The circus in Formula 1 is moving to Azerbaijan, while the eighth race of the season sees the drivers take to the streets of Baku.
After Sergio Perez of Red Bull won in Monaco, there was talk of a potential three-man battle for the drivers’ championship with just 15 points separating Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and the Mexican.
Red Bull have taken the top of the podium in each of the last four races – something Leclerc will want to fix after seeing two possible victories slip away in Barcelona and Monaco.
Meanwhile, Mercedes will hope to take a step closer to the two leading teams, as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton already has a whopping 75 points from last year’s rival Verstappen.
The drama is never too far on the narrow and crooked streets of Baku. Last year’s race saw Verstappen drop out of the lead with a punch, while Hamilton’s “magic button” accident allowed Perez to take the victory from Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasley.
Sportsmail analyzes seven things to watch out for in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Azerbaijan.
The Formula 1 circus enters Azerbaijan for the eighth round of the world championship
Ferrari will hope to return to the streets of Baku after four consecutive victories for Red Bull
Is the challenge for Sergio Perez’s title legal?
Not many seem to have benefited more from the new rules than Monaco’s Perez Grand Prix winner.
The Mexican was comfortably defeated by Verstappen throughout the 2021 season, and although the Dutchman still has the advantage after the first seven races in 2022, Perez is much closer to his teammate.
Last time he won his first victory of the season and could easily have been second if it had not been for the unfortunate moment of the safety car, which cost him a great chance to win in Bahrain.
The Baku street track is a place where Perez has always performed well, winning the race last season and also scoring two podiums when driving for Force India.
Sergio Perez is looking to continue his impressive victory on the streets of Monaco
There is much talk about whether he can fight for the title and whether he will be allowed to do so against reigning world champion Verstappen.
Red Bull team director Christian Horner came out and said he would be happy for either Verstappen or Perez to become champions this year.
He was convincingly faster than the Dutchman on the streets of Monte Carlo, but doing so consistently will be a huge challenge for Perez, who is now a veteran of the 2011 Formula One circus.
A series of victories this weekend will give him supreme confidence that he can become Mexico’s first Formula One champion and give Verstappen an extra headache in his attempts to retain his championship.
Peres has always performed well in Azerbaijan and won his first victory at Red Bull there in 2021.
Can Charles Leclerc return to the title challenge?
The Monegasque driver was not very lucky in the last two rounds, in which he collected only 13 points, when it seemed that he could be 50.
He withdrew from a comfortable lead in Spain with a turbo failure, before a strategic mistake that brought him to boxing in Monaco meant he finished only fourth instead of taking what would be his first home win.
Leclerc had a comfortable lead of 34 points after the first three races, but now he is on his hind legs with momentum clearly on the side of Red Bull.
Leclerc lost in two possible victories in the last two races through no fault of his own
The Monegasque scored just 13 points when it looked like it could be 50
The 24-year-old will try to avoid losing further positions this weekend in a round that on paper seems to prefer the Red Bulls.
Like Miami, Baku has many powerful straight lines and Red Bull have had an advantage in terms of their top speed over Ferrari so far this season.
Leclerc has been the star of the Saturdays so far this season, securing five pole positions, and if he makes those six this weekend, he will be in a great position to break the Red Bull winning streak.
He looked good to take gender in his first Ferrari season in 2019, only to break into the castle section. Given the shape of the Red Bull drivers, Leclerc has no room for error this weekend.
Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will seek to reverse the move after an impressive series of Red Bull victories
The chances for Mercedes are running out
He was genuinely optimistic about Mercedes after the Spanish Grand Prix, in which George Russell finished third and Lewis Hamilton showed a great pace to fight off a break in the first lap to finish fifth.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolfe said afterwards that Hamilton could have fought for victory if he had not been hit in the beginning, while he also said that the Silver Arrows were still able to fight for the championship.
