F1 | Azerbaijan GP Report Cards – Bottas leads Hamilton, Kimi from the pits to the points zone

Valtteri Bottas 10 cum laude Pole and victory, forcefully resisting Hamilton's attack at the start, just to reiterate his very serious intentions and to rightfully claim the role of world championship challenger that he is richly deserving of, thanks to this new cold and resolute version. Second victory of the season, fifth in his career. AMAZING

lewis hamilton 9 You can see the immense class of the greatest when in the final laps he reduces space and distance in ways that don't seem possible, eliminating the disadvantage from Bottas with his aggressive and precise driving. He bites the Finn's ankles, he would like to overtake him, he has to surrender to the technical limit of the single-seater, but he puts on a show. FIERCE

Sebastian Vettel 8 Azerbaijani version for ordinary administration, not very messy, very concrete. Ferrari, this Ferrari, can do very little against such a great Mercedes and so here is Seba doing everything in the right way so as not to complicate his life and get a podium that is better for the champagne than for the ranking. SAWING

Max Verstappen 8 Excellent driving, he once again puts his Red Bull between the two Ferraris. The maximum currently for a single-seater that does not excel in any area. VALUE ADDED

Charles Leclerc 7 With exemplary tire management, of pure talent, the fatal mistake in qualifying can be partially forgiven. All experience, but it's a shame because it wastes the great feeling he has with this track. The comeback from eighth place stalled on a set of soft tires that just didn't work. He achieved the fastest lap of the race by putting on fresh tires at the end. TWO FACES

Sergio Perez 8 He exalts himself this time too, like the true Baku specialist that he is, bringing his Racing Point close to the top teams. TO ZERO

Carlos Sainz 7,5 Positive weekend for Alonso's heir at McLaren. Seventh at the finish line after winning the duel with the terrible rookie Norris. And McLaren is suddenly fourth force. POSITIVE

Lando Norris 7,5 Natural speed and little tendency to make mistakes. One that will be done. In the meantime, however, he suffers with the tires and loses, albeit slightly, the close duel with his team mate. PROSPECTUS

Lance Stroll 6,5 Far from Perez, but competitive enough to be able to get into the points and put some hay in the farm.

Kimi Raikkonen 9 Once again we carry Alfa Romeo Racing on our shoulders. Condemned to start from the pit lane due to a technical irregularity (the front wing flexes five millimeters too much under stress) he does not lose heart, recovering to tenth place thanks to his usual class in tire management. SECURITY

Alexander Albo 6 Spotless race concluded close to the points zone.

Antonio Giovinazzi 7,5 The qualifying was excellent, the comeback race from the bottom of the grid was positive. He recovered to twelfth place, despite not demonstrating Kimi's consistency. But he makes a good impression. HE REACTS

Kevin Magnussen5,5 Twelfth in qualifying and thirteenth in the race, lost in traffic and in the twists and turns of a race pace that continues to elude his Haas. It's no better Romain Grosjean (5) less brilliant than the Danish driver and forced to retire due to brake problems. Both riders are awaiting developments in Barcelona.

George Russel 6 The car falling apart on the manhole is one of the salient images of Baku 2019. It rewards the great work of the mechanics by at least seeing the checkered flag (in front of Kubica).

Robert Kubica 5,5 Absolute rookie in Baku, he makes a mistake in qualifying at the castle curve but makes no mistakes in the race, seeing the finish line.

Daniel Ricciardo 4,5 With a Renault in great difficulty, a real disappearance, he seems like a distant relative of the driver admired in Red Bull. He even missed the measurements for one of his famous overtakings, going long in a duel with Kvyat. I don't pay, he puts the car into reverse on the escape route and ends up on the side of the Toro Rosso. NOT POLISHED

Daniel Kvyat 6,5 Sixth place in qualifying is a small masterpiece, it's a shame that the "exhausted" Toro Rosso suffers badly in the race. He retires after being knocked out by Ricciardo.

Pierre Gasly 8 Forced to sprint from the pits for missing the weigh-in during free practice. He had a great race, managing the car and tires perfectly, finally proving to be at ease with the RB15, running a spectacular first stint on the medium compound. Unfortunately for him he retired due to an engine problem. INSANE

Nico Hulkenberg 5 In complete anonymity, also because of a truly unwatchable Renault.

GP Azerbaijan 7 More boring than expected, but at least we spared ourselves the crystalline talent of the slowest commissioners on the globe, admired far too much in Formula 2. Better that way. It's a shame for the absence of a real duel between the teams, due to the dominated Mercedes who continued undaunted.

Antonino Rendina

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