The 2022 Formula 1 season has passed the one-third point following Max Verstappen’s win in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend. That leaves the Dutchman with a 21-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez, which is a stunning turnaround from the 46 he was in arrears of title rival Charles Leclerc after round three in Australia.
Much of that swing has come from Ferrari’s recent implosion. This continued into a third race thanks to Leclerc’s engine expiring just when it looked like a sharp decision to pit under the virtual safety car – triggered by Carlos Sainz’s own reliability nightmare in the other F1-75 – had put him back into victory contention after losing out to Perez at the start.
Leclerc’s latest points loss is the key takeaway from Baku, but there were plenty of other stories worth paying attention to from across the field last weekend. Therefore, here are 10 things we learned from the 2022 Azerbaijan GP.
Carlos Sainz walks back to his garage after retiring from the race
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
1. Ferrari’s reliability concerns are huge
“I would prefer to have good performance and try to fix reliability rather than vice versa,” Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said after the Baku race.
He’s not wrong, but Ferrari’s engine fragility has not only cost Leclerc at least 43 points in two of the last three events, plus the 13 he lost dropping from pole to fourth in the Monaco strategy shambles. It means he will almost certainly face engine-related grid penalties later in 2022, given he’s already on the maximum limit for turbo parts alone.
At the time of writing, Ferrari can’t say what caused Leclerc’s engine issue in Baku, but it is understood to be separate to Sainz’s car dropping out with a hydraulic problem. Zhou Guanyu’s customer Ferrari power unit retirement was put down to a team-specific cooling issue at Alfa Romeo, but Kevin Magnussen’s Haas also coming to a smoky stop on Sunday shows the scale of the Scuderia’s power problem.
It is at least fast, and Leclerc seemed to be having an easier time than expected against Red Bull’s straightline prowess running the “depowered” (lower drag) rear wing Ferrari had introduced but not raced in Miami. His pace post pitstop, where front and rear jack issues cost Leclerc time, was strong. But whether it was enough to take on and prevail against Verstappen either wheel-to-wheel late in the race on a brave one-stopper or with an aggressive…
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