F1 Driver Form: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Max Verstappen finally won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time in 2022. He looked set to win at Baku City Circuit in 2021, until a tyre failure put him out of the race. It was Verstappen’s third DNF at the circuit, having recorded two successive retirements here in 2017 and 2018.

Verstappen’s best result prior to last year was fourth, recorded in 2019, while eighth place in 2016 is his only other finish.

Verstappen has a 100% Q3 appearance rate in Baku, with a worst qualifying result of ninth in 2015. He’s reached the top five in each of the last five Baku races, with a best grid slot of third in each of the last two seasons. He was out-qualified by his team-mate at the circuit for the third time in 2022.

Sergio Perez took the second victory of his Formula 1 career at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In 2018, he became the first driver to take multiple podium finishes at the circuit, having finished third in both 2016 and 2018. He finished as runner-up in 2022, extending his record as the driver with the most podium finishes at Baku City Circuit.

His sixth place in 2019 is the only other time that the Mexican has finished the race, having retired in 2017 following a collision with his team-mate.

Perez qualified on the front row in 2016, but started seventh following a gearbox penalty. He recorded his first front row start at the circuit in 2022.

Perez has never failed to reach Q3 at the circuit, with a worst qualifying result of eighth. 2018 and 2021 are the only seasons in which Perez has been out-qualified by his team-mate in Baku.

Charles Leclerc scored his first Formula 1 points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2018, finishing a season-best of sixth. He looked set to have a very good Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Ferrari in 2019, but he crashed in qualifying and lined up eighth on the grid. It’s the only time he has been out-qualified by a team-mate in Baku. He finished fifth, beating his previous best result at the circuit.

In 2021, Leclerc took pole position for the race, but finished only fourth – still bettering his best result at the venue. In 2022, Leclerc took pole once again but mechanical issues saw him retire from the race while leading, bringing to an end his 100% points-scoring record at the track.

Carlos Sainz’s four race run of consecutive points finishes at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix came to an end in 2022 as he recorded his first retirement at Baku City Circuit since 2016. Sainz’s best result here is a fifth place finish, scored with Renault in 2018.

2018, 2020 and 2022 are the only times that Sainz has progressed to the final part of qualifying in Baku. He recorded his best result at the track last season, with fourth place. Sainz has never out-qualified a team-mate at the circuit.

Lewis Hamilton looked set to win the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – but a lock-up at the first turn on the restart saw him finish only 15^th. It was the first time he failed to score at Baku City Circuit. From his other five appearances, Hamilton has never failed to finish in the top five.

He took his first win at the circuit in 2018 and finished as runner-up in 2019. He finished fifth in the two previous seasons. He led the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but fell down the order after having to pit due to having a loose headrest.

Hamilton qualified on the front row in all four Azerbaijan Grands Prix between 2017 and 2021, taking his only pole so far at the circuit in 2017. While he has reached Q3 on every appearance, he qualified only tenth in 2016 after crashing in the qualifying hour and qualified seventh in 2022. 2022 was only the second race at Baku City Circuit, after the 2016 European Grand Prix, in which Hamilton did not lead a lap.

On his first Azerbaijan Grand Prix appearance in 2019, George Russell finished 15^th, having qualified 19^th. He failed to finish the race in 2021. Russell reached Q2 at the circuit for the first time in 2021, qualifying in 15^th place. He out-qualified his team-mate for the third time at the track on his first appearance here with Mercedes in 2022, qualifying in fifth. In the race, Russell secured his first points at the track. He did so by finishing on the podium, in third place.

Russell had a Saturday to forget at the track in F2 in 2018, finishing only twelfth in the Feature Race. He turned it around on Sunday though, and took victory in the Sprint Race.

Esteban Ocon finished sixth on his first appearance at Baku City Circuit in the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but that remained his only finish at the circuit until 2022, when he finished tenth. He retired in both 2018 and 2021. In 2017, Ocon collided with team-mate Sergio Perez, in an incident which ultimately ended the Mexican’s race.

