How are we already on round 8 of the 2022 season?
Time is flying by and we’re already onto the picturesque street circuits of Baku, Azerbaijan. Apart from its first year, Baku has always provided a spicy race. Personally, I’m hoping for the same again this time around.
After the drama that was Monaco, the title fight is starting to heat up. Not only will Charles Leclerc be desperate to regain the lead from his rival Max Verstappen, but a reinvigorated Checo Perez is now in the mix. Especially after finishing first in FP1, Checo claims that his chances for the 2022 World Drivers Championship are looking good. Even if he can continue to put in amazing performances, will the Red Bull pit wall allow him to take the crown from their favourite Verstappen?
On the other side of the fight, Ferrari are on shaky ground. Barcelona and Monaco should have been two tracks that favoured the Ferrari set up but instead they’ve come away with a lot less points than they would have hoped. They managed to fumble a front row lock out to a 2nd and 4th place, so this weekend they will be hoping their strategy decisions are a little more sensical.
The Baku track is extremely tricky and punishes even the smallest mistake. It consists of two almost completely different sectors. One has long straights and high speeds, while the other has lots of twists, turns and very close concrete walls. Engineers will be scrambling to ensure the car is optimized for all that the city track demands. Baku has also emphasized the team’s porpoising issues. Some teams had even claimed they’d found a solution but are back to bouncy this weekend.
Whether it’s Lewis Hamilton’s ‘brake magic’ fumble last year, or the infamous Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen teammate collision, anything could happen in these streets to upheave the order. What are your predictions?
Comments