Collision with a former partner: Kvyat started sixth at the Azerbaijani Grand Prix, but withdrew from the race due to Riccardo's mistake

Free practice

The beginning of the season in Formula 1 can be considered accomplished - the first stages in Australia and Asia have come to an end, and now the pilots are waited by a long series of races in Europe, which was opened by the Azerbaijani Grand Prix. Pilots and teams arrived in Baku for the fourth time. Some of them probably experienced fears, since the local urban highway can be called the most unpredictable and definitely one of the most difficult. Here, the longest two-kilometer straight allows you to beat speed records, and the abundance of rectangular turns makes the most stringent demands on the brakes.

The difficulty of passing the track is added by the fact that, except for Formula 1 racing, it is not used. Because of this, there are problems with grip before Sunday races. In addition, the recent postponement of the race from summer to April has added problems with warming up tires - these days Baku is still pretty cool for racing.

This year, the teams have another source of headaches. As soon as the Friday started free rides, George Russell on Williams came across an unscrewed hatch and badly damaged the car. The session had to be immediately stopped and then canceled. The organizers had to recheck all 300 sewer manholes, through which riders could pass, so that such force majeure would no longer be repeated. Lewis Hamilton took a forced pause to watch the "Game of Thrones."

Azerbaijan # AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 # F1pic.twitter.com / VikJY5ts4M

The second Friday training session also didn’t go according to the original plan. At first she had to be stopped due to the fact that Lance Stroll at Racing Point crashed into a fence, and then Daniel Quiat, who celebrated his 25th birthday, had an accident. The Russian pilot Toro Rosso did not suffer from a collision with a barrier, but his car was engulfed in flames for some time. Despite the fact that the accident has spoiled him and the car, and mood, Quyat could be pleased with the result. He showed the sixth time, although he missed most of the races.

Not the birthday bash Dany Kvyat was hoping for Azerbaijan # AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 # F1pic.twitter.com / 6c5Qi15qQl

Friday's races also brought trouble to Pierre. He forgot to go to the weigh-in, breaking the rules. The Frenchman aggravated his position by changing the tire during the workout. The pilot of Red Bull was punished with a start from the pit lane.

ICYMI, at the end of the second practice

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The third session of the free races finally allowed the pilots to get acquainted with the track in as much detail as possible and decide on the settings of the cars. There were no serious accidents, and according to the results shown, it was possible to make a prediction of qualification. Ferrari cars showed an incredibly high rate - Charles Leclaire and Sebastian Vettel beat Max Verstappen at Red Bull for more than a second, and Mercedes pilots even more. Kvyat again became the sixth, slightly giving way to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Qualification

The first segment of Saturday's qualification was for Gasley. The pilot of Red Bull seemed to be trying to prove that even after starting from the pit lane he would be very dangerous in the race. But soon the driver was waiting for another disappointment - the stewards noticed his increased fuel consumption and were repeatedly punished in the same way.

All other favorites quietly went into the second part of the qualification, but had to wait long for her to start. Already after the competition time ended, Robert Kubica from Williams crashed into a fence in the narrowest part of the track. The pilot for the fourth time gave way to his partner and also provided his mechanics with a full night of work on the damaged car.

Turn 8 in Baku is fiendishly tight, as Robert Kubica will confirm Azerbaijan # AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 # F1pic.twitter.com / 2AmAvuBVC3

The second third of the qualification was also won by the pilot of Red Bull, only now it turned out to be Max Verstappen. Ferrari has so far restrained its pilots, who took care of the fastest tires for the final attempts. But they had to make only Sebastian Vettel. Charles LeClaire blocked the tire in the same place as Kubica, and also crashed. Although he made his way to the third session, he was no longer able to go to it.

Oh, Charles! 😫 # AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 # F1pic.twitter.com / WeN1LcpgPH

For Mercedes, it was a great chance to declare oneself, especially since one more pause was good for him - the air temperature and the tracks had already begun to fall, and German race cars only get better in such conditions. In addition, the team decided to go on the trick and get on the track one of the last, to be on the long straight in the aerodynamic bag from the cars ahead.

