Lewis and Vettel set for Baku battle
Title race heads to Azerbaijan Misery for Alonso at Mclaren
AFTER a two-week break, the Formula One teams are back in action for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It’s the second year that the F1 circus has landed in the Caucasus – although last year it was held under the European GP banner – and the race on the streets of the capital, Baku, should be an entertaining affair.
Last time out in Canada, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton dominated the weekend by winning from pole position. And as the Baku track has a similar layout to Montreal, with long straights joined by slow corners, Mercedes should do well again. However, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will be looking to make amends after having to put in a storming drive from last place in Canada.
While Vettel qualified second, a firstcorner collision with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen meant he had to replace his front wing, but he battled through to take fourth at the flag. If Vettel and Hamilton qualify on the front row again and both drivers manage to keep their noses clean for the first few corners in Baku, it could set up an interesting battle between the championship front-runners.
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso’s season is going from bad to worse. Relations between his Mclaren team and engine supplier Honda are at breaking point, as the Spaniard suffered yet another engine failure in Canada, this time only two laps from the end of the race.
In the past, the team and Alonso have been diplomatic in their criticism of the poor reliability and lack of power from the Honda unit, but Canada saw an unprecedented tone from the team.
Mclaren boss Zak Brown has been quoted as saying that the cost of staying with Honda is outweighed by the money brought in by the Japanese company, and it’s rumoured that he has already started seeking a customer engine deal for Mclaren with Mercedes.
However, that’s no guarantee that Alonso will stay with the team. While the Spaniard thinks this year’s Mclaren chassis is one of the best in the field, he’s told German magazine Sport Bild that even if he had this year’s Mercedes power unit for 2018, “it doesn’t make any change to my decision”.
Rumours continue that a return to Renault – the team with which he won his two titles in 2005 and 2006 – could be on the cards.