However, it was clear from early on during the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix that Mercedes again did not have the pace to challenge Ferrari or Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell exhaust Mercedes races to close the gap
Hamilton is already 75 points behind last season’s rival Max Verstappen at the top
There is still hope in the Mercedes camp that they can take on the title challenge, but time is running out and they should not be too far from focusing on next year’s contender.
Hamilton is already 75 points from Verstappen at the top of the table – a difference that may seem insurmountable if it grows after the double header of Baku and Montreal.
Russell finished in the top five of every race so far this season and was luckier than his veteran teammate, meaning he is just 41 points from the top.
So even if Mercedes shows improvements to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari, Hamilton’s job of catching up will be harder than Russell’s. Their tasks could be complicated if they continue to take points from each other.
Daniel Ricciardo must quickly find form
Speculation about the future of McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo is growing after each race.
His first season on the team was not great, as he was comfortably defeated by Lando Norris – although there were some signs of optimism after he declared victory in the Italian Grand Prix.
However, Ricciardo’s form has not improved and he scored only 11 points this season compared to his teammate’s 48.
Eyebrows were raised when McLaren bosses said Ricciardo had not met “his or our expectations” after another disappointing result in Monaco, where he finished 13th and Norris sixth.
Daniel Ricciardo must find something to save his career in Formula 1 after a bad start to the season
Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundell believes Ricciardo has only three races left to save his Formula One career.
Ricciardo has a contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 season, and team boss Zach Brown revealed this week that discussions about the future of the Australian will begin later this season.
There are a number of talented drivers who could look at second place at McLaren to Norris – with Pierre Gasley he will certainly be a strong contender, as his way back to Red Bull has been blocked by the extension of his contract with Perez.
Ricciardo can’t afford many more bad performances if he wants to keep his place in Formula One.
Can Fernando Alonso cause a surprise?
The normal contenders were on top during Friday’s two training sessions, except for one man, Fernando Alonso.
Alonso was fifth fastest during the morning session, followed by the fourth fastest in the afternoon.
It was a very impressive day in a difficult season for the double world champion.
Alpine, especially in the hands of Fernando Alonso, showed an impressive pace on Friday
Alpine showed signs of decent pace at times throughout the season, although luck wasn’t always there and they were too inconsistent.
Alonso sincerely felt he was in a pole shot in Australia before a crash caused by a technical malfunction ruined his weekend – a crash in which he still feels the physical effects of today.
Optimism has been there for Alpine before, but on the racetrack, when anything can happen, Alonso and his teammate Esteban Ocon seem to be able to surprise this weekend.
Fears of guinea pig
Introducing ground-based aerodynamics as the design philosophy behind this year’s cars, many Formula One teams have suffered from guinea pigs – when cars jump at high speeds.
The Grand Prix of Azerbaijan is held on the streets of Baku, where 2.2 km straight the pilots reach a top speed of about 340 km / h.
And this is something that double world champion Fernando Alonso fears will mean an extreme rebound.
Asked if he was excited to compete in Baku, he told the official F1 website: “Yes, absolutely. I think it’s still a street circle, just the speeds are very different, especially at the end of the line.
Jumping can be worse than usual in Baku, with Ferrari and Mercedes struggling
“I’m looking forward to seeing how these cars perform in Baku, especially the effect of jumping straight.
“It can be quite extreme here, and we’re a little worried about that, as I think we all are.”
Alonso’s Alpine is one of the teams that seems to suffer less from the guinea pig than its rivals, with Mercedes believed to be the most affected.
Hamilton had to be warned in practice to cross the white line when entering the pits as he descended to the right, something he blamed for not being able to see the line due to the high level of guinea pigs.
The pair of Ferrari Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were also seen jumping aggressively during training for the Azerbaijani Grand Prix, and they, along with Mercedes, could be particularly hard hit by a guinea pig this weekend.
Hamilton crossed the white lines when entering the pits while saying …
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