Sports Articles: Formula 1: Azerbaijan Talking Points

Image from: freelargeimages.com

Formula 1: Things To Think About After Race 4 In Azerbaijan

1. Raikkonen disqualified from qualifying due to an illegal front wing. That seems a terribly basic error to make by Alfa Romeo. The fact they even brought a part that does not meet regulations seems a big mistake in itself. Using it in quali is just a massive cock up.

2. Kubica struggling in practice compared to Russell, and in the race too, he is really being shown up by the rookie. Neither are exactly troubling the top end, or the midfield pack for that matter, but Kubica is looking way off the pace. The question is whether or not Russell is just blisteringly fast in a slow car or whether Kubica is slow?

3. Renault struggled in that race. They never looked to have any pace at all. Ricciardo gave it a go, but the car was nowhere near quick enough to compete. The engine looks to have dropped way behind in the development race, even behind the Honda.

4. Raikonnen disappointing in the race. He had qualified so high up but never seemed to have the pace that qualifying promised. Makes you wonder how much of an advantage they gained with that front wing!

5. Ricciardo/Kvyat incident was odd. What on earth was Ricciardo doing? He just seemed to lose his bearings and run off the road, forcing Kvyat off. That was a stupid enough mistake but then he compounded his error by reversing into his former Red Bull team-mate. It put both cars out and was the 3rd time Ricciardo has gone out in the first 4 races. His season is going from bad to worse. I suppose at least it was not his team-mate he took out in Baku this time, like he did with Verstappen.

6. Speaking of going from bad to worse, Ferrari's strategy can always be relied upon to mess up their chances. How can you get it so consistently wrong for such an extended period without learning from your mistakes? They surely should have made some improvement to their strategy by now. It is not like this is the first year they have been getting it wrong, this has been going on since Michael Schumacher left. When will they learn?

7. Fastest lap. I am still not sure about the fastest lap getting a point. It does not seem to improve races at all. It does provide a bit of interest when cars are trading the fastest lap, but it is not really improving races as the cars that are going for that are not actually racing anyone. I would not mind if it was the tiebreaker to decide who won the title, unlike the moan some people are making. If two drivers get the same points over the course of the season, the number of fastest laps they both get is a good way to decide the winner. I am just not sure it should have the amount of importance that is being placed on it right now.

Written by Tris Burke April 28 2019 16:10:34