Championship leader Vettel, although the German had been reeled in by the pack behind ahead of the visit to Baku. Lewis Hamilton remained his closest challenger, nine points back, while Valtteri Bottas completed the top three a further five back.

In the Constructors Championship Mercedes had moved a point ahead of rivals Ferrari in Shanghai, despite the perceived superiority of the scarlet cars that weekend. Behind, Red Bull-TAG Heuer moved back into third ahead of McLaren-Renault, who were being reeled in by the factory Renault squad, while Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda had remained in sixth. Haas-Ferrari were next ahead of Sauber-Ferrari and Force India-Mercedes, while Williams-Mercedes remained the only team yet to score.

Entry list[]

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Mercedes W09 EQ Power+ Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Mercedes W09 EQ Power+ Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari SF71H Ferrari 062 EVO P
7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari SF71H Ferrari 062 EVO P
3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB14 TAG Heuer TAG Heuer P
33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB14 TAG Heuer TAG Heuer P
11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM11 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
31 France Esteban Ocon India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM11 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams Martini Racing Williams FW41 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams Martini Racing Williams FW41 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
27 Germany Hülkenberg France Renault Sport Formula One Team Renault R.S.18 Renault R.E.18 P
55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault Sport Formula One Team Renault R.S.18 Renault R.E.18 P
28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda Toro Rosso STR13 Honda RA618H P
10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda Toro Rosso STR13 Honda RA618H P
8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas F1 Team Haas VF-18 Ferrari 062 EVO P
20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas F1 Team Haas VF-18 Ferrari 062 EVO P
14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren F1 Team McLaren MCL33 Renault R.E.18 P
2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren F1 Team McLaren MCL33 Renault R.E.18 P
9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team Sauber C37 Ferrari 062 EVO P
16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team Sauber C37 Ferrari 062 EVO P
source

Practice Overview[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

FP3[]

Practice Results[]

No Driver Team FP1 FP2 FP3
Time Pos Time Pos Time Pos
2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 1:47.967 19 1:45.288 19 1:45.505 18
3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 1:44.277 2 1:42.795 1 1:44.861 12
5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Ferrari 1:46.513 10 1:44.127 11 1:43.091 1
7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 1:46.861 15 1:42.864 2 1:43.493 3
8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas-Ferrari 1:46.856 14 1:44.425 13 1:45.261 15
9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 1:47.073 17 1:46.042 20 1:45.910 19
10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:46.492 9 1:44.712 15 1:44.905 13
11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Force India-Mercedes 1:45.075 3 1:44.142 12 1:43.936 6
14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 1:46.465 7 1:43.700 6 1:44.763 11
16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 1:46.875 16 1:44.940 16 1:45.218 14
18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 1:46.590 11 1:44.459 14 1:44.123 8
20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas-Ferrari 1:47.434 18 1:43.977 9 1:43.958 7
27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault 1:46.749 13 1:44.091 10 1:45.456 17
28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:46.747 12 1:45.051 18 1:46.186 20
31 France Esteban Ocon India Force India-Mercedes 1:45.237 5 1:43.814 7 1:44.220 9
33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 1:45.559 6 1:42.911 3 1:43.519 4
35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 1:46.480 8 1:45.007 17 1:44.534 10
44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes 1:45.200 4 1:43.603 5 1:43.452 2
55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault 1:48.741 20 1:43.834 8 1:45.432 16
77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes 1:44.242 1 1:43.570 4 1:43.569 5
Source: [6][7][8]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos Time Pos Time Pos Time
1 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Ferrari 4 1:42.762 6 1:43.015 1 1:41.498 1
2 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes 3 1:42.693 2 1:42.676 2 1:41.677 2
3 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes 7 1:43.355 3 1:42.679 3 1:41.837 3
4 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 5 1:42.857 10 1:43.482 4 1:41.911 4
5 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 2 1:42.642 4 1:42.901 5 1:41.994 5
6 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 1 1:42.538 1 1:42.510 6 1:42.490 6
7 31 France Esteban Ocon India Force India-Mercedes 6 1:43.021 5 1:42.967 7 1:42.523 7
8 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Force India-Mercedes 12 1:43.992 8 1:43.366 8 1:42.547 8
9 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault 10 1:43.746 7 1:43.232 9 1:43.066 14*
10 55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault 8 1:43.426 9 1:43.464 10 1:43.351 9
11 18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 15 1:44.359 11 1:43.585 10
12 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 14 1:44.261 12 1:43.886 11
13 14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 13 1:44.010 13 1:44.019 12
14 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 11 1:43.752 14 1:44.074 13
15 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas-Ferrari 9 1:43.674 15 1:44.759 15
16 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 16 1:44.489 16
17 10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 17 1:44.496 17
18 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 18 1:45.541 18
107% time: 1:49.715
NC 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 19 1:57.354 19
NC 8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas-Ferrari 20 no time 20
Source: [9]
  • * Hülkenberg was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.[9]
  • Hartley and Grosjean failed to set a time within the 107% rule, but were given permission from the stewards to race. Grosjean was later given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.[9]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Sebastian Vettel 2
______________ Lewis Hamilton
Row 2 3 ______________
Valtteri Bottas 4
______________ Daniel Ricciardo
Row 3 5 ______________
Max Verstappen 6
______________ Kimi Räikkönen
Row 4 7 ______________
Esteban Ocon 8
______________ Sergio Pérez
Row 5 9 ______________
Carlos Sainz, Jr. 10
______________ Lance Stroll
Row 6 11 ______________
Sergey Sirotkin 12
______________ Fernando Alonso
Row 7 13 ______________
Charles Leclerc 14
______________ Nico Hülkenberg
Row 8 15 ______________
Kevin Magnussen 16
______________ Stoffel Vandoorne
Row 9 17 ______________
Pierre Gasly 18
______________ Marcus Ericsson
Row 10 19 ______________
Brendon Hartley 20
______________ Romain Grosjean

