Let's appreciate some damn good F1 driving
While the racing in Azerbaijan was mostly dull, there were still some moments of brilliance.
In Azerbaijan, three F1 drivers showed exactly why they’re among the best in the world.
Their superb driving technique shone through - and it was so damn good that I’ve decided to dedicate today’s newsletter to it.
You’re probably wondering which three drivers I’m talking about, so I’ll let you in on that: Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and the man who won both the sprint and the Grand Prix, Sergio Perez.
The moments I’m about to describe were subtle. They were split-second decisions.
But, I believe little details like these separate the good from the great.
Lewis Hamilton’s masterful overtake
Early in the race, Lewis Hamilton pulled a doozy of an overtake on his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who is no slouch when it comes to defending.
Hamilton’s move was phenomenal because he was just so committed. Others wouldn’t have gone for it.
It came at turn 1 on lap 15, just after the safety car restart.
Hamilton was closing in on Russell as the corner approached. Russell defended the inside, leaving a gap that was barely wide enough for an F1 car. Still, Hamilton gravitated towards it.
As the braking zone edged closer, that gap kept shrinking.
There’s a split-second moment where I was sure that Russell had made it such an uninviting prospect that Hamilton would have no chance of making it through.
But I’m no seven-time world champion.
Hamilton simply refused to bail out and he graciously nudged his nose into the gap under braking.
That allowed Hamilton to get alongside and at that point, Russell was forced to give him the necessary room - and the better line into the corner.
Sergio Perez’s superb car positioning
Eventual race winner Sergio Perez had a keen sense of spatial awareness during his lap 5 pass on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
While the overtake was straightforward (thanks to DRS and Leclerc’s lack of defence), Perez still did all he could to limit Leclerc’s chances of fighting back.
Perez had the inside line for the corner, but instead of braking in the middle of the road, he drifted towards the outside.
It was only a slight change of direction, but it left Leclerc right on the edge of the track. Leclerc then had a small twitch on the kerbs and with Perez alongside, he had to wait longer to turn in.
Leclerc’s line was ultimately compromised and then he missed the apex altogether.
This antic from Perez undoubtedly helped to solidify the overtake.
He reduced Leclerc’s momentum and that created a bigger gap, which ensured Leclerc couldn’t just blast by on the next straight.
Also, it’s probably worth giving Perez a special shout-out here because he was able to hold back Max Verstappen throughout the weekend.
That in itself is damn good driving.
Max Verstappen’s lightning-fast reactions
On the opening lap of Saturday’s sprint race, Max Verstappen had a gutsy scrap with the Mercedes of George Russell. They went side-by-side for the first three corners.
They actually made contact in the second corner, but I’m not focusing on that here. I was more interested in a moment further up the road.
As they went through turn 3, Russell had the inside line, which gave him the momentum to power ahead at the exit.
This was when lightning-fast reactions saved Verstappen.
Russell was drifting towards him on the exit and there was a moment where Russell’s right-rear tyre was set to clip the front left-hand corner of Verstappen’s front wing.
Often this type of contact will puncture the tyre or damage the front wing.
When I first saw it live, I was convinced the contact happened and they were just lucky to escape unscathed.
But replays showed they never touched at the turn 3 exit.
In fact, it appeared they only avoided contact because of Verstappen’s seemingly instinctive decision to momentarily jink to the right - taking his car away from Russell.
It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but it avoided contact - and that meant Verstappen kept his front wing and was able to continue on.