F1 Paddock Notebook - Azerbaijan GP Friday
Rounding up all th🌠e odds and ends from the opening day of track action at the Baku City Circuit, mahbx.com F1 Editor Luke Smith brings you his Paddock Notebook.
Low grip conditions caused a 𒁃number of drivers to go off-track through both FP1 and FP2. As the Baku City Circuit is only used once a year for F1, no racing rubber will have been laid down since last year’s grand prix.
- High w🦩inds were also causing problems for some drivers, but the issue is only expected to get worse on Sunday according to the weath🐲er forecast.
Rounding up all the odds and ends from the opening day of track action at the Baku C🦋ity Circꦰuit, mahbx.com F1 Editor Luke Smith brings you his Paddock Notebook.
Low grip conditions caused a number of drivers to go off-track through both FP1 and FP2. As the Baku City Circuit is only used once a year for F1, no racing rub♋ber will ha🎃ve been laid down since last year’s grand prix.
- High winds were also causing problems for some drivers, but the issue✃ is only expected to get worse on Sunday according to the weather forecast.
- Kimi Raikkonen denied there was an issue on his Ferrari car that limited him to just 10 laps in FP1, instead saying the team was𓆉 making a sizeable setup change that took time.
- Maꦦx Verstappen had a brief scare at the end of FP2 when he began t✅o slow, but said there was no engine issue, instead saying it was the result of a faulty sensor.
- Verstappen had no explanation for his shunt in FP1, saying he simply lost the r♒ear end of the car and could not catch it.
- Brendon Hartley has taken a new gearbox for this weekend’s grand pri🐟x, but will face no penalty as he failed to finish the last race in China.
- Despite a technical directive being issued confirming teams can affix mirrors to the Halo, Red Bull’s Paul Monaghan and Mercedes’ James Allison both agreed it would be difficult to manage given the tigꦍht criteria.
- In another technical directi♐ve issued to teams since China, it was confirmed there will be no clampdown on blown exhausts for🥃 2018, but there will for 2019.
꧋- While F1 bosses are yet to talk with any teams individually to flesh out more of the 2021 plans, Force India’s Otmar Szafnauer confirmed he is expecting to hear from them before the next race in Spain.
- Most drivers are ꧅likely to try a one-stop strategy in Baku this weekend given the low levels of tyre degradation and the likelihood of a Safety Car period.
- As part of its updated TV package for 2018, F1 placed an infographic over theꦯ Halo during both FP1 and FP2 showing speed, throttle, brake and RPM.