This tactic worked, and inconspicuous all weekend Bottas and Hamilton took the first row of the starting field. The pole position, like a year ago, went to the Finnish racer. Vettel himself nearly repeated the fate of his partner in the second segment, took third place. Verstappen showed the fourth result. Daniel Kvyat was the sixth, showing the best result after leaving Red Bull. In addition to the four favorites of the race, only Sergio Perez from Racing Point, who twice went up to the podium in Azerbaijan, started ahead of him.

. @ ValtteriBottas #PirelliPolePositionAward with a stunning lap in Baku @ pirellisport # AzerbaijanGP F1 # F1pic.twitter.com / TVwKYBwZVD

Race

Contrary to expectations, the first lap of the race passed without a single accident - as if their limit was exhausted. The pilots immediately began to please the mass of overtaking, from which mainly Kvyat suffered. He quickly rolled back to ninth place, skipping including Lecler - he was partially helped by the sanctions against Kimi Raikkonen, who shortly before the start of the race was sent to the pit lane for a too flexible rear wing.

It soon became clear that Quyat’s problems were bigger than they seemed. In one lap, he lost three more positions, and he had to be the first to enter the pits. By that time, the leading trio remained unchanged, and Perez finished in fourth place, but Verstappen was soon able to recoup. Kvyat returned to the highway 19th, but it was too early to lament about such a serious fall. Pit stops competitors brought him three places, and the Russian pilot had already returned to the form necessary for overtaking. He gradually approached the spectacle top ten and finally got into it, but he practically killed his tires and had to be wary of them now.

The first hour of the race turned out to be extremely calm - there were no accidents or gatherings, and the losers of the previous days, Leclaire and Extinguished, got to the first four leaders. The picture familiar to previous Grand Prix has been restored. But barely started the second half, as Romain Grosjean drove into his security pocket, lost control. He could no longer threaten Kvyat.

But the Russian pilot began to catch up with Daniel Riccardo at Renault. The Australian approached at a dangerous distance to attack and unexpectedly did not fit into the turn, being in the security pocket and pushing Kvyat there too. On this their skirmish could end, but Riccardo began to take back and hit the former partner. Because of such stupid mistakes that should not have passed without a trace past the stewards, Kvyat was in the tail of the peloton without a chance for glasses. Riccardo was forced to immediately finish the race, and the pilot Toro Rosso did it in a few more laps.

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RIC and KVY go sightseeing down a runoff - then RIC re # F1 🇦🇿 # AzerbaijanGPpic.twitter.com / kGVIN2WuDN

Pierre Gasley, the third, soon descended - his Honda engine, which allowed him to play 14 positions from the start, unexpectedly failed and lost power. Sergio Perez came in sixth place behind LeClair, who, even when the virtual car safety mode was on, could not get to the top five.

Ten laps to go, the race was back to normal. The leaders walked quite tightly with breaks of two to three seconds. It was the hardest for Bottas to hold his first place, but he added and established the best lap in the race. Hamilton did not lose hope of winning a third victory in a row and he showed the best speed in the race. LeClaire tried to steal a bonus point from Mercedes and made a pit stop in the last laps. Monegasque knowingly disturbed the mechanics - after all, he got the fastest lap.

For Bottas, this was good news. He celebrated the second victory of the season and the fifth in his career, which allowed him to take the lead in the overall standings - the gap from Hamilton who finished second with the same score that Lecler had got. Mercedes celebrated the winning double for the fourth time in a row, which at the start of the season no team in the history had achieved. Although the German stable does not have the same dominance as three or four years ago, so far pilots from other teams are far away from second place.

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WATCH: dust flies as @valtteribottas crosses in Baku F1 # F1 Azerbaijan # AzerbaijanGPpic.twitter.com / sVibKHC8u9