A Mercedes one-two at the Baku City Circuit, a practice session cut short and a turn 3 collision that put two cars out.
The 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the fourth round of the season, was won by Valtteri Bottas from pole position on 28 April 2019. Lewis Hamilton finished second, giving Mercedes a one-two, and Bottas moved one point clear in the drivers' championship.
Valtteri Bottas took pole and turned it into the win at the Baku City Circuit on 28 April 2019. Mercedes finished one-two, and the result gave Bottas the championship lead by a single point.
Why was the weekend so disrupted in practice?
First practice ended after only 12 minutes of a 90-minute session. A loose drain cover damaged Russell's Williams, and the towing truck then struck a pedestrian bridge, spilling hydraulic fluid. Race director Michael Masi cancelled the session, and Russell's chassis needed replacing, so he missed the second session.
The cover had appeared loose after Leclerc's Ferrari drove over it. Practice carried on with just the two Ferraris posting times, and Leclerc finished ahead of Vettel. The third session passed without incident, and Leclerc again finished fastest ahead of Vettel.
Second practice brought its own trouble. Lance Stroll crashed at turn 2 15 minutes in, and Daniil Kvyat went off at turn 7 with 25 minutes remaining. Pierre Gasly was told to bring his car for weighing but missed the visual signal, and mechanics changed his tyres in a practice pit stop at his garage. That broke the rules, and it cost him his place on the grid.
Bottas converted pole into a win at Baku, and a Mercedes one-two left him one point clear in the championship.
How did the grid take shape in qualifying?
Bottas took pole with a lap of 1:40.495, beating Hamilton by 59 thousandths of a second. Hamilton had qualified second, which put both Mercedes on the front row. Vettel was third, 0.243 seconds off Hamilton's time, and Leclerc set no time in the final session after his crash in the second.
Qualifying was hard on the barriers. Robert Kubica's Williams hit the barrier to end the first session, and Leclerc later crashed into the same spot in the second. Gasly had set the fastest first-session time, but a breach of the 100 kg/h fuel flow limit ruled him out of qualifying.
Kubica, Kimi Raikkonen and Gasly all started from the pit lane. Kubica had made suspension changes, Raikkonen's car failed a front wing deflection test, and Gasly's fuel flow had broken the limit. Antonio Giovinazzi also took a 10-place grid penalty for his third set of control electronics.
Who was knocked out in qualifying?
Five drivers were knocked out in the first session, among them Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Stroll. Five more fell in the second, including Sainz, Ricciardo and Albon, leaving ten drivers for the final session, Bottas, Hamilton and Vettel among them. Leclerc, who had crashed in the second session, set no time in the last one. Kubica, also eliminated in the first session, later had to start from the pit lane after suspension changes.
Verstappen had set the fastest time in the second session, followed by Bottas and Hamilton. In the final session the remaining drivers went out in the order Verstappen, Perez, Kvyat, Norris, Giovinazzi and Leclerc, with Bottas on top at the end.
How did Bottas and Hamilton fight at the start?
Hamilton went down the inside at turns 1 and 2 to challenge Bottas, but Bottas defended the outside line through both corners and had stretched his lead by the end of the opening lap. Verstappen lost fourth to Sergio Perez on that lap.
Leclerc had a harder start. He dropped from eighth to tenth after Sainz and Ricciardo passed him, but he would soon be back in the fight. Verstappen was back in fourth on lap 6, and Leclerc passed Perez for fifth on the next lap.
What did the first round of pit stops change?
Vettel was the first of the leaders to stop, pitting at the end of lap 11 and emerging fifth after entering third. Bottas stopped the following lap and came out fourth behind Vettel, and Hamilton, who had taken over the lead, pitted a lap later. That sequence reshuffled the top five in a few laps, and Hamilton's stop handed the lead to Leclerc.
Leclerc then got around Verstappen on the pit straight at the close of lap 9, so the Ferrari was running ahead of both Red Bulls before the stops. Verstappen stopped from second on lap 14 and emerged sixth, behind his Red Bull teammate Gasly, who had not yet pitted. He passed Gasly on lap 17.
Why was Kubica given a drive-through penalty?
The stewards ruled that Kubica was sent into the pit lane nine minutes ahead of the permitted time before the start, which earned him a drive-through on lap 14. Williams had not been aware of that rule. Lap 14 was a busy one at the back of the order.
Romain Grosjean locked up at turn 15 on lap 25, went up the escape road and dropped from 11th to 15th. On lap 31 Bottas retook the lead from Leclerc, who had still not made his pit stop.
How did Leclerc's race go after he took the lead?
Hamilton's stop handed the lead to Leclerc, but Bottas retook it on lap 31 before Leclerc had made his own pit stop. Leclerc finished fifth, with the fastest lap and the Driver of the Day award, after tyre wear sent him back down the order.
Before Verstappen's first stop Leclerc had been ahead of both Red Bulls. Once his tyres wore, Hamilton and Vettel passed him, but he still set the fastest lap of the race.
What happened when Ricciardo and Kvyat collided?
Ricciardo tried an overtake on the inside at turn 3 but locked up and went down the escape road. He reversed into Kvyat while trying to rejoin, and both cars were damaged enough to retire, though neither needed a safety car.
Kvyat had to swerve out of the way and came to a halt just short of the wall. Both machines made it back to the pits, and the incident never brought out a safety car. That collision decided the race for both drivers, who retired from it.
How did the closing stages decide the podium?
Hamilton and Vettel got past Leclerc as his tyres wore down, and he pitted at the end of lap 34 and emerged sixth. He passed Gasly on the following lap to take fifth, and the top five became Bottas, Hamilton, Vettel, Verstappen and Leclerc.
Gasly and Grosjean both retired on lap 39. Gasly's Red Bull had driveshaft trouble and Grosjean had brake issues. Gasly came to rest on an escape road, which caused a brief virtual safety car while his car was recovered. For Grosjean it was his third retirement in four races.
Race result highlights
| Finish | Driver | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Valtteri Bottas | Pole; fifth career victory |
| 2nd | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes' fourth consecutive one-two of the season |
| 3rd | Sebastian Vettel | Podium finish after an early pit stop |
| 4th | Max Verstappen | Recovered fourth on lap 6 and held it to the finish |
| 5th | Charles Leclerc | Fastest lap and Driver of the Day |
| Retired | Pierre Gasly, Romain Grosjean | Driveshaft and brake issues on lap 39 |
| Retired | Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo | Collision at turn 3 |
Why does the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix matter for the championship?
Bottas took his fifth career victory and retook the drivers' championship lead by one point. Before the race Hamilton had led the drivers' standings by six points, and Mercedes held a 57-point margin over Ferrari in the constructors' table. Four consecutive one-two finishes by one team says a good deal about its early-season form, and Hamilton's second place kept the title fight close.
Ferrari had set the early pace in the weekend, but Bottas took pole and converted it into the win. Ferrari had been quick in practice, but the race went to Mercedes.
Ricciardo received a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish race that followed, for causing the collision with Kvyat. He said afterwards that his reverse had been a rushed reaction and that he had not seen the Toro Rosso behind him. Kvyat replied lightly, saying such things happen in racing and joking that he would get Ricciardo a mirror.