Analysis of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and a look ahead to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, ahead to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit
George Russell completed a comfortable win in Azerbaijan, ensuring that Mercedes has now won each of the last three races.
It was the first time that the British driver had led from pole to chequered flag in his career and was his third victory of the season.
Given that his teammate Kimi Antonelli had won the previous two outings and six races this season prior to that, there will have been a huge sense of relief to have clawed back some points in the drivers’ championship.
With Antonelli finishing fifth, after his scrape with the wall in qualifying had him starting in 16th place, the gap to the Italian at the top of the driver’s table has been reduced to 66 points.
It’s still a healthy lead, but with eight races to go, there is still time for drama at the top.
At the equivalent time last year, Lando Norris had a 63-point lead on Max Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri a further 31 points ahead.
Norris only ended up winning the championship by two points.
As it stands, the main challenger to the two Mercedes cars is Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari, with Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc just behind that.
Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth in Baku and Lando Norris had an unlucky shunt triggered by the Alpine of Franco Colapinto putting him out of the race.
Leclerc’s second consecutive fourth place finish left him unchanged in fourth in the championship, whilst it won’t have escaped many fans’ attention that Max Verstappen is somewhat on a roll.
Yesterday’s second place was his third consecutive podium and his fifth top three finish in the last six races.
However, he remains winless this season and 139 points behind the top of the table.
If nothing else, he will certainly be making life difficult for the top drivers around him for the rest of the season.
With Baku now over, all roads now lead to the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Formula 1 has not been to the iconic Sepang Circuit since 2017.
Whilst a lot has changed since then, not least the cars themselves, the excitement and appetite to go racing in Sepang is as strong as ever.
Indeed, it was the first point of conversation in the cool down room before the podium in Baku.
Max said he was excited about Malaysia.
The other drivers agreed.
There is a huge sense of anticipation across the sport for this unique race weekend.
Less than half the field for this weekend have driven an F1 race at Sepang and most of the data that the teams will have is from very old specification cars.
Essentially, they will all be starting from scratch.
There are other challenges in Malaysia as well, not least the weather. This area is famous for its rainfall and the threat of a shower is never far away.
In fact, most weather forecasts show a particularly rainy week ahead. There has been quite a healthy shower at the circuit already today, with more expected.
It’s unpredictable, however, due to the localised nature of the showers, so the team’s weather radars will be working overtime this week.
The teams at the circuit, whether that be BIC, the team at Sepang, our colleagues at the Bahrain Motor Federation and their counterparts at the Motorsport Association of Malaysia, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Gulf Air and many many others, have been working overtime to get ready for this historic race weekend.
With over 95,000 tickets already sold, and up to 100 million people expected to watch, it will be Bahrain’s turn to shine in this unique environment.
For those coming to the circuit or watching on broadcast, the characteristic elements of the Bahrain Grand Prix and The Kingdom of Bahrain will be seen everywhere.
As fans enter the fanzone, they are greeted by the incredible Bahrain Village, put together by BTEA.
It will showcase the Kingdom of Bahrain’s tourism and cultural attractions, heritage and diverse tourism experiences, as well as a number of Bahraini food brands.
Fans will be able to see the familiar faces of over 500 Bahraini marshals working on track.
The winner’s trophy, the Gulf Air fly-past, the Waard being sprayed on the podium and many other elements of Bahrain and the Bahrain Grand Prix will be witnessed this weekend.
We are all set for an incredible weekend of racing and entertainment.
The action gets underway, as usual, with two practice sessions on Friday, with practice and qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
For all the details on the race weekend, visit bahraingp.com.
* Laurence Jones is senior manager,
Marketing and Communications,
Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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