Top 3 Highlights From The 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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I can’t fully explain my reasoning behind it other than the fact that I really like that there are castles but I just really love every time we get to watch a grand prix weekend in Azerbaijan at Baku. The way the street circuit moves and flows is just really entertaining at the end of the day so it could have been a boring race and I still would have been happy. Before I ramble on about why I like Baku so much, let’s go over the top three highlights from the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix!
Ferrari Lacks Race Pace
With Charles Leclerc landing on pole it’s clear to see that the Ferrari team is able to maximize their car during the qualifying stints, however come race day regardless of who the driver is they very simply lack race pace. I think it appears most often with Charles Leclerc but Carlos Sainz suffers from the same issues. Moral of the story is if Ferrari wants a fighting chance at the championship anytime soon they need to position their car in a way that maximizes points rather than pole position on Saturdays.
Checo — King of the Streets
There’s something quite strange with Sergio Perez and his ability to win at nearly every street circuit on the calendar. Whether we’re talking about Baku, Monaco, or Jeddah, Checo just simply excells when he has to navigate across street circuits. I think with this ability we’ll finally see an inside battle of the bulls over the course of this F1 season. Ideally Checo can start to deliver outside of the street circuits but considering that more and more street circuits are ending up on the calendar it may not be a bad habit to leverage over the coming years in Formula 1.
De Vries Under Pressue
Nick De Vries, alongside Logan Sargent and Oscar Piastri came in with incredibly high expectations, not only are these rookies the future of the sport but they’re quite decorated in their own right as well. Having taken the WDC in Formula E two years in a row, Nick De Vries was shaping up to be a monumental move into Formula 1. That simply hasn’t been the case. With De Vries continuing to make mistakes and consistently being beaten out by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, it seems that Nick’s time in the AlphaTauri could be…
