Rate the race: 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

34 comments on “Rate the race: 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix”

1. 

   Ronald (@mosquito)
   15th September 2024, 13:41

   What an excellent race! Really enjoyed. Would have been a 10 without the last lap mayhem. Really nice how it was a good race without mayhem without that!
2. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   15th September 2024, 13:41

   An exciting Azerbaijan GP, even if overtaking was limited.
3. 

   BLS (@brightlampshade)
   15th September 2024, 13:42

   That was pretty enjoyable, shame about Perez & Sainz cutting short the fun but otherwise a cracking race.
4. 

   stefano (@alfa145)
   15th September 2024, 13:43

   proof that you don’t need tons of overtaking to have brilliant and interesting racing
5. 

   David BR (@david-br)
   15th September 2024, 13:43

   Superb race (9), not that much overtaking but Piastri’s pass for the lead was worth the admission, followed by brilliant defence. McLaren can quietly put those ‘favouring Lando’ instructions back in the box. Leclerc and Piastri are in the form drivers at the front right now.
6. 

   Tommy C (@tommy-c)
   15th September 2024, 13:43

   I don’t often give a race a 10. But what was this race missing? A genuine 3-way fight for the win with 3 different constructors, a pass for the win, genuine defensive driving, a climb through the field. Absolutely fantastic! Glued to the telly for each and every lap. One of those days that reminds you why you fell in love with the sport to begin with!
7. 

   Asd
   15th September 2024, 13:44

   One of the best races this year: a give it a 6.
   1. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      16th September 2024, 5:42

      Damn, that’s generous!
8. 

   t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
   15th September 2024, 13:44

   Insanely good driving from Oscar there, seemed like Ferrari was the faster car here but no mistakes from Oscar at all, and perfect defense in terms of positioning the car when Charles did have a sniff of pulling off a overtake.
9. 

   bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
   15th September 2024, 13:44

   In 30 years of watching F1. I try to take a moment to appreciate how interesting / exciting this year has been. It feels like drivers and engineers can really make the difference on the day. Nobody wins by just coasting through the weekend. Plenty of talent, new and old, interesting characters….. underdogs. I look forward to Sundays at the moment.
   1. 

      David BR (@david-br)
      15th September 2024, 13:48

      @bernasaurus Very true, there have been weekends past where I’ve actually preferred the Saturdays. I now can’t wait for the next race.
   2. 

      Scotty (@rockonscotty)
      15th September 2024, 19:53

      cant agree more! What an EPIC drive from Oscar!
10. 

    Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
    15th September 2024, 13:46

    I think 7.5 as most of the race was a procession, but I’m voting an 8 as the battle for the lead at the end was classic stuff.
    1. 

       Nikos (@exeviolthor)
       15th September 2024, 13:57

       How can you call this race a procession? Positions were changing all the time and the fight for the lead lasted from lap 1 to lap 49…
       1. 

          MGus.ai
          15th September 2024, 14:54

          I liked the race overall but it was mostly a procession – an apparently fast paced procession, but a procession.
          Yes, PIA overtake was tactically and strategically genius – it kind of save the race, otherwise, as in the first stint LEC would be able to open the gap to PIA, PIA would had an faster pace tham PER, and, as PER, PIA, LEC held eachother SAI would have never had a shot on the podium.
          But given the track configuration, the 1sec gap would mean a 5sec on more open tracks.
          And as in a 5sec gap race, there was little chance to position change.
          PER was only in contention because PIA and LEC were holding each other – IIRC, by the last laps, VER pace was similar to PIA-LEC.
          1. 

             Nikos (@exeviolthor)
             15th September 2024, 20:04

             Regardless of the reasons, the race was not a procession. Three teams were fighting for the win and the championship leaders also had to fight for positions. People were fighting for position all over the place actually.

             It was the kind of race where there was no time for a bathroom break!!! :D
    2. 

       Esploratore (@esploratore1)
       15th September 2024, 14:19

       I’m surprised about the “battle for the lead at the end” statement: piastri, leclerc and perez have been battling for big part of the race, even though perez was rarely close enough to attack.
    3. 

       EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
       16th September 2024, 4:30

       most of the race was a procession

       To be fair there would be few (realistically zero) F1 races where > 50% of time positions were changing. But if we a talking about how it compared to reasonable expectation, then the race was far from processional.

       Not that I am at odds with your rating. It was a very enjoyable race, but I’d say it was a couple of rungs below perfection.
11. 

    Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
    15th September 2024, 13:47

    Couldn’t take my eyes off that… all about what could happen, at any moment – and it did! Colapinto and Bearman will enjoy their points.
    Baku in the sunshine’s good to look at (for a street circuit) too, with a great sensation of speed.
12. 

    Kotrba
    15th September 2024, 13:54

    Very impressive from Piastri. He seems completely different driver to that who often faltered in the beginning of the season. No mistake under pressure for so many laps.

    There is something odd about the first corner, noone really managed to do a switfback move there. The only way to pass going into the corner was holding the inside, and that produced some very tense moments.

    Perez is probably at fault for the race ending crash, but up until that point he did remarkably well, especially in contrast to Verstappen.

    And a comment for Mercedes: What a brilliant “strategy” to take an engine penalty here. That worked marvelously well. A race into a bin for Lewis. If they knew they will have to take a penalty during the season, why not take in the Dutch GP? Pace-wise, Mercedes are where they were at the start of season, 4th team on the track. Congrats.
    1. 

       Kotrba
       15th September 2024, 13:56

       Forgot to include the rating, this was a 9.

