The 2021 Monaco GP saw the tables turn in the battle for the title in 2021. Verstappen and Red Bull reigned supreme in the streets of Monaco, while Hamilton and Mercedes stuttered. Two weeks later, the battle resumed at another street circuit, through the heart of Baku, Azerbaijan!

The Baku International Circuit is one of its kind, with two long straights coupled with the tight and twisty second sector. There are overtaking opportunities, with the circuit producing incident-packed races in the past. Straight-line speed and "getting a tow" was pivotal, be it in Qualifying or the Race. The track, which made its debut in 2017, tops the list with 70 gear changes over one lap.

Leading up to the Grand Prix, the F1 world got hit with the news of Max Mosley passing away at the age of 81. The former FIA President was responsible for improving safety standards in motorsports.

The Singapore GP also got called off due to COVID-19, and the FOM were yet to announce a replacement.

Mercedes had been critical and questioned the legality of Red Bull's "Flexi rear wing". The opposition gained momentum going into the Azerbaijan GP weekend. 

Mercedes and Ferrari took up new power units for the weekend to extract the best results possible. As for Red Bull, the "skinny rear wing" made a return. 

Who reigned supreme in the streets of Azerbaijan? Time for a quick recap!

Practice :

The tarmac was dusty as FP1 got underway. However, the drivers were able to push as the track got more rubbered in. Hamilton had an off-track moment at turn 15, while Norris suffered from a spin while setting purple sector times ( turn 16 ). The Briton then joined Bottas in the run-off area at turn three, while rookie Tsunoda clipped the wall at turn four, struggling to manoeuvre his Alpha Tauri out of trouble due to reverse gear issues. The windy conditions caused Mazepin to spin and hit the barriers at turn 16, while Schumacher and Sainz ended up in the run-off area at T15. 

Verstappen topped the timesheets at the end of FP1 from Leclerc and Sainz. His teammate Perez was 4th, followed by Ricciardo and Gasly. Hamilton got hampered on all his runs and ended FP1 in P7. Norris, Alonso and Bottas completed the top 10.

The Alfa Romeos of Raikkonen and Giovinazzi were 11th and 12th, respectively, with Tsunoda splitting the Aston Martins of Stroll and Vettel in 14th. Ocon was 16th, followed by the Williams of Russell and Latifi, with Schumacher and Mazepin completing the rear of the field.

Turn 15 claimed its first victim of the weekend, with Leclerc hitting the barriers and losing the front wing. The Monegasque limped back to the pits for a new nose cone and front wing. Gasly and Norris, meanwhile, ventured into the run-off area at the same turn, while Bottas missed his braking into turn one twice in FP2. A charging issue on his Haas forced Schumacher to return to the pits, while a power loss on Latifi's car caused him to stop on track, bringing out the Red Flags. Meanwhile, Sainz and Mazepin made their displeasure known on the respective radios, the duo unhappy about getting impeded by the other. 

Drivers complained about the lack of grip towards the end of their race simulation runs, hinting that the soft wouldn't be the optimum choice for Sunday. 

Perez was the quickest at the end of FP2 from Verstappen and Sainz. Leclerc was three-tenths adrift, followed by Gasly and Alonso. Giovinazzi was 7th in his Alfa Romeo, while Norris, Ocon and Tsunoda completed the top 10.

Hamilton could only manage 11th, followed by Raikkonen, Ricciardo and the Aston Martins of Stroll and Vettel. His teammate Bottas was down in 16th, with Mazepin and Schumacher separating the Williams of Russell and Latifi.

Red Bull seemed to hold the upper hand, with Ferrari in close contention. Mercedes was more focused on race simulation, and its drivers got denied the chance of having clean laps on low fuel. Saturday promised to be an intriguing day.

The conditions were dusty at the start of FP3, and turn 15 claimed its second victim of the weekend in Max Verstappen. The Dutchman careered into the barriers, breaking the front right wishbone of his car, which prematurely ended his session. Bottas had an offtrack moment at turn 3, while Hamilton narrowly avoided rear-ending Stroll's Aston Martin at turn 16. Mazepin was another driver to suffer the wrath of turn 15 when he carried too much speed on exit and his car suffered from a heavy hit on the right-hand side. A loss of power cut short Russell's FP3 session, the Williams leaking fluids at the rear. 

