Formula 1's eighth race of the 2022 season sees the field take to the streets of Azerbaijan with Red Bull and Max Verstappen carrying heavy championship momentum into the weekend.
Sergio Perez collected his first win of the season at Monaco the last time F1 raced, notching the fifth win for Red Bull over seven races. Red Bull and driver Max Verstappen now hold the lead in both the constructors and drivers championships.
Ferrari's strong start to the season has slowed somewhat, though Carlos Sainz managed to split the podium finishes for Red Bull last time out. His teammate Charles Leclerc was unable to collect a first victory at his home race, though his fourth place finish was better than many previous outings in Monaco.
George Russell's impressive season continued through the seventh race, as he crossed the line with his Mercedes with yet another top five finish. Teammate Lewis Hamilton looked stronger in Monaco than he had in previous races this season, but could not find his way past Fernando Alonso and was the first in a long train of cars that stagnated on a track where overtaking is rare.
Finishing behind Russell was Lando Norris, who has been the better performing driver for McLaren this season. His team finds themselves with a sizable gap to the next constructor in the championship for the first time this year.
Azerbaijan has typically afforded significant passing opportunities thanks to a long, flat-out and DRS-assisted run from turn 19 to turn 1, so this should be an exciting race. Ferrari will look to reclaim some momentum in the championship standings another strong finish from Sainz or Leclerc. Will the red team fight back against the blue team after having no wins since Australia?
What are your predictions for this weekend? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @RaceDepartment
Sergio Perez collected his first win of the season at Monaco the last time F1 raced, notching the fifth win for Red Bull over seven races. Red Bull and driver Max Verstappen now hold the lead in both the constructors and drivers championships.
Ferrari's strong start to the season has slowed somewhat, though Carlos Sainz managed to split the podium finishes for Red Bull last time out. His teammate Charles Leclerc was unable to collect a first victory at his home race, though his fourth place finish was better than many previous outings in Monaco.
George Russell's impressive season continued through the seventh race, as he crossed the line with his Mercedes with yet another top five finish. Teammate Lewis Hamilton looked stronger in Monaco than he had in previous races this season, but could not find his way past Fernando Alonso and was the first in a long train of cars that stagnated on a track where overtaking is rare.
Finishing behind Russell was Lando Norris, who has been the better performing driver for McLaren this season. His team finds themselves with a sizable gap to the next constructor in the championship for the first time this year.
Azerbaijan has typically afforded significant passing opportunities thanks to a long, flat-out and DRS-assisted run from turn 19 to turn 1, so this should be an exciting race. Ferrari will look to reclaim some momentum in the championship standings another strong finish from Sainz or Leclerc. Will the red team fight back against the blue team after having no wins since Australia?
What are your predictions for this weekend? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @RaceDepartment