       The only flaw is really the track itself, the middle sector specifically, which ruins the flow of the lap. Some track changes there would be nice.
    2. 

       Esploratore (@esploratore1)
       15th September 2024, 14:21

       Agree about merc, seemed a really bad idea, they eventually got points only because of the ending crash, but hamilton was not on course to score points; usually when you change the engine you do so to unlock more performance, and 7th is a decent starting slot, they seemed better off without change.
13. 

    Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
    15th September 2024, 13:57

    Highly enjoyable
14. 

    Alberto
    15th September 2024, 14:03

    Looks like we are going back to 2018-2019 era racing which favours the clean air, drivers behind can’t get close enough out of corners and getting their tires destroyed through out the lap. Number of overtakes was poor for the longest straight on the calender despite DRS changes. Championship will be decided by the qualifying and track position resulting in smart pit stops.

    On the other hand. Well done to the rookies.

    I think this race was a 7 because the only wheel to wheel race ended up on the wall.
15. 

    MG1982 (@mg1982)
    15th September 2024, 14:08

    8.

    Good, close battle for the win. Wish it was LEC the winner, but I guess the better car had the “last word” again. LEC gave everything in order to keep up with PIA lap after lap, but the reality check came in the last few laps when his rear tyres were gone and PIA distanced from him with like 1sec per lap. The Hards weren’t the best tyres possible for Ferrari again, but LEC kinda gave up the lead too easy tho. Should have tried harder to keep the lead, maybe the outcome would have been different.

    Wonder who’s going to be found at fault between SAI and PER. Piastri did the same maneouver to Leclerc multiple times after the 1st corner, only reason they did not finish in the barrier like SAI+PER was that Leclerc took action to avoid Piastri.
    1. 

       Esploratore (@esploratore1)
       15th September 2024, 14:24

       Yes, I was gonna say the same: contrast how aggressively piastri defended when leclerc was very close; by comparison leclerc just let him by when he lost the lead, he could’ve done more there, I think out of his 4 baku poles this is the first time he had a realistic chance to win.
16. 

    StefMeister (@stefmeister)
    15th September 2024, 14:25

    9/10.

    I enjoyed that race more than any other so far this year because you had a good battle throughout in which an overtake was always possible but not guaranteed.

    You had tyres that allowed drivers to push & allowed them to run close throughout virtually all of a stint & a DRS that wasn’t overly powerful when you had cars racing of broadly similar pace and that allowed drivers to defend & saw cars attempting overtakes on cars of similar pace have to actually work for it, Try something different to catch the lead car out or look to force a mistake.

    That should be the aim for future regulations. Create a situation where cars can run close over a full stint, Where tyres need some management but not so much that drivers can’t run close for too long and where overtaking is possible but not so easy that it’s a guarantee because that is what creates the good racing battles, The most memorable moments & the most exciting overtakes.

    The races we tend to look back on, The racing that stands out the most isn’t those where you had 50 easier overtakes & few battles that last more than a few corners; They are the one’s like today where you had great fights between drivers pushing each other hard over many laps & where the overtaking looked earned via a great late braking move like what Oscar put on Charles.

    This is what racing should be imo & it’s certainly the sort of racing I get more enjoyment out of watching!
17. 

    kuvemar
    15th September 2024, 15:57

    Solid race, better than average. 6.7 from me.
    1. 

       Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
       15th September 2024, 19:11

       If you think this is a 6 or 7 or is 6.7, what are you expecting to get a 9 or 10? Harsh.
       1. 

          topo (@vieste)
          15th September 2024, 20:25

          I agree! For those rating this race a 7 or below, what are you looking for from motorsport? Did your favorite driver or team not win? Are you sure you were watching the same race as everyone else?
          1. 

             EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
             16th September 2024, 4:42

             @vieste I would agree that finding this to be a poor race (1’s to 3’s or so) is quite baffling, but I accept that some people find different aspects, more entertaining to others. I really enjoyed the race, but I only scraped above your ‘acceptable range’ by one point.
18. 

    Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
    15th September 2024, 19:26

    Very interesting and exciting race. 9/10.

    I was pretty much engrossed the entire time. There were less than 4 seconds between the top 3, late on, at one point.

    Great battle at the front with some good defensive driving as well. A good drive by Lando to come back through the field. A few excellent overtakes.

    Perez was a bit unfortunate I think to lose his position when he’d finally put in a good performance.
19. 

    EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
    16th September 2024, 4:49

    It was fun.

    Great to see some flat out – or ‘flat out within the acceptable limits of the tyres and fuel consumption’ – racing. Some great shots of Piastri and Leclerc synchronized drifting.

    Some days it seems like Perez doesn’t have an ally here at all. Now he seems to have quite the fan club, though I would agree that he had a great weekend (apart from a tiny incident at the end).
20. 

    Esploratore (@esploratore1)
    16th September 2024, 5:46

    10 (14%)
    9 (42%)
    8 (34%)
    7 (7%)
    4 (1%)
    3 (1%)
    2 (1%)
    1 (1%)
    Total Voters: 119

    Wow, that’s a super rating, particularly no 5 or 6 given!

    I went for 8 cause I felt like there was still margin of improvement with rain and other unpredictable events, still over 3\4 of voters went for either 8 or 9 and 90% went for 8 or higher!

    Obviously the most interesting thing was the 3-way battle that lasted most of the race for the lead, with only piastri being able to actually overtake leclerc early on and never the other way around, then there was only some overtake here and there, no safety car at a time where it mattered.

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