2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

The 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2021) was the sixth race of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan between June 4 and June 6 2021.
Qualifying was beset by four red flag sessions, but it was the of Charles Leclerc who took pole, with Lewis Hamilton starting second after having his slow on Friday practice, with title rival Max Verstappen in third.
Leclerc led at the start, with Hamilton taking the lead by slipstreaming Leclerc a few laps later. A delayed pit stop release for Hamilton relegated him to behind the Red Bulls, with Verstappen and Sergio Pérez leading. The Safety Car was deployed after Lance Stroll had a tire failure and wrecked on the main straight. Then, with five laps from the finish, Verstappen suffered the same fate as Stroll, causing the red flag. At the restart, Hamilton locked up into Turn 1, dropping down the order while Perez was left to cruise to his second career victory. Sebastian Vettel gave their first podium in second (the 122nd and final podium finish of Vettel's F1 career), with 's Pierre Gasly in third.
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==Background==
The event from the previous season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the current season's running had been reinstated into scheduleF1.com: Formula 1 announces provisional 23-race calendar for 2021, with race officials announcing that the race will take place behind closed doorsAutosport: Azerbaijan GP to take place behind closed doors.
Heading into the sixth round Max Verstappen led Lewis Hamilton in the standings by four points following victory at the previous round at Monaco, with leading ahead of by a point.
Much of the talk in the build-up to the race was flexible wings used by rivals, including Red Bull, which gave them advantage on long straights. Ahead of Monaco, the FIA issued a directive as well as outlining a series of tougher tests on rear wings. The new directive is to come into force by June 15, the period between the Azerbaijan and French Grands Prix, with both Mercedes and strongly voicing their disapproval on the timing of the enforcement. F1.com: Flexi wings – What are they and why is everyone talking about them?
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
4 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Red Bull Racing Honda 	 	RB16B 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	E-Tech 21 1.6L V6t 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 	 	SF21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	E-Tech 21 1.6L V6t 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Red Bull Racing Honda 	 	RB16B 	 	RA621H 1.6L V6t 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
47 	Mick Schumacher 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 	 	SF21 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
63 	George Russell 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	M12 1.6L V6t 	
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	065/6 1.6L V6t 	
Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source:%20-%20Entry%20List.pdf - Entry List (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
==Practice Overview==
The full practice results for the are outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Team 	FP1 	FP1 	FP2 	FP2 	FP3 	FP3
No. 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	1:43.732 	5 	1:43.298 	13 	1:43.557 	10
4 	Lando Norris 	 	1:43.996 	8 	1:43.018 	8 	1:43.011 	6
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:45.415 	15 	1:43.881 	15 	1:43.585 	11
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	1:45.774 	18 	1:46.983 	20 	1:44.054 	16
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:44.943 	11 	1:43.220 	12 	1:43.826 	14
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	1:46.945 	20 	1:45.563 	18 	1:45.711 	20
10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	1:43.757 	6 	1:42.534 	5 	1:42.251 	1
11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	1:43.630 	4 	1:42.115 	1 	1:42.595 	2
14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:44.777 	9 	1:42.693 	6 	1:43.080 	7
16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	1:43.227 	2 	1:42.436 	4 	1:42.778 	4
18 	Lance Stroll 	 	1:45.234 	13 	1:43.812 	14 	1:43.682 	12
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	1:45.384 	14 	1:43.130 	10 	1:43.244 	8
31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	1:45.446 	16 	1:43.020 	9 	1:43.294 	9
33 	Max Verstappen 	 	1:43.184 	1 	1:42.216 	2 	1:43.984 	15
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	1:43.893 	7 	1:43.156 	11 	1:42.697 	3
47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	1:46.899 	19 	1:46.095 	19 	1:45.282 	19
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	1:43.521 	3 	1:42.243 	3 	1:43.006 	5
63 	George Russell 	 	1:45.452 	17 	1:44.557 	17 	1:44.434 	18
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	1:44.891 	10 	1:44.184 	16 	1:43.745 	13
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	 	1:45.092 	12 	1:42.941 	7 	1:44.113 	17
Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.	Source: %20-%20P1%20Classification.pdf - FP1 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P2%20Classification.pdf - FP2 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.%20-%20P3%20Classification.pdf - FP3 Classification (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
Q1 was red-flagged twice, with Stroll first crashing his Aston Martin into Turn 15, before Giovinazzi fell victim on the same spot moments after the restart. They were joined by Latifi, Schumacher and Mazepin in being eliminated out of the session.
