Round 17 is here in Baku, as the drivers get ready to race the street circuit in Azerbaijan. With so much at stake, it would be an understatement to say that this weekend is vital for many teams in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings. Here is a preview of what fans should expect from each team.
Before we jump in and preview this weekend in Baku, a couple things to mention:
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top-10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship is a competition between the teams as a whole. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 241 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 197 points, giving the McLaren team 438 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: 22 drivers will be listed in the Drivers' Standings, as Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and will be a replacement driver for Kevin Magnussen this weekend in Baku. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season.
Here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' current standings after this weekend:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 303 points
Lando Norris 241 points
Charles Leclerc 217 points
Oscar Piastri 197 points
Carlos Sainz 184 points
Lewis Hamilton 164 points
Sergio Perez 143 points
George Russell 128 points
Fernando Alonso 50 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Nico Hulkenberg 22 points
Yuki Tsunoda 22 points
Danial Ricciardo 12 points
Pierre Gasly 8 points
Oliver Bearman 6 points
Kevin Magnussen 6 points
Alexander Albon 5 points
Esteban Ocon 5 points
Zhou Guanyu 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Franco Calapinto 0 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points
Constructor's Championship Standings:
Red Bull 446 points
McLaren 438 points
Ferrari 407 points
Mercedes 292 points
Aston Martin 74 points
Racing Bulls 34 points
Haas 28 points
Alpine 13 points
Williams 6 points
Kick Sauber 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
Alpine
After a quiet weekend in Monza, it is fair to assume that Alpine will continue its mediocre performance. Look for drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon to struggle for pace among the teams near the point-scoring places (Aston Martin, RB, and Haas) but also to perform better overall than the bottom-tier teams (Kick Sauber and Williams). It's difficult to see a world where Alpine finishes with both drivers fighting for points.
Ceiling: Top 13 finish from both drivers
Floor: Bottom five finish from both drivers
Aston Martin
Besides the big news surrounding Aston Martin, which was the signing of Adrain Newey (we wrote a separate article about this, go check it out here) Aston Martin has been struggling mightily the past few weekends. Being too far away from competing with the top four teams in the Constructors' Championship has raised the concern that they might have thrown in the towel for the 2024 season. Aston Martin could show signs of life and score at the bottom of the points this weekend, but it's likely that they will once again be too far off the pace to produce any significant result.
Ceiling: Top 10 finish from both drivers
Floor: Bottom 8 finish from both drivers
Ferrari
Ferrari is coming off of a stellar weekend in Monza and should be expecting to keep the momentum going in Baku. Driver Charles Leclerc has been known to be great around this track (not including his DNF in 2021, he has never finished outside the top six in the race), while Carlos Sainz is always a threat to produce a great result. The Ferrari team is only thirty-nine points behind 1st place Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, with both drivers having the ability to also make some noise in the Drivers' Championship. Fans should expect Ferrari to fight at the top of the grid this week, maybe even putting another challenge to McLaren.
Ceiling: Race win
Floor: Top 8 finish from both drivers
Haas
All eyes will be on Oliver Bearman this weekend, as he is set to replace Kevin Magnuseen do to K-Mag's one race ban for gaining too many penalty points. This will be Bearman's second race in F1 this season. Last time out, it is safe to say that Bearman surprised everyone, making it through all three qualifying sessions and finishing 7th at a very challenging Saudia Arabia track. Even though he is in a inferior car this weekend, do not be surprised if Bearman produces another good result around the points. With Hulkenburg being solid all season long, look for Haas to compete for points in Baku.
Ceiling: Top 12 finish from both drivers
Floor: 13th-18th place finish from both drivers
Kick Sauber
Any sort of hopeful expectations for Kick Sauber have been non-existent basically all year long. Kick Sauber haven't sniffed the points all season, with their best result of the season happening in the opening race in Bahrain. With the car so far off the pace, and no sign of improvement, expect Kick Sauber to once again be the bottom-dwellers of the weekend.
Ceiling: Outside the bottom 5 from one driver
Floor: Bottom 3 finish from both drivers
McLaren
McLaren should be the team to beat this weekend in Azerbaijan. Their pace is evident, with drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri performing at the top of their game. The only thing stopping them is themselves. If all goes right this weekend, McLaren could be the new leader in the Constructors' Championship, while also making ground against Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the Drivers' standings. Oscar Piastri has said this weekend that he will do what he needs to do in order to help the team and Lando, even if that means sacrificing a place in order to give Norris more points. This is the first time we have heard anyone at McLaren speak about their intentions going into the rest of the year, but we will just have to wait and see if the papaya team live up to their word. With that said, it is expected by the fans and team alike that McLaren will be fighting at the top in qualifying and the race.
Ceiling: 1st and 2nd place
Floor: Top 6 finish from both drivers
Mercedes
Mercedes have been slightly off the pace of the top teams since the summer break ended, with the team not producing the results they were hoping to produce. Mercedes have made significant progress in their car design this year, so the question is whether or not they can maintain a high enough level car to fight for podiums every race weekend. The team seems confident, however they are still a wild card going into the Baku street circuit. The ceiling of what Mercedes can produce is always high, however whether or not they can achieve that this weekend will not be known until they take the track in qualifying. Even with the uncertainty, ever count Mercedes out. One can expect them to finish with at at least one of their drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, to finish in the top 6, if not both of them.
Ceiling: A podium finish from at least one driver
Floor: 6th-9th place finish from both drivers
Racing Bulls
Coming off a up and down weekend in Monza, RB have consistently put themselves in a position to fight for the bottom of the points each race weekend. Daniel Ricciardo hopes to keep his momentum going while Yuki Tsunoda will be looking to reset from his poor shows the past few races. Points are always a possability for RB, with the team also in a position to improve in both the Drivers' and Construstors' standings, so expect RB to work their hardest to produce a good result.
Ceiling: Points finish from both drivers
Floor: Bottom 6 finish from both drivers
Red Bull
Red Bull is currently in survival mode. Their pace had gotten worse and worse each race weekend, with the car's problems getting worse and worse. Max Verstappen is still the best driver on the grid, but his talent is not being overshadowed by the problems of the car, which is opening the window to McLaren and Ferrari to fight for both Championships. The team will be working hard to salvage what good they have left in the car and hopefully hold on to their place in both Championships, however that prospect is looking less and less likely every weekend. However, Verstappen is still elite, and Sergio Perez has been incredible in Baku, so do not be surprised if the drivers do what is needed to produce a good result.
Ceiling: Race win
Floor: 6th-10th place finish from both drivers
Williams
Williams have been on a much better run of form lately. Alex Albon has put together a couple nice results while Franco Colapinto exceeded expectations in his Formula One debut. Williams is always a sneaky team, and with the car improving, have a chance at another good weekend. The idea of Williams fighting for points is not that far off, and could be something we see more times than not as we go into the rest of the season.
Ceiling: 9th-12th place for both drivers
Floor: 14th-18th place for both drivers
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Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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