Track evolution was rapid, and the lap times started tumbling as the drivers went about their Qualifying simulations. Gasly was the surprise of FP3, topping the timesheets, three-tenths clear of Perez and Hamilton. Hamilton, who struggled in all three sessions, benefitted from a tow ( by Perez ) that helped him gain six-tenths before the timing beam. The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz were 4th and 5th, followed by Norris and Alonso. Tsunoda was 8th in the other Alpha Tauri, with Ocon and Ricciardo completing the top 10.

The Aston Martins were 11th and 12th, followed by the Finns ( Bottas and Raikkonen ). Verstappen's curtailed participation left him with the 15th quickest time, with Giovinazzi splitting the Williams of Latifi and Russell. The Haas cars completed the rear of the field.

Ensuring a clean lap with a decent tow promised to work wonders for those fighting for pole in Qualifying. 

Qualifying :

Williams discovered that a water pump leak caused Russell's retirement in FP3. The team had to change the power unit, and it was a race against time to help Russell participate in Q1. A host of mechanics were frantically working on his car as the lights went green for the start of Q1.

Mercedes chose the medium tyres ( hinting at multiple runs ) while the rest of the field persisted with the softs. However, all the plans went down the drain when Stroll crashed heavily into the barriers. Turn 15 had claimed its 3rd victim of the weekend, and the session got Red Flagged. Replays showed that the Canadian's car had gotten out of shape at the corner exit. The stoppage gave the mechanics at Williams some respite, and Russell's car was ready for battle when the session restarted!

Barring Latifi, everyone else was out on track with 14 minutes left on the clock. Ten drivers were able to set representative lap times before disaster struck, once again at turn 15. Giovinazzi, like Stroll, ended up wrecking his Alfa Romeo in the barriers. Another Red Flag followed with 9 minutes remaining in Q1.

Norris got flagged for investigation for failing to adhere to Red Flag Procedures. Replays showed that Norris didn't enter the pit lane despite seeing the red light flashing on the signalling system on track. The stewards decided to investigate the same post-session. 

Verstappen, Perez, Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc and Ricciardo were the top 6 with Russell, Mazepin, Schumacher, Stroll and Giovinazzi facing elimination with 5 minutes remaining of Q1.

Lap times kept getting quicker with track evolution, and by the end of Q1, the top 6 had changed to - Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez, Sainz, Norris and Leclerc. Bottas managed only the 12th quickest time while Alonso scraped through in 15th. Latifi, Schumacher, Mazepin, Stroll and Giovinazzi got eliminated in Q1.

Q2 got underway, and despite the high degradation of the soft tyre, everyone chose to set their lap times with it. Ocon had a brush with the wall at turn two but was able to continue. Perez, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen and Norris were the top 6, with Ocon, Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Russell in the drop zone, halfway through the session. Only three hundredths of a second covered the top 5 as everyone headed out for their final runs of Q2.

Multiple drivers were on quick laps with 90 seconds remaining on the clock when Ricciardo made a mistake at turn three and ended up in the barriers. His McLaren was a wreck, and it was the 3rd Red Flag of Qualifying! The stewards decided against resuming Q2, and the drivers that made it into the top-ten-shootout were - Verstappen, Perez, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Gasly, Bottas and Alonso.

Vettel got denied a Q3 appearance by three hundredths of a second. Ocon, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Russell were the others who suffered elimination.

The Alpha Tauri drivers decided to stay put while the other eight drivers put on a set of soft tyres and attempted to put in banker laps. Hamilton aborted his first attempt and continued to warm his tyres for another lap. The Briton's decision caused him to give Leclerc a lucky tow up to the finish line, bumping the latter to provisional pole and three-tenths clear of Verstappen and Sainz. Norris was 4th, half a second adrift, while Perez and Alonso completed the top 6. The Mercedes drivers were yet to set a time, but Bottas could only manage 7th while Hamilton bumped himself up into 2nd! The reigning World Champion was only a couple of tenths shy of Leclerc's time.

While the others returned to the pits to refuel and switch to new tyres, the Alpha Tauri drivers decided to go out-of-sync to the rest. Tsunoda set the 8th quickest time, but Gasly went the fastest of all in sector one, eventually ending up 4th at the end of his lap. The Frenchman missed 3rd by two-thousandths of a second. However, everyone had time for one last attempt in Q3. The drivers exited the pits, and Bottas was leading the train of cars on their out lap. However, the Finn realised that he would be without a "tow" and almost grounded to a halt to allow Leclerc past him. Hamilton was the last to cross the line, losing track position to both the Red Bulls. 