Ocon reached Q3 in both 2017 and 2018, qualifying and starting from seventh on both occasions. 2021 was the first time he failed to reach Q3 here, qualifying 12^th. He recorded his worst qualifying result to date at the track in 2022, exiting in Q2 and qualifying 13^th. 2018 is the only time Ocon has out-qualified his team-mate in four appearances at the track.

Finishing in third place in 2021, Pierre Gasly recorded his first points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He finished twelfth in 2018 and retired from the race in 2019. He scored once again in 2022, finishing fifth with AlphaTauri.

2021 was the first time Gasly reached Q3 here, qualifying an impressive fourth. He recorded his second Q3 appearance at the track in 2022, qualifying sixth. Gasly set the fastest time in Q1 in 2019 before being excluded for exceeding the fuel flow limit.

Lando Norris finished eighth on his first Azerbaijan Grand Prix appearance in 2019 and bettered that result in 2021 with fifth place. He recorded his worst result to date at the circuit in 2022 but maintained his 100% points-scoring rate with a ninth place finish.

Norris is yet to be out-qualified by a team-mate at Baku City Circuit. His best qualifying result here so far is sixth, recorded in 2021. He failed to reach Q3 at the circuit for the first time last year, qualifying 11^th.

Norris also raced here in Formula 2 in 2018, where he finished sixth in the Feature Race and fourth in the Sprint Race.

Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time in 2019. He also finished as runner-up in 2017. Bottas nearly won the 2018 race, but was eliminated following a late race puncture. His win in 2019 remains the last time that he scored a point at the track, having finished 12^th and 11^th in the last two years.

The Finn has started from the front row of the grid in two Baku races, taking pole position here for the first time in 2019. He held a 100% Q3 appearance rate at the track until 2022, when he qualified only 15th. 2019 was the first time that Bottas has out-qualified his team-mate in Baku. It remains the only time he has done so.

Fernando Alonso has scored on four of his five previous appearances at Baku City Circuit. Though Alonso retired from the first race at the track in 2016, he went on to finish ninth in 2017 and seventh in 2018.

His 2018 result is made all the more impressive by the fact that he drove back to the pits on two wheels after a first lap incident. Alonso recorded his best ever Azerbaijan result in 2021, with sixth place. He followed that up with a seventh place finish last year.

Despite scoring four times, Alonso has qualified in the top ten in Baku only twice, with a best qualifying result of ninth in 2021. He also reached Q3 last year. He has never been out-qualified by a team-mate here.

Lance Stroll failed to score at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time in 2021, after retiring with a tyre failure. He also retired in 2022. Prior to 2021, Stroll scored on all three visits to Baku City Circuit and recorded the best result of his career so far here in 2017, finishing on the podium in third place. He nearly finished as runner-up, but was passed by Valtteri Bottas on the line. Stroll added to his points tally here with eighth and ninth place finishes in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

2017 is the only time that Stroll has reached Q3 at the circuit. He was eliminated in Q2 in 2018 and was out in Q1 on all of his last three appearances. He has qualified on the back row here in the last two seasons.

Kevin Magnussen failed to reach the chequered flag at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time in 2022. Prior to 2022, he finished on all four appearances at Baku City Circuit with a best result of seventh with Haas in 2017.

Magnussen is yet to reach Q3 at the track and recorded his second Q1 exit at the track last year. His best Saturday result is 13^th in 2017. Magnussen has never been out-qualified by a team-mate at the venue.

Ninth place in the 2016 European Grand Prix is the only time that Nico Hulkenberg has scored points from four appearances at the circuit. He failed to finish in both 2017 and 2018 and finished 14^th on his last appearance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2019.

Hulkenberg has reached Q3 in Baku only once, with a ninth place qualification in 2018. However, a grid penalty meant that he started only 14^th that year. His best starting position at the track is 12^th, in 2016. He recorded his first Q1 exit at the track in 2019.