Bottas wins in style in Baku

Valtteri Bottas will not have trembled. Did he even shudder? Worried during the first meters of the race by a Lewis Hamilton better started from the first row which they shared, the pole sitter will have firmly pushed back his neighbor in the garage before escaping. 

The five-time world champion will return to contact several times but each time Bottas manages to maintain the advantage, including in the final laps when the pressure will be particularly intense. 

Once again, Ferrari was announced as favorite. Once again, the Team disappoints. Sebastian Vettel can only make 3rd, ahead of a solid Max Verstappen, 4th at the wheel of his Red Bull. 

Accident in qualifying, Charles Leclerc tries to make an offbeat strategy work by setting off with medium tires. In vain since he cannot do better than 5th place. Ferrari then decided to stop him at the very end of the race to steal the point for the fastest lap in the race. Small consolation for a house in Maranello, still empty-handed in 2019.

Record holder for the number of podiums in Baku before this edition, Sergio Pérez signs another very solid race on the boulevards of the Azerbaijani capital. Qualified 5th, the Mexican could not resist the return of Leclerc but still achieved an excellent 6th place for Racing Point.

New heartbreak for Pierre Gasly at the end of a nightmarish weekend. Disqualified and forced to start from the pits, the Frenchman had moved up to 6th place when he had to park his RB15 after losing power. 

Smiles on the other hand in the camp McLaren where Carlos Sainz et Lando Norris both get into the points for the first time this season. The men of Woking offer a little comfort to their engine manufacturer Renault, whose factory team collapsed head on. 

Lance stroll completes Racing Point's fine afternoon with 9th place, while Kimi Räikkönen, who started from the pit lane due to a technical irregularity, grabbed the last point at stake.

In the department of disappointments we therefore find Renault. Already absent from Q3, the Losange sees its star recruit Daniel Ricciardo give up after a rather grotesque incident with Daniil Kvyat. The Australian tries to overtake the Russian to gain 10th place but shoots straight at turn 3 and takes the Toro Rosso in his misadventure. Ricciardo then immediately reverses but hits the STR14 behind him in the maneuver, causing both cars to abandon. 

Nico Hulkenberg finished in a distant 14th place aboard the second R.S.19. Discreet weekend also Haas with 13th place Kevin Magnussen and a new abandonment for Romain Grosjean. Victims of several incidents this weekend, Williams consoles himself by bringing his two single-seaters to the finish of a Grand Prix which will have come to life at the end of the event after three rather processional first quarters. 

FINAL CLASSIFICATION: Round 4, Azerbaijan

Bottas wins and takes the drivers' championship lead #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/ZS4JTzooLc

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28th

Find in AUTOhebdo No. 2214, on sale Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, the analysis of F1 in Baku by our special correspondents.