The fourth race of the 2018 F1 season is almost here, and there’s been several surprises so far this year! It’s been two weeks since the last race in which Red Bull racer Daniel Ricciardo blew away the competition to storm to a win. For the first time this season, defending champion Lewis Hamilton missed out on a podium finish. This week, he’ll look to claim his first win of the season. Currently, he stands in second position in the 2018 driver standings – trailing leader Sebastian Vettel by 9 points. Without further ado, here’s Karting Nation’s preview of the Azerbaijan race taking place this weekend.
What Time Does The Azerbaijan Grand Prix Start?
Azerbaijan has a time difference of +3 hours over BST, meaning this particular race will be held at the more sociable time of 1:10pm UK time. So, there’s no need to worry about missing out on your Sunday lie in this time round!
History of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Taking place on the Baku City Circuit, the race is held in the capital of the Azerbaijan – Baku. It is a temporary street circuit which stretches out to 6.003 km (3.730 mi). There are a total of 51 laps in the race, making the total length of the race 306.049 km (190.170 mi). The circuit was designed by renowned architect Hermann Tilke who has designed many F1 circuits over the years. It is currently the second longest circuit in the F1 calendar, just behind the Belgian Grand Prix which stands at over 7 km (4.3 mi). According to the drivers themselves, the circuit provides a challenge with its mixture of long straights, slow technical sections, not to mention the fact it’s a narrow street circuit, so there’s most certainly no margin for error!
The Azerbaijan F1 was held for the very first time just last year, making it one of the most recent to appear on the Grand Prix calendar. However, it was previously known at the European Grand Prix before it was discontinued last year. Therefore, the first race held on this particular circuit was in 2016, in which the now retired Nico Rosberg emerged victorious.
Who Won The 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
Lewis Hamilton started the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in pole position after he finished first in the qualifying round. However, this wasn’t enough for him to claim the win – he actually missed out on a podium finish as he claimed 5th place in the race with a time of +6.188 over race winner Daniel Ricciardo, who claimed victory with a time of 2:03:55.573. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas claimed 2nd position, with a time of +3.904. Third and fourth positions went to Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel, claiming times of +4.009 and +5.976 respectively.
Who Is Likely To Win The Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
Sebastian Vettel currently stands at the top of the driver standings with a total of 54 points. Lewis Hamilton is his closest rival, who currently stands on 45 points – quite impressive since he’s failed to claim a race win so far this season! However, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo, who currently stand in third and fourth positions, are creeping up on Hamilton with 40 and 37 points respectively.
Daniel Ricciardo stands in good stead to be able to claim a win this year, especially as he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last year! Considering he claimed victory in the last race in China too, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him storm to a win once again.
Lewis Hamilton desperately needs a victory if he’s to stand a chance of earning his fifth F1 title this year, with Sebastian Vettel showing no signs of letting his lead slip. The German racer has already two race wins under his belt this season. But, he’ll most definitely be looking to bounce back after a disappointing performance in China, where he finished in 8th position.
Whilst we’re only four races in, it’s better for Hamilton to close the gap sooner rather than later. However, it might just be an uphill task for Hamilton to claim a win, considering he’s finished fifth in the two previous races to be held in Azerbaijan. There’s currently only five points between Hamilton and his teammate Bottas, with the Finnish driver claiming two podium finishes so far this season. So, Bottas might just be able to overtake his Mercedes teammate should he perform well this weekend!
Final Thoughts
We’re sure to be in for an epic race as usual in this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. So, don’t forget, the action kicks off at 1:10pm this Sunday, 29th April. But, if you can’t wait until then, the practice rounds start on Friday at 10.00am UK time, with qualifying commencing at 02:00pm UK time on Saturday.