However, some things became clear at the end of the 17-lap sprint.
George Russell becomes team leader
George Russell’s second season at Mercedes became more aggressive. He begins to impose himself a little more in the team. So much so that after the race we talk about him, and not about his teammate, who is seven times world champion.
Russell’s move against Max Verstappen was a little rough, but the Red Bull driver shouldn’t have interfered. Russell knows he has a slower car and his elbows are as wide as possible. What helps Russell is that he continues to be the fastest Mercedes driver. And yes, that’s despite Lewis Hamilton being in the other car.
Max Verstappen needs to figure out how Lewis Hamilton managed to dominate for years
Max Verstappen is in a very interesting situation at the moment: he has such a solid car that he can afford to be a bit conservative at the start. However, for the born runner that is Verstappen, this caution does not come naturally to him. He still continues to fight in wheel-to-wheel battles.
Was Russell squeezing him too tight? Probably yes. Proof of this is the large hole in the bonnet of Verstappen’s engine. However, Verstappen also didn’t need to attack along the outside line and take risks. All he has to do is look back at how Hamilton fared when he had a dominant car.
Ferrari and Charles Leclerc had no chance of winning the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
The sprint showed that Ferrari lacked the speed to challenge Red Bull, so the best Leclerc could hope for was a place behind Verstappen and Perez.
Worst team in the championship, “Williams” can qualify for points
What Alex Albon showed during the 17 laps of the sprint was an unexpected ability to stay in the points race against McLaren. “Williams” showed good speed in a straight line, and given the failure of “Alpin”, at least the French team is able to get around Albon.
The reduction of the DRS zone by 100 meters affected overtaking
The DRS zone on the main straight has been reduced by 100m to prevent overtaking from being too easy.
But looking at how the sprint went, it looks like the area was shortened too much. While Red Bull can pass just about anyone quite easily, every other team struggled.
There were quite a few DRS trains in the sprint, and the same thing happened at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. A shorter DRS doesn’t seem like the wisest decision the race committee made.
Source: Sport
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