===Q2===
Verstappen set the fastest time in the session, with Tsunoda putting a time nearly three-hundredths shy of the former's time, ensuring that the Japanese rookie progressed to Q3 for the first time in his career. The session ended prematurely as Ricciardo crashed his car into Turn 3. He was joined by Vettel, Ocon, Raikkonen and Russell out of Q2, the latter two's improvement runs interrupted from the red flag.
===Q3===
Leclerc benefitted a slipstream from Hamilton to set the fastest time early on, while Hamilton got to second fastest from a tow from Bottas, who could only wind up 10th. Both Verstappen and Perez were only able to clock in third and seventh fastest respectively, with Gasly the best of the rest with 4th fastest. The session was red-flagged for the fourth time when Tsunoda first crashed into Turn 3 with Leclerc's team-mate Sainz, who was following behind, spun into the run-off and damaged his front wing. Leclerc thus secured his 9th career pole, with Hamilton starting alongside him after Mercedes' slow performance on Friday practice. The number of red flags deployed thus equaled the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix for the most red flags deployed in a qualifying session. Norris, who qualified 6th, was given a three-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement during Q1, therefore demoted to 9th.
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	 	6 	1:42.241 	 	5 	1:41.659 	 	1 	1:41.218 	1
2 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	 	1 	1:41.545 	 	3 	1:41.634 	 	2 	1:41.450 	2
3 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	 	2 	1:41.760 	 	1 	1:41.625 	 	3 	1:41.563 	3
4 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	 	7 	1:42.288 	 	8 	1:41.932 	 	4 	1:41.565 	4
5 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	 	4 	1:42.121 	 	6 	1:41.740 	 	5 	1:41.576 	5
6 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	 	5 	1:42.167 	 	7 	1:41.813 	 	6 	1:41.747 	9*
7 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	 	3 	1:41.968 	 	2 	1:41.630 	 	7 	1:41.917 	6
8 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	 	11 	1:42.521 	 	4 	1:41.654 	 	8 	1:42.211 	7
9 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	15 	1:42.934 	 	10 	1:42.195 	 	9 	1:42.327 	8
10 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	 	12 	1:42.701 	 	9 	1:42.106 	 	10 	1:42.659 	10
11 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	 	10 	1:42.460 	 	11 	1:42.224 	 	 	 	11
12 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	 	9 	1:42.426 	 	12 	1:42.273 	 	 	 	12
13 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	 	8 	1:42.304 	 	13 	1:42.558 	 	 	 	13
14 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	14 	1:42.923 	 	14 	1:42.587 	 	 	 	14
15 	63 	George Russell 	 	 	13 	1:42.728 	 	15 	1:42.758 	 	 	 	15
16 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	 	16 	1:43.128 	 	 	 	 	 	 	16
17 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	 	17 	1:44.158 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	 	18 	1:44.238 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
NC 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	 	19 	No time set 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
NC 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	 	 	20 	No time set 	 	 	 	 	 	 	20
107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653 	107% time: 1:48.653
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*Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
* * Norris received a 3-place grid penalty for a red flag procedure infringement during Q1.
===Grid===
The starting grid of the feature race of the is outined below:
Show Grid
==Race==
===Report===
Before the race start, there was a minute's silence for the deaths of former FIA president Max Mosley, who died in between race weekends, and longtime McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh, who died the morning before the race.
Perez and Vettel made good starts at the start of the race, gaining positions in the chain of racing cars. Leclerc, despite starting from pole position, was overtaken by Hamilton before DRS was enabled due to avoiding a tree branch at an earlier part of the circuit. Ocon suffered a power unit failure on the fourth lap, becoming the first retirement of the race. As Hamilton pitted, his pit exit was delayed to avoid an unsafe release upon Gasly. Verstappen and Perez later stopped, the latter's having a slower stop but still got ahead of Hamilton. The Red Bulls' stops meant that Vettel was promoted into the lead in Aston Martin. Vettel would later stop, handing the lead to Verstappen. Verstappen began to pull away as Hamilton stayed close within Perez.