The drivers had begun their charge for pole position when Yellow Flags came out in sector one. Tsunoda, like Ricciardo, had gone into the barriers at turn three, while Sainz got spun around and was without his front wing at the same spot. The two accidents caused another Red Flag, and Qualifying was over. Replays showed that Tsunoda locked up his brakes and ended up hitting the barriers. Sainz, a couple of seconds behind, got distracted by the incident and suffered a lock-up himself. The Spaniard tried to take avoiding action but ended up hitting the wall and losing his front wing. His Ferrari also hit the barriers rearwards, possibly causing damage to his gearbox. 

The curtailment of Q3 meant that Leclerc inherited pole position from his first attempt, with Hamilton slotting into 2nd. Verstappen got denied a shot at pole position and was frustrated about starting from row two, alongside Gasly, who produced a stellar lap to set the 4th quickest time. Sainz and Norris occupied row three, but Norris got a three-place grid drop for his earlier infringement from Q1. The Briton also got three penalty points on his licence. As a result, Perez got promoted to 6th for the race start. Tsunoda and Alonso were on row four, with Norris and Bottas completing the top 10 on five.

2016 Hungarian GP was the last time the sport saw four Red Flags in Qualifying. The stoppages wrecked the strategies and chances of a better showing for a lot of drivers.

Leclerc bagged pole position for the 9th time in his career, and the Monegasque had a chance at redemption after suffering from the pain of a DNS in Monaco. Ferrari was going through a resurgence of sorts, and despite lacking outright pace, Leclerc was able to bag pole position. He also had his teammate to thank, whose incident brought out the red flags and denied anyone else the chance to go faster. Sainz wasn't too far behind in 5th, but the fitness of his gearbox was a concern. 

Mercedes and Hamilton had been a second slower throughout the three practice sessions, but they managed to eke out every ounce of performance come Qualifying. Hamilton faced the uphill task of holding off a disgruntled Verstappen. Bottas had been off-colour and seemed destined for a long afternoon.

Verstappen made his displeasure known with the frequent stoppages, especially the one in Q3, which cost him a shot at pole position. Nevertheless, the Dutchman had a car capable of victory on Sunday and outperforming Hamilton was paramount. His teammate Perez was improving with each weekend, and race simulations suggested that he would be a threat on Sunday as well. Red Bull had the luxury of having both its cars in the top six, pivotal in the Constructors' battle. 

Gasly continued to impress, going from strength to strength, and Tsunoda had an opportunity to help  Alpha Tauri get a sizeable double-points haul. 

The midfield battle between Alpine, McLaren and Aston Martin promised to be a close affair, and neither could afford a slip-up on Sunday. The upgrades were working for Alpine, while McLaren and Aston Martin aimed for damage limitation. A rare error by Giovinazzi cost Alfa Romeo a possible Q3 appearance, but the Italian had a chance to make amends on Sunday. Raikkonen, his teammate, got caught out at the wrong time with the Red Flags and could have qualified higher. The struggles for Williams and Haas continued.

A lot could happen on race day, as seen in the F2 races held over the weekend. The Azerbaijan GP never was a procession, nor a race without any dramas.

Race :

The F1 world suffered another loss on Sunday morning. Mr Mansour Ojjeh, a McLaren shareholder and an influential figure in the team's history, passed away. The 68-year-old tycoon was a well-known face in the F1 paddock, and tributes poured in from all across the world. 

Conditions were windy, and the track was notorious for getting debris strewn over the racing line sometimes.

Red Bull changed the brake-by-wire system on Verstappen's car, and the Dutchman also got permission to start the race on a different set of soft tyres rather than the ones used in Q2. Paint from the pit lane tarmac was pulled onto the tyres when Verstappen got called to the FIA weighbridge during Qualifying, and this would reduce the grip ( on the grid ) hence the permission granted.

Fifty-one laps separated the likes of Verstappen, Hamilton and possibly a Leclerc from victory. Pirelli had provided the C3, C4 and C5 compounds for the race weekend, and teams planned to execute a one-stop strategy.

While Raikkonen, Russell and Latifi chose the medium tyres, Stroll opted for the hards and the rest the softs ( outside the top 10 ). 

The five red lights went out, and it was a clean getaway for Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen ( in that order ). Perez completed overtakes on Sainz and Gasly to move up into 4th, while Alonso was up to P7. Further down the field, Giovinazzi gained five positions to end up P15, while Stroll made up three places to 17th. Meanwhile, Norris went backwards, falling to P12. Russell pitted for hard tyres on lap 2, while Ricciardo got past Norris, only to lose the position again a few corners later. It was a strategic decision by Williams to pit Russell after just one lap on the soft tyres.

