Key events
It’s nice and sunny in Baku today – and also warm. Excitement is building as the cars gather on the grid.
Another potential factor: in the last four races on this circuit, we’ve seen either a safety car or a virtual safety car. I daresay the boy Nozza would accept that today.
We mustn’t forget that there are drivers who’ll be under team orders today. Piastri will have been told to do whatever he can in his McLaren to disrupt Verstappen, while Pérez will have to allow his teammate past, assuming George Russell is overtaken first.
Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, will be extremely relaxed about the overtaking situation. However he’ll also know that he’s now been on pole for this race four times on the spin and has yet to convert one to a race win.
The problem the drivers – and Norris in particular – have is that overtaking on the Baku City Circuit is not easy. He reckons strategy will be especially important, but also knows that, if he gets a clean run at any point, his car is fast enough to do damage.
The grid
-
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
-
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
-
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
-
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
-
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
-
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
-
Franco Colapinto (Williams)
-
Alex Albon (Williams)
-
Oliver Bearman (Haas)
-
Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
-
Nico Hülkengerg (Haas)
-
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
-
Daniel Ricciardo (RB)
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
Valtteri Bottas (Stake F1)
-
Zhou Guanyu (Stake F1)
-
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Pit lane: Lews Hamilton (Mercedes)
Pit lane: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Preamble
Let’s begin with a question: six months ago at the start of March, when the season got going in Bahrain, who didn’t expect that, come mid-September, we’d be where we are?
The answer, of course, is “Absolutely everyone”. And as if to prove the point – that what felt like the world’s most predictable sport is now one of its least – an alert flashes up on my phone advising me that Lewis Hamilton will begin today’s race from the pit lane after taking a new engine. Oops!
But sadly for the almost-goat, that’s a subplot – at best. The main event is, of course, the race for the driver championship, and we’re still in total ignorance as to how that might end. Max Verstappen, champion in each of the last three seasons, is struggling – or his car is – so though he leads the standings by 62 points, with eight races to go he’s vulnerable … if one of those chasing him can find the necessary consistency to take advantage of his car’s deterioration.
Easier said than done: Lando Norris, the nearest challenger, had a nightmare in qualifying and beings from 15th on the grid. So, while Verstappen is only sixth, he now has a great chance to increase his lead at the top while ticking off another race. We shall see!
Lights out: 3pm local, 12pm BST
