THE FLYING DUTCHMAN!

 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX 2025

photo credit:reuters.com

TWO IN A ROW!

After the summer break Max has just looked unstoppable and dominant! This time he wins in Baku with a 15 second lead over George Russell in P2. Max has just been best of the rest since the summer break. Even after a tricky qualifying where most of the drivers of the top 4 teams couldn't even make the first 3 rows make was on pole, dominating. He led the race from start to end and was not even challenged by a single person for the whole duration of the race. Just an unstoppable, dominant drive by him. 

Similarly, after so long his teammate Yuki Tsunoda was able to score points in a race. Yuki finished P6 in the race which was much needed for him and the team as he was second to last in the driver's championship and had not scored any points since the Dutch grand prix. Overall, it was a terrific weekend for Red Bull in which they looked utterly dominant. It was reminiscent of their 2023 F1 season.

Mercedes pulled off a masterclass especially with George Russell who overcut Carlos Sainz to take P2 in the race and finished there. Till the Friday of the race weekend it looked unlikely that he was going to even take part in the race weekend and on Sunday then he produced this masterclass. On the other hand, his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, after so long finished the race in P4 scoring big points for his team. Due to this he reclaimed the P7 spot in the driver's championship over Alexander Albon. This performance by Mercedes has put them over Ferrari in the constructor's championship by 4 points. 

Ferrari, had a terrible weekend. In the practices they were easily one of the fastest if not the fastest car. But the qualifying was the start of their struggles. Hamilton was out in Q2 due to Ferrari making Hamilton go around on scrubbed tires for the whole session making him start P12 . And as for Leclerc, he crashed into the wall at the start of Q3. As for the race, they could just not overtake the cars ahead due to lacking straight line speed and not being able to overtake in the tight and twisty turns. Overall, they finished P8 and P9, a result they would surely not like. This was a weekend to forget for them.

As for McLaren, it was just a terrible weekend to say the least. Lando started P7 and finished there. As for Oscar he started P10 due to the crash in the Q3 and then in the race he first jumped the start and crashed on the first lap itself. A horrendous race for the championship leader and that too a race he won last year. As for Lando, it was a missed opportunity to score big points on his championship rival but he just could not do so. In the end, McLaren were the biggest losers of the weekend, considering it was a weekend where they could win the championship. 

The talk of the town, Carlos Sainz... he got a podium for Williams, the first of this season and first podium in a complete race since 2017, in Baku itself. It was just a supreme drive by him to first of all qualify P2 and then keep up the pace and not be challenged by anyone throughout the race on the track. It was just a crazy performance by him to keep up with the big teams in a midfield car. It was his first podium in Williams ever. On the other hand, his teammate who is in the limelight did not finish in the points and finished P13 in the race. Overall, a very strong weekend for the Williams team where they were able to hone their straight line speed. 

Next on to the second Red Bull team, VCaRB. They are having on of their best seasons with two rookie drivers in their cockpits. This weekend too they had an amazing result with Liam Lawson again outscoring Yuki, the person who replaced him in Red Bull and finished in P5, his highest finish ever. It was just supreme driving ability on display both to qualify in P3 and finish P5 in the race, holding up the drivers with faster cars behind. Similarly, his teammate Isack Hadjar produced a supreme drive to come home in P10 and score some points for his team. Overall, VCaRB are just having an incredible 2025 season with the two rookies they have who are outperforming the car on multiple occasions.

Unfortunately, the Sauber team this weekend could not score any points and Gabriel Bortoleto finsihed in P11 but a distant one. On the other hand, his teammate Nico Hulkenberg was also way back and only managed to finish in P16. A bad weekend for Sauber, especially after their turnaround, but they will surely learn from it and move forward. 

Well as for Haas and Aston, they just lacked the speed of their rivals and well the safety cars did not play into their advantage hence none of their drivers could score any points. Ollie and Ocon finished P12 and P14 and Alonso and Stroll finished P15 and P17. Just a bad weekend for both teams, from which they will wish to improve and come back stronger to the next race. 

As for Alpine, the finished last of all runners. They messed up qualifying terribly and in the race just did not have any sort of pace. Hence, they were no way near the points. This has been the case with Alpine all season long, and therefore they are dead last in the constructor's championship. 

Overall, Baku produced a brilliant race with giving us a weekend no one could have expected. It was just brilliant driving and brilliant skill on display by all drivers, some more than others. It was a weekend which put Max Verstappen back into the title fight and in the hunt for the McLarens.

Next on we head to the home of night racing in F1, Singapore. It was where night racing in F1 started. It is a race where drivers lose up to 4kg per race. So, will McLarens make a comeback and produce something or is Max going to continue his streak or does Ferrari or Mercedes have something, only time will tell...