2021 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix

BrainsBush · Jun 3, 2021

Bram, quick, you can still change your vote and nobody will notice it

Looking forward to both the F 1 and F2 race. Full weekend!
And as always battles, I want to see battles on the track. No matter who wins as long as they had to fight for it (besides a wrong pit stop strategy)
Enjoy the Baku weekend!

Bram Hengeveld · Jun 3, 2021

BrainsBush said:
Bram, quick, you can still change your vote and nobody will notice it

Haha, I wish I was wrong but I can't see Red Bull win here. But if RBR manages to beat Mercedes here then there is nothing stopping them to go for the championship. But I think it will be business as usual with Mercedes on top.

Kingkoenig · Jun 3, 2021

Really don't like that track. I wish it was axed from the calendar.

Charlie Lockwood · Jun 3, 2021

Kingkoenig said:
Really don't like that track. I wish it was axed from the calendar.

it's interesting, I actually quite like the third sector. It's different and always provides great action. Sector 2 is worth it for the castle section. For me the first sector ruins the circuit and makes it difficult to like. Too many 90 degree corners detract from it's character and make for such an anticlimactic turn one.

Swap turn one for a hairpin and cut out two of the 90 degree corners and I think it would be quite a cool place to go racing.

muzikant · Jun 3, 2021

F1 and 24hr Nurburgring.. seems like a good weekend

RichardHessels · Jun 3, 2021

I don't like these forced temporary street circuits at all.
Mercedes in it's usual underdog position. Trying to put extra pressure on Red Bull.
Lets hope Bottas will park his car better this time, because he was 3 millimeter off last time, that why his wheel got stuck (according to Toto).
Toto Wolff is a backstabber in my eyes now. Trying to blame Bottas for everything that goes wrong.
His car was perfectly aligned, no need to blame your driver, other than to put him down.
Can imagine these things take away the passion and focus, where 10ths of seconds make a difference.
So i hope Bottas will shine this time (and don't mess things up).

Noctam · Jun 3, 2021

I like Baku...

davehenrie · Jun 4, 2021

Richard Hessels said:
I don't like these forced temporary street circuits at all.
Mercedes in it's usual underdog position. Trying to put extra pressure on Red Bull.
Lets hope Bottas will park his car better this time, because he was 3 millimeter off last time, that why his wheel got stuck (according to Toto).
Toto Wolff is a backstabber in my eyes now. Trying to blame Bottas for everything that goes wrong.
His car was perfectly aligned, no need to blame your driver, other than to put him down.
Can imagine these things take away the passion and focus, where 10ths of seconds make a difference.
So i hope Bottas will shine this time (and don't mess things up).

I watched a 3rd party video with zero ToTo involvement, he showed how Botas pulled up and how the crew had to move. It was one of the tire changers not giving the gun-guy enough room and that is why the gun was at an angle which sheared off the inner threads.

TRASGU · Jun 4, 2021

There's no way rbr can win this race without anything weird happening. Mercedes has the pace to put both their cars in the top 3 positions, has better tyre degradation that allows them the chance to do either the undercut or the overcut, and even if all fails they still have better top speed and a very long straight to pass the rbr cars like sitting ducks. And then perez that can't qualify within 3 tenths of max giving mercedes the option to play the strategy that they like the most witout any worries.

Kingkoenig · Jun 4, 2021

Charlie Lockwood said:
it's interesting, I actually quite like the third sector. It's different and always provides great action. Sector 2 is worth it for the castle section. For me the first sector ruins the circuit and makes it difficult to like. Too many 90 degree corners detract from it's character and make for such an anticlimactic turn one.

Swap turn one for a hairpin and cut out two of the 90 degree corners and I think it would be quite a cool place to go racing.

What I don't like: the extra-long straights, they feel sort of pointless to me. I would cut in half the section from turn 20 to turn 4. I agree with your suggestions. The hairpin at turn 1 is pretty good idea.

The only section that I find exciting (by trying it in the Codemasters game) is the quick section of turns 13-14-15. It's basically flat out until turn 16. That's pretty neat.

And the track is just too long, like Singapore.

Appie Kuipers · Jun 4, 2021

Bram Hengeveld said:
Haha, I wish I was wrong but I can't see Red Bull win here. But if RBR manages to beat Mercedes here then there is nothing stopping them to go for the championship. But I think it will be business as usual with Mercedes on top.

Depends on the rearwing

BrainsBush · Jun 4, 2021

Appie Kuipers said:
Depends on the rearwing

To flex or not to flex that's the question.

Ready for FP2, I missed FP1 but did I really miss something/excitement?

Charlie Lockwood · Jun 4, 2021

BrainsBush said:
To flex or not to flex that's the question.