Gasly was the fastest man on track, but the battle for the lead hotted up after Leclerc made an error at turn 15. Hamilton closed up on the Monegasque, got into the tow, and took the lead on lap 3. Giovinazzi, like Russell, pitted for the hard tyres as well, rejoining in 19th ( lap 3 ). The race ended prematurely for Ocon when he reported a power loss on lap four and returned to the pits. Ontrack, Stroll, got past Raikkonen for P13.

Verstappen and Hamilton were trading fastest laps, and there was a DRS train forming up behind Leclerc. Verstappen relegated Leclerc to 3rd while Tsunoda got past Alonso for P7 ( lap 7 ). A lap later, Leclerc lost another position to Perez, while Alonso and Norris pitted for the hard tyres, rejoining in 16th and 17th, respectively. Schumacher followed suit on lap 9.

Hamilton, Verstappen, Perez, Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz, Tsunoda, Vettel, Bottas and Ricciardo were the top 10 at the end of lap 9.

A slew of pits stops followed on laps 10 and 11 with Leclerc, Tsunoda, Latifi, Mazepin and Sainz switching to the hard tyres. Perez, in clean air, was now the fastest man on track. Norris got past Alonso for P13, while Sainz missed his braking on cold tyres, ending up in the run-off area after a lock-up. The Spaniard had to reverse back on track and lost four places with the mistake. 

Mercedes decided to double stack its cars on lap 12, and Hamilton was the first to be serviced. The team had to hold up Hamilton to avoid an unsafe release into the path of Gasly, who was also pitting on the same lap. The delay meant that Hamilton was stationary for 4.6 seconds, which turned the tables in the battle for victory. The trio of Hamilton, Gasly and Bottas switched to the hard tyres for their second stint.

Red Bull called Verstappen in a lap later and a seamless 1.9 seconds stop allowed him to emerge onto the racetrack comfortably ahead of Hamilton. It was now Perez's turn to make it into the pits, and the Mexican had been setting blistering lap times. Statistics suggested that he would be the race leader if Red Bull were to execute another sub-two second stop. However, the plan failed as Perez was stationary for 4.3 seconds. Hamilton set the fastest lap of the race but couldn't prevent Perez from gaining track position on him. Raikkonen too pitted for hard tyres on lap 14, rejoining in P15.

Hamilton was pressuring Perez for 3rd, but the Mexican was able to fend off the challenge. Soon enough, the hard tyres reached their optimal temperature range, and Perez set the fastest lap of the race. Further down the field, Ricciardo got past Alonso for P11.

The Aston Martins of Vettel and Stroll were yet to pit. Vettel was extending his stint on the soft tyres, while Stroll was on the alternate strategy, having started the race on hard tyres. Vettel was gaining time on Tsunoda, Norris and Bottas and seemed destined for a good points haul. Verstappen, Perez and Hamilton were trading fastest laps, and Verstappen got told to take care of his right rear tyre.

Verstappen was closing in on Vettel, who had inherited the lead after the round of pit stops. Aston Martin finally asked Vettel to pit for hard tyres on lap 19. The German driver rejoined the race in P7, having jumped Tsunoda thanks to the "overcut". 

Verstappen, Perez, Hamilton, Stroll, Gasly, Leclerc, Vettel, Tsunoda, Norris and Bottas were the top 10 at the end of lap 20.

Bottas tried to attack Norris for 9th, but the Briton fended off the challenge. Meanwhile, Sainz got past Giovinazzi for P13 ( lap 23 ). Perez and Verstappen continued to set blistering lap times at the front as Hamilton struggled to keep up with the Red Bulls. Sainz continued his recovery by relegating Alonso to 13th. Mercedes informed Bottas that it was critical to get past Norris if he wanted a top-six finish. 

Meanwhile, Vettel, on his new tyres, was honing in on Gasly and Leclerc. He was in contention for a 5th place finish. Baku is known for Safety Car periods, and disaster struck Stroll in the other Aston Martin on lap 31. The Canadian, the only driver left to pit, suffered delamination on the left rear tyre. The tyre blew up at high speed, on the main straight, and Stroll was a passenger as his Aston Martin rammed into the wall. He was able to bring his wrecked car to a stop by the side of the road, but the stewards immediately deployed the Safety Car. The pit lane remained closed up until lap 34 as the marshalls cleared the stricken car. 

