[SKC-auto]

Wonderful race, Perez did a great job in not giving a chance for Lewis to overtake. Happy to see Seb on the podium. I was almost went into depression seeing Max's tyre burst, there would be no one happier than Max seeing Hamilton's mistake.

[ninjatalli]

Missed out watching this race live so had to do with replays only. Can someone explain what happened to Bottas? How did he land up at 12th position (from a 10th place start) only while Vettel and Alonso moved up the order so much better?

[rst89]

What a race, I was chatting just on Friday with a colleague on other side of globe about this race and we were equally excited.

Lewis Hamilton cooked his brakes too much after red flag restart. He did the same even in some race in 2020 to overtake Bottas but this is Azerbaijan GP which has 90 degree turns!

Perez is the wingman that Redbull needed from 2 years. He kept Lewis at bay by pulling away from Hamilton at crucial junctures in the race. Deserved the win!

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Missed out watching this race live so had to do with replays only. Can someone explain what happened to Bottas? How did he land up at 12th position (from a 10th place start) only while Vettel and Alonso moved up the order so much better?

Bottas had a poor run on Hard tyres after the safety car restart, not able to warm up quickly. And then it looks he pitted at the end stages just before they stopped the race. A terrible day indeed as they were aiming for 5th position.

[iamahunter]

Pirelli say debris likely cause of Stroll and Verstappen crashes, as they reveal cut found in Hamilton tyre,

A pair of high-speed crashes for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and race leader Max Verstappen – from which both drivers emerged unharmed – turned the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on its head. But with both drivers appearing to have suffered left-rear blowouts, Pirelli boss Mario Isola told media after the race that he believed debris on track at Baku was the cause.

On Lap 30 of the race, Stroll had just passed the site of his Q1 crash from Saturday when he appeared to suffer a blowout near the pit entry and spun violently into the wall, bringing out a Safety Car.

“For Max, it could be debris from Lance's car,” said Isola. “For Lance, honestly I don't know because there were no incidents before his crash, so I cannot exclude that there was a part of something on track.

Source and Complete Article

[mnram]

What an amazing race. Definitely the best race in the 2021 season till now.
Great to see Vettel on the podium in his Aston Martin. The only thing missing is his Egyptian mummy victory dance.

Sad to see that Leclerc couldn't manage a podium, but he put up a great fight in the last 2 laps. Looks like Ferrari is going in the right direction.

Disheartening to see Bottas struggling in the other Mercedes, albeit a different spec from HAM, but Merc is definitely not a car to be fighting in the 14th position. Next year looks bleak for BOT.

Amazing performance by VET, PER in holding off HAM [Exactly what Red Bull expected from him], TSU and GAS[Amazing drive]. I assume that if NOR did not get his penalty, it would have been even more exciting in the front.

[arun_josie]

Excellent race for Perez right from the start by moving up two position in no time. He would have taken P1 from Verstappen too if not for that slow pit stop. Later he was under pressure from Hamilton but he held him behind successfully.
Excellent race for Vettel and Gasly too. It’s always nice to see fresh faces in podium than seeing Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas race after race.

With midfield closer to the front runners, it’s going to be a struggle for Bottas this year I feel. Hope he gets back to form and stays at front to keep the championship fight closer.

[riokiar]

This was also a weekend that Mercedes would want to forget for sure.

The Sebastian Vettel fan in me was overjoyed by seeing him back on the podium after a rough start to the season, and as Checo said, "I need 5 races to get the best out of the car", and winning on his 6th race with the team, is surely a great step in the right direction. The fight for P3 after the restart between Pierre and Charles was also good to see.

The guys at McLaren not being completely satisfied with P5 just shows their targets set for the year, the fight for p3 between them and Ferrari in the constructors will be interesting to follow too.

Pirelli sure has a lot of explaining to do, since two tires blowing out cannot be disregarded as a mere coincidence, the situation could've gotten way worse.

[Swaraj65]

Another one of those races which went from boring to exciting real quick due to failures and safety car. Excellent race for the championship. Great podium for all the fans. Everyone in the top10 was deserved.

Max will be so happy seeing lewis making that mistake not only for the current standing but in the long term too as he knows Hamilton can also crack under pressure which we haven't seen much from Hamilton over the recent seasons.
Bottas really needs to pull up his socks or Mercedes might need to drop him. it might be the most crucial few races for Bottas as he needs to support Mercedes in the fight with the bulls.

[Fiestaboy]

My personal takeaway from the race:

1. The win will give major confidence & boost to Perez in RB16B. This will also take him closer to close his deal for 2022 & beyond in Redbull camp. After Gasly & Albon's stints, I think Marko will be feeling little relaxed now after the race, that he did right decision to bring Perez for RB.

2. I thought Lewis will overtake Perez when he was in DRS, but it seems energy deployment of Redbull is in such a way that Lewis can't pass him in DRS too.