Ready for FP2, I missed FP1 but did I really miss something/excitement?

Just people testing reverse gear by all going down the escape roads with two minutes left.

Rear wings all looked more stiff in FP1.

LeSunTzu · Jun 4, 2021

TRASGU said:
There's no way rbr can win this race without anything weird happening. Mercedes has the pace to put both their cars in the top 3 positions, has better tyre degradation that allows them the chance to do either the undercut or the overcut, and even if all fails they still have better top speed and a very long straight to pass the rbr cars like sitting ducks. And then perez that can't qualify within 3 tenths of max giving mercedes the option to play the strategy that they like the most witout any worries.

Merc guys said a few weeks ago that the bendy wing would work well at Baku. Historically Bottas did better than Hamilton there, as it tends to be the case generally on low grip tracks. So there is no reason to be pessimistic for RedBull.

BrainsBush · Jun 4, 2021

Charlie Lockwood said:
Rear wings all looked more stiff in FP1.

Fia decided to put two yellow stickers on each rear wing (not a joke) to test/observe the flex and obviously if it is within the margins.

PS Just read that it seems that Mazepin has to serve military services which could imply he has to quit F1 for a year (not sure if true?) Will Fittipaldi make his first race laps in F1 soonish?

Wolf_XII · Jun 4, 2021

muzikant said:
F1 and 24hr Nurburgring.. seems like a good weekend

I know what I'll watch then....

24 Hrs has been a better race for the last few years.

BrainsBush said:
Fia decided to put two yellow stickers on each rear wing (not a joke) to test/observe the flex and obviously if it is within the margins.

PS Just read that it seems that Mazepin has to serve military services which could imply he has to quit F1 for a year (not sure if true?) Will Fittipaldi make his first race laps in F1 soonish?

Well the Russians do still have conscription for most of their army, they have a hard core of professional soldiers who are the main Forces with the biggest punch and the most modern equipment while the rest of the military is mainly second line formations with a lot older equipment and not as good training.
A lot of the reorganization in recent years was to the ineffectiveness of the older organization.

The russian Governement is rather "stringent" on enforcing that conscription, and dodging the draft is a crime punished by up to two years in prison. I'm quite sure that if Papa Mazepin would be chummy-chummy with "Uncle Vlad", he could maybe possibly dodge it.
Hish high visibility does complicate matters though, as the optics would be really bad if he got away with it.

Speaking of military and optics, I do not think that F1 holding this GP this year is a good look, following last years events involving Azerbaijan and the behaviour of it's leader since.

Your Values Liberty Media? What Values?

Sigwolf · Jun 4, 2021

muzikant said:
F1 and 24hr Nurburgring.. seems like a good weekend

... and WRC, and MotoGP. I don't have enough waking hours this weekend to get through all this.

paracletus · Jun 4, 2021

Early indications: Merc cant get heat in the tyres again.

Prediction : Red Bull win (especially if the illegal wing stays), slow Merc weekend.

muzikant · Jun 4, 2021

paracletus said:
Early indications: Merc cant get heat in the tyres again.

Prediction : Red Bull win (especially if the illegal wing stays), slow Merc weekend.

the illegal rear wing is really for the Merc fan boys... the cars have been approved by all teams at the beginning of this season. Hasn't Formula 1 always been pushing the boundaries of the rules, nothing special. Last year it was Merc himself with the dassss.. oh and the pink Merc

Don't let Mercedes forget their own front wing

and it's certainly not proven at all that the RB wing is illega

Appie Kuipers · Jun 4, 2021

It looks the Mercs are in trouble, that’s why they complain about WINGS

1	Pierre GASLY	Alpha Tauri	1:42.251
2	Sergio PÉREZ	Red Bull	1:42.595
3	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	1:42.697
4	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari	1:42.778
5	Carlos SAINZ	Ferrari	1:43.006
6	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	1:43.011
7	Fernando ALONSO	Alpine	1:43.080
8	Yuki TSUNODA	Alpha Tauri	1:43.244
9	Esteban OCON	Alpine	1:43.294
10	Daniel RICCIARDO	McLaren	1:43.557
11	Sebastian VETTEL	Aston Martin	1:43.585
12	Lance STROLL	Aston Martin	1:43.682
13	Valtteri BOTTAS	Mercedes	1:43.745
14	Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN	Alfa Romeo	1:43.826
15	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	1:43.984
16	Nicholas LATIFI	Williams	1:44.054
17	Antonio GIOVINAZZI	Alfa Romeo	1:44.113
18	George RUSSELL	Williams	1:44.434
19	Mick SCHUMACHER	Haas	1:45.282
20	Nikita MAZEPIN	Haas	1:45.711

2021 Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Free Practice 3 Results

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