Alonso, Giovinazzi, Russell and Schumacher dived into the pits on lap 35. Alonso and Schumacher opted for the soft tyres while the other two the hards. However, Schumacher stopped in the pit lane after the team realised that the front left tyre was loose. Thankfully, the Haas mechanics rolled him back into the pit box and addressed the issue. 

The Safety Car pulled into the pits, and racing resumed on lap 36. Verstappen had a clean getaway, but Perez had to defend P2 from Hamilton. Vettel, who was on fresh hard tyres and got past Leclerc for P5, while Bottas lost four places to Sainz, Ricciardo, Alonso and Raikkonen. The Finn was down to P13 and out of contention for a finish in the points. Vettel continued his charge up the field and got past Gasly for P4 a lap later. DRS got enabled on lap 39, and Russell overtook Latfifi for P15, while Giovinazzi relegated Bottas to 14th. Verstappen was the fastest man on track and began to extend his lead at the front.

Verstappen, Perez, Hamilton, Vettel, Gasly, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Norris, Sainz and Ricciardo were the top 10 on lap 41.

Hamilton and Verstappen were exchanging fastest laps when Norris reported excessive vibrations in his tyres. The team checked the data and reverted that all was "ok". Meanwhile, Giovinazzi had caught up to his teammate Raikkonen, who was pressuring Alonso for P11.

Lap 47 saw the race turn on its head. Verstappen comfortably in the lead, suffered tyre delamination ( left rear ), like Stroll, on the main straight and ended up hitting the barriers. The Dutchman was out of the race! While Perez and Hamilton took avoiding action from hitting any debris strewn on the track, Verstappen was distraught looking at his stricken Red Bull, a win robbed by a tyre blowout. The stewards deployed the Safety Car again, and the drivers got asked to go through the pit lane as the marshalls went about clearing the debris.

The FIA saw it prudent to Red Flag the race on lap 48, and the drivers returned to the pits, awaiting further updates. Pirelli was left red-faced after the two tyre blowouts and went about collecting data from the teams. The stewards announced that the race would get restarted to complete the full quota of 51 laps. Hamilton and Mercedes proceeded with a front wing change ( damage suffered as per them ) under the watchful eyes of Jo Bauer, the FIA Technical Delegate. 

Latifi got handed a ten-second stop-go penalty for not using the pit lane during the Safety Car period. Replays showed that a communication mixup left Latifi stranded on the main straight while the rest of the field went through the pit lane a few laps earlier. 

The stewards announced that the race would resume with a standing start. The drivers were free to swap to another set of tyres, but barring Vettel, no one had a fresh set of softs. Scrubbed softs were the unanimous choice. 

Russell suffered a gearbox failure on the "formation lap" and returned to the pits and into retirement. The drivers drove into the grid slots and waited for the race to restart. Hamilton's brakes were smoking as the five red lights went out! Hamilton had a better getaway than Perez and got the jump on him. However, he suffered a massive lock-up going into turn one and ended up in the run-off area! The reigning World Champions was down in 15th and out of the points! Meanwhile, Tsunoda lost two places to Norris and Alonso and was down to P7. Giovinazzi had a good start but lost momentum behind Ricciardo, relinquishing P10 to teammate Raikkonen. Perez led the field and was comfortably ahead of Vettel, who had inherited P2 after Hamilton's mistake.

Perez, Vettel, Gasly, Leclerc, Norris, Alonso, Tsunoda, Sainz, Ricciardo and Raikkonen were the top 10 on lap 50.

The battle for the final podium position was still underway, with Leclerc getting past Gasly, only for the latter to fight back a couple of corners later. The sparring duo fell into the clutches of Norris, who also tried to benefit, but got rebuffed.

Perez took the Chequered Flag and Victory at the Azerbaijan GP! Vettel came home in 2nd, and Gasly managed to hold onto 3rd from Leclerc and Norris. Alonso, who had had a mega restart, finished in P6, followed by Tsunoda and Sainz. Ricciardo and Raikkonen completed the top 10.

Giovinazzi was P11 in the other Alfa Romeo, from Bottas and Latifi. Schumacher, Mazepin and Hamilton completed the classified finishers. 

Perez got asked to stop the car just after the finish, which revealed that Red Bull was managing an issue on his car. There were celebrations throughout the paddock, with Perez having scored his first victory with Red Bull. The Mexican was equally happy with his ex-team Aston Martin and Vettel's 2nd place, while Gasly proved his worth with another fine finish in Red Bull's B-team. Verstappen too joined the celebrations, congratulating his teammate on his first victory.