3. Had Max tyres not blown up & race ended as such before his crash, Max would have moved the lead to 15 points (10for position+1 fast lap).However, it is what it is. Only console for him would be Lewis mistake, which makes him keep the lead as such.

4. IMHO, though Lewis says he doesn't play mind games, I think he is the master of it. Latest press conference words are examples of that.. (Ex: Max has something to prove & he doesn't..)

5. Lewis used to say that he take the race as marathon & not the sprint, but by the aggression he showed at turn 1 with Perez shows that under pressure he will also crack.

6. Whenever Lewis is not in lead & if there is a crash at front or with lead driver, I ALWAYS see that Merc & Lewis used to take the win. Yesterday was yet another day on that format is what I thought, but moments later, the sport convinced that, F1 is much beyond that..

7. Merc didn't have strong opponent for years (to the tune that they derated the Engines & drove during their early periods- as stated by Paddy in one of the Interviews), but now the gap has really shrunk & now its good to watch the fight at the front.

8. I really feel for Max. Right from how he was super aggressive & used to be called as "Mad" Max, he is a quiet cool driver this year & keeping his heads down. I see a Young Lewis in him.

9. Lewis seemed to activated the "magic" button which changed the brake force distribution & hence his Turn-01 runoff to escape road. However Toto stated that it's not a mistake & a Finger problem. I am huge fan of Toto & with his recent remarks on Bottas (pit stop failure) & protecting Lewis for his mistake yesterday make me think that, even person like Toto is playing technopolitics.

10. I am a Ferrari fan, but somehow I am starting to think why Lec is overdriving his car every race & every day. I think he need to learn a bit here from Max & Lewis. Max used to be like this but he groomed up well this year. Starting from pole, had he drove patiently with saving the tyres, he would have been in Podium. No doubt, he is a genuine talent, but needs little more honing. Hope he & Ferrari surge back @ 2022 with good car & show consistent fight.

[SilentEngine]

Lance Stroll: Waits long enough for a safety car, and ends up causing it! Oops!

Relieved to see both drivers walking away fine in both those high speed accidents!

Earlier this season, we were talking how RedBull needed a strong second driver to allow them fight those strategic battles with Mercedes better. And see where we are now!
It sounds funny to say this - Mercedes needs to back their second driver more to allow them to fight even for the driver's championship.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Fiestaboy

10. I am a Ferrari fan, but somehow I am starting to think why Lec is overdriving his car every race & every day. I think he need to learn a bit here from Max & Lewis. Max used to be like this but he groomed up well this year. Starting from pole, had he drove patiently with saving the tyres, he would have been in Podium. No doubt, he is a genuine talent, but needs little more honing. Hope he & Ferrari surge back @ 2022 with good car & show consistent fight.

Because that car is a dump. If he doesn't overdrive it, that car just won't go anywhere. The only reason we keep seeing ferrari in the mix is because both these guys are pushing the envelope and i think Sainz is getting more aggressive because he sees what Leclerc is capable of doing.

They really have nothing to lose if you ask me, who even cares if they beat Mclaren? The whole point of Ferrari is to be up there with Red Bull and Mercedes. Anything else is just hogwash. I think Leclerc is having fun pushing the hell out of that car and giving it everything he can. Case in point, Monaco q3 crash, he was least apologetic.

Bring it on Leclerc! Hope Ferrari gives you a monster engine next year to kill the rest of the competition.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Fiestaboy

10. I am a Ferrari fan, but somehow I am starting to think why Lec is overdriving his car every race & every day. I think he need to learn a bit here from Max & Lewis. Max used to be like this but he groomed up well this year. Starting from pole, had he drove patiently with saving the tyres, he would have been in Podium. No doubt, he is a genuine talent, but needs little more honing. Hope he & Ferrari surge back @ 2022 with good car & show consistent fight.

The car is horribly slow compared to both Merc and RB. The engine this year though a bit better than last is still down on horsepower as we could see yesterday when Lewis and both Redbulls eased past him. There is no way he'd be at the pointy end of the field without pushing it to the limit.

[anb]

Found this on social media

[John316_WRC]

Originally Posted by Eshan Joshi

And Gasly. What can I say. I remember as a 13 year old telling everyone that he would become big . Many laughed at me. 4 years latter I am glad that I stuck by his side. The man is an absolute gem. He drives extremely well under pressure. I hope he has an amazing career ahead.

I'm a HUGE Gasly fan ever since he burst into limelight in 2016. His temperament & natural ability reminds me of a certain Fernando Alonso!! (I know... I know...)

I'm willing to bet on him being a world champion in the next 2 or 3 seasons. He's really that good. As usual Baku never fails to entertain or surprise

[Simha13]

That was the one of best races in last 5 years! Baku didn't disappoint. Loved seeing Vettel so happy and confident through out the race, totally deserved the driver of the day. AM strategy was spot on
RB has found a capable 2nd Driver and I guess the 2nd seat curse is finally removed.

An exciting Sunday after a long long time.