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes 51 1h 43m 44.291s 2 25
2 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 51 +2.460s 6 18
3 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Force India-Mercedes 51 +4.024s 8 15
4 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Ferrari 51 +5.329s 1 12
5 55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault 51 +7.515s 9 10
6 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 51 +9.158s 13 8
7 14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 51 +10.931s 12 6
8 18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 51 +12.546s 10 4
9 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 51 +14.152s 16 2
10 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 51 +18.030s 19 1
11 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 51 +18.512s 18
12 10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 51 +24.720s 17
13 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas-Ferrari 51 +40.663s* 15
14 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes 48 Puncture 3
Ret 8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas-Ferrari 42 Accident 20
Ret 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 39 Collision 5
Ret 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 39 Collision 4
Ret 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault 10 Accident 14
Ret 31 France Esteban Ocon India Force India-Mercedes 0 Collision 7
Ret 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 0 Collision 11
Source: [10]
  • * Magnussen was given a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision.[10]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Lewis Hamilton's surprise victory in Baku meant it was the Brit who left the Azerbaijan capital at the head of the Championship, overhauling Sebastian Vettel by four points. Kimi Räikkönen, meanwhile, had moved back into third ahead of Valtteri Bottas, while Daniel Ricciardo dropped back to fifth. Fernando Alonso retained sixth ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, while Sergio Pérez, Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Brendon Hartley all added their names to the board.

Into the Constructors' Championship and Ferrari had smuggled the lead away from Mercedes, although their advantage over the German squad was just four points. Red Bull-TAG Heuer were slipping away in third, while McLaren-Renault remained in fourth, just a point ahead of engine suppliers Renault. Force India-Mercedes had shot up the table to sixth, while Williams-Mercedes remained at the foot of the table despite their first points finish of the season.

Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 70 ▲1
2 Germany Sebastian Vettel 66 ▼1
3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 48 ▲2
4 Finland Valtteri Bottas 40 ▼1
5 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 37 ▼1
6 Spain Fernando Alonso 28
7 Germany Nico Hülkenberg 22
8 Netherlands Max Verstappen 18
9 Mexico Sergio Pérez 15 ▲6
10 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. 13 ▲2
11 France Pierre Gasly 12 ▼2
12 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 11 ▼2
13 Monaco Charles Leclerc 8 ▲3
14 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne 8 ▼3
15 Canada Lance Stroll 4 ▲3
16 Sweden Marcus Ericsson 2 ▼3
17 France Esteban Ocon 1 ▼3
18 New Zealand Brendon Hartley 1 ▲2
Constructors World Championship
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 114 ▲1
2 Germany Mercedes 110 ▼1
3 Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 55
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 36
5 France Renault 35
6 India Force India-Mercedes 16 ▲3
7 Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 13 ▼1
8 United States Haas-Ferrari 11 ▼1
9 Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 10 ▼1
10 United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 4
Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Formula 1 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix". https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/races/2018/Azerbaijan.html. Retrieved 19 April 2018.'FORMULA 1 2018 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2018), https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/races/2018/Azerbaijan.html, (Accessed 19/04/2018)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Adam Cooper, '2018 Formula 1 calendar revised as Chinese and Bahrain GPs swap', autosport.com, (Motorsport Network, 29/09/2017), https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132087/2018-formula-1-calendar-revised, (Accessed 04/04/2018)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 '2021 power unit proposal, 2019 rule changes revealed', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 17/04/2018), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2018/4/2021-power-unit-proposal-2019-rule-changes-revealed.html, (Accessed 19/04/2018)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 'AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX TYRE CHOICES', grandprix247.com, (Grand Prix 247, 18/04/2018), https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/04/18/azerbaijan-grand-prix-tyre-choices/, (Accessed 22/04/2018)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Pirelli becomes title sponsor of Formula 1 2018 Grand Prix de France', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 25/04/2018), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2018/4/pirelli-becomes-title-sponsor-of-formula-1-2018-grand-prix-de-fr.html, (Accessed 26/04/2018)
  6. "2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Practice 1 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 27 April 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/982/azerbaijan/practice-1.html. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  7. "2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Practice 2 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 27 April 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/982/azerbaijan/practice-2.html. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. "2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Practice 3 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 28 April 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/982/azerbaijan/practice-3.html. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 "2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 28 April 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/982/azerbaijan/qualifying.html. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018 Race Results". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 29 April 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/982/azerbaijan/race-result.html. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
V T E 2018 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • Force India • Force India (Racing Point) • Haas • McLaren • Mercedes • Red Bull • Renault • Sauber • Toro Rosso • Williams
Engines Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Renault • TAG Heuer
Drivers alphabetically Alonso • Bottas • Ericsson • Gasly • Grosjean • Hamilton • Hartley • Hülkenberg • Leclerc • Magnussen • Ocon • Pérez • Räikkönen • Ricciardo • Sainz • Sirotkin • Stroll • Vandoorne • Verstappen • Vettel
Drivers by number Vandoorne • 3 Ricciardo • 5 Vettel • 7 Räikkönen • 8 Grosjean • 9 Ericsson • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 14 Alonso • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 20 Magnussen • 27 Hülkenberg • 28 Hartley • 31 Ocon • 33 Verstappen • 35 Sirotkin • 44 Hamilton • 55 Sainz • 77 Bottas
Other Drivers AitkenBuemiCalderónDennisGelaelGiovinazziGutiérrezKubicaKvyatLatifiMarkelovMazepinNorrisRowlandRussellTurveyWehrlein
Cars Ferrari SF71H • Force India VJM11 • Haas VF-18 • McLaren MCL33 • Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ • Red Bull RB14 • Renault R.S.18 • Sauber C37 • Toro Rosso STR13 • Williams FW41
Tyres Pirelli
Races Australia • Bahrain • China • Azerbaijan • Spain • Monaco • Canada • France • Austria • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Singapore • Russia • Japan • United States • Mexico • Brazil • Abu Dhabi
See also 2017 Formula One Season • 2019 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Circuits Baku City Circuit (2017–present)
Baku City Circuit
Races 2017201820192020202120222023


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