It was a bitter-sweet day for Red Bull, with Verstappen losing the chance of extending his lead in the Championship. Verstappen had not put a foot/wheel wrong the entire weekend but lost it all due to Pirelli and the hard tyre. As for Perez, it was his maiden victory and podium with Red Bull. The team had been searching for a driver who would deliver at the same levels as a Verstappen. The search was now over. Perez jumped to 3rd in the Drivers' standings while Red Bull extended its lead to 26 points in the Constructors. The team would have loved a 1-2, something that they hadn't achieved since 2016.

Hamilton's consecutive points finishes came to an end after a record 54 races. The reigning World Champion faced an uphill task all weekend, and despite the odds, made it to the front row of the grid. While he led the race up until the pit stop, his car lacked the pace and balance that the Red Bulls enjoyed through the streets of Baku. Hamilton had been driving on the limit and had a shot at victory at the restart. Toto Wolff, the Team Principal, revealed that Hamilton had forgotten to switch off the "Brake Magic" button, which caused his brakes to smoke, and he accidentally flipped a switch that transferred the brake bias to the front, causing him to lock up into turn one at the restart. It was a rare mistake by the veteran but a costly one too. He blew the chance of retaking the lead in the Championship, and as he said in the post-race interview - "it was a humbling experience". 

Bottas, in the other Mercedes, had a horrid weekend. He struggled with setup issues, and the high downforce rear wing made him a sitting duck on the long straight. The team's strategy calls didn't help either, and Bottas' challenge in 2021 was fading fast.

Ferrari had been going through a resurgence of sorts since the Monaco GP weekend, and despite Leclerc's pole lap, it was too much to ask on race day. Nevertheless, Leclerc managed to finish a commendable 4th, while Sainz, despite his error after the pit stop, recovered to 8th. Sainz needs to iron out these errors, which cost him at pivotal moments of a race weekend. Ferrari managed to surpass McLaren in the Constructors' standings but face a challenge in maintaining the status quo for the rest of the year. 

It was damage limitation day for McLaren, and although they got outscored by Ferrari, the deficit wasn't too big. Norris led the charge and almost pipped Leclerc to 4th, while Ricciardo's struggles at McLaren continued. The Australian is in desperate need of a podium or a top-six to get his maiden season at McLaren back on track. 

Alpha Tauri and Aston Martin enjoyed a fruitful day at the office. Vettel's brilliant race strategy and racecraft showed that the German still hadn't lost his fighting edge. Vettel also bagged the "The Driver of the Day" award for his opportunistic overtakes throughout the race. His teammate Stroll was doing a fine job himself until he got denied by the tyre blowout on lap 31. Aston Martin, however, got outscored by Alpha Tauri ( 3 points ). Red Bull's sister team saw Gasly bag his first podium of 2021, while Tsunoda finished in the points for the 2nd time this season. Gasly had emerged as a true leader and made a strong case for himself with his performances. As for Tsunoda, his radio communications with the team need to be toned down. The lack of respect by the rookie towards his team could cost him dearly in the long run.

Alonso had a mega restart and finished a commendable 6th, ensuring that Alpine didn't leave Baku empty-handed. Reliability remains a concern for the team, as seen with Ocon's retirement early in the race. They are 12 points shy of Aston Martin and need strong results in the upcoming rounds to stay in touch with the midfield.

Raikkonen scored the first point of 2021, with Giovinazzi narrowly missing the same in 11th. The 2007 World Champion was setting competitive lap times and drove consistently. Giovinazzi, whose confidence got dented on Saturday with the crash, was motivated and displayed no inhibitions, making up nine positions at the end. The Italian could have finished in the points but for his mistake on the restart.

Haas and Williams had races of their own between the teammates. Schumacher came out on top at Haas, while a gearbox issue for Russell denied him a result at the restart. Schumacher wasn't pleased with the tactics adopted in defence by Mazepin, and the team acknowledged that it would be discussed in their post-race debrief. 

Pirelli needs to investigate the cause of the tyre blow ups since the teams ( Aston Martin and Red Bull ) reiterated that they had no prior warning or anomaly in the data before the mishaps occurred. The incidents could have proved pivotal in the title fight, but thankfully status quo remained between the top two.

In a faceoff between Verstappen and Hamilton, the wild card Sergio Perez got top honours! Mercedes will be hurting after the disappointments from the two street circuits. They will hit hard. Will the Bull be able to stand firm in France?