The Azerbaijan GP was introduced last season, with the city of Baku playing host to the fastest street circuit in Formula 1 racing. It is also the second-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar. Mercedes’s Nico Rosberg dominated the Grand Prix last year with current leader, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, finishing third.
Lewis Hamilton’s superb race in Canada, two weeks ago, means he is now behind Sebastian Vettel by just 12 points, and will be looking to make up for a rocky start to the season and get maximum points. Vettel narrowly missed out on a podium place in Canada, finishing fourth, after having to make a change early on.
The Season So Far
This season is an outright battle between Hamilton and Vettel; who have both won three races each. Vettel, however, sits on top of the driver’s standing with 141 points while Hamilton is a close second with 129 points.
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtieri Bottas is a distant third, with 93, managing a win at the Russian GP. Elsewhere, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen is enjoying a pretty decent season and he comes in at number 4 in the standings. The story is slightly different for the constructor’s championship where Mercedes leads with 222 points, closely followed by Ferrari with 214. Red Bull Racing is a distant third with 112 points.
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton has endured a rocky start to the season. This is mostly due to the fact that his car has been unreliable ahead of several races, especially in Monaco where he was forced to start from 13th on the grid due to tire problems. The problem looks fixed, however, as he recorded his 4th Grand Slam at the Canadian GP. That was also his second grand slam of the season. Hamilton has won the Chinese, Spanish and Canadian GP. He currently sits second on the drivers standing.
Sebastian Vettel
The current leader has enjoyed a pretty good season. Wins in Australia, Bahrain and Monaco; couples with car problems for Hamilton; makes him sit atop the driver’s standing with 12 points ahead of Lewis. Vettel missed out on a podium place in his last race in Canada, but, he won’t be too disappointed as an aggressive drive in Canada saw him finish fourth after dropping to 18th. His display was so impressive, supporters voted him as the driver of the day.
Prediction
A new winner will be crowned come Sunday, following the retirement of last year’s winner, Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton has the momentum following Canada, but last year in Baku, he suffered what he said was his “worst qualifying session ever”. Vettel, on the other hand, finished second in Baku last year. That fact, coupled with the aggressive driving in Canada, makes us believe that Vettel should win, with Hamilton coming in a close second.
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