With most of the racers using hard tires in their second stints, Stroll suffered an instantaneous puncture on Lap 31, requiring a safety car and blocking access to the pit lane. When the hazard was cleared, Alonso (P13), Giovinazzi, Russell and Schumacher made their tire change to softer compounds, whilst the leaders stayed out. 
The continued use of hard tires proved to be disastrous for Verstappen, who suffered the second instantaneous tire puncture in the similar location as Stroll with five laps remaining, crashing in the grid start area and resulting in a red flag within a few laps. During this incident, Latifi received a 10-second stop-go penalty for failing to use the pit lane during the incident. 
Just before the standing restart, Russell returned to the pits to retire the vehicle. With the extinguishment of the five lights, the cars commenced again, with Hamilton experiencing a lockup and driving into the drive-off at turn 1 and dropping to last, which became second-to-last after Latifi served his penalty. 
Perez got his second career race win for the race, but had a breakdown in the lap towards Parc Férme. Vettel and Gasly obtained podium positions, the latter resisting a late charge from Leclerc. Verstappen set the fastest lap of the race (1:44.481), but gained no points for not finishing in the top 10.
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	51 	2:13:36.410 	7 	25
2 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	51 	+1.385 	11 	18
3 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	51 	+2.762 	4 	15
4 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	51 	+3.828 	1 	12
5 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	51 	+4.754 	9 	10
6 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	51 	+6.382 	8 	8
7 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	51 	+6.624 	7 	6
8 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	51 	+7.709 	5 	4
9 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	51 	+8.874 	13 	2
10 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	51 	+9.576 	14 	1
11 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	51 	+10.254 	20 	
12 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	51 	+11.264 	10 	
13 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	51 	+14.241 	17 	
14 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	51 	+14.315 	18 	
15 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	51 	+17.668 	2 	
16 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	51 	+42.379 	16 	
17* 	63 	George Russell 	 	48 	Gearbox 	15 	
18* 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	45 	Accident/Puncture	3 	
Ret 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	29 	Accident/Puncture	19 	
Ret 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	3 	Power Unit 	12 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
** Russell and Verstappen were still classified as completing 90% race distance.
==Milestones==
*9th pole position for Charles Leclerc.
*The qualifying session equaled the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix for the most red flags deployed in a qualifying session.
*Second race victory for Sergio Pérez, equaling Pedro Rodríguez for the most race wins for a Mexican driver.
*First podium and laps in the lead for .
* Sebastian Vettel's final career podium finish.
==Standings==
With both title rivals failing to score, the top two positions remained on the top of the driver standings, Hamilton ending his 54-race streak of finishing in the points in every race entered and started. Pérez' victory saw him move up to third in the standings, with Leclerc's fourth-place finish pushing both Norris and Bottas down the order. Vettel and Gasly also moved up the order following their surprise podium finishes, pushing down Ricciardo. Raikkonen managed to regain his points following his penalty at Imola. In all, the bottom of the drivers' standings had a major shake up following the incident-filled race.
Red Bull extended their championship lead ahead of Mercedes by 25 points courtesy of the race win, while Ferrari were able to go ahead of McLaren with their combined finish. Despite Vettel's podium, Gasly and Tsunoda's finish meant that AlphaTauri had taken the 5th spot in the constructors' standings.
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts 	+/-
1 	Max Verstappen 	105 	
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	101 	
3 	Sergio Pérez 	69 	2
4 	Lando Norris 	66 	1
5 	Charles Leclerc 	52 	1
6 	Valtteri Bottas 	47 	2
7 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	42 	
8 	Pierre Gasly 	31 	1
9 	Sebastian Vettel 	28 	2
10 	Daniel Ricciardo 	26 	2
11 	Fernando Alonso 	13 	2
12 	Esteban Ocon 	12 	2
13 	Lance Stroll 	9 	1
14 	Yuki Tsunoda 	8 	
15 	Kimi Räikkönen 	1 	1
16 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	1 	1
Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship	Constructors' World Championship
Pos. 	Team 	Pts 	+/-
1 	 	174 	
2 	 	148 	
3 	 	94 	1
4 	 	92 	1
5 	 	39 	1
6 	 	37 	1
7 	 	25 	
8 	 	2 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==See also==
*F2 2021 Baku Sprint Race 1
*F2 2021 Baku Sprint Race 2
*F2 2021 Baku Feature Race
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Category:2021 Formula One Season
Category:2021 Grands Prix