Baku, Moans and Groans.

(photo : Ferrari)

Who would have thought that a track which produced the highest ever speed for a Formula 1 car,  378 kmh (234.8 mph) followed by a braking zone into a tight 90 degree turn flanked by concrete barriers would produce a dull race with no accidents or safety cars?



That was the biggest surprise of the inaugural European GP in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Street tracks usually result in either dull processions or giant clusterf...s.  Baku promised a yet untried variant for F1,  a Macau for big boys,  with cars trimmed as much as teams dared having to scrub  170 mph or so into turn 1

As Vettel put it after the race, it's a track that requires proper "equipment" yet the race was as short on spectacle as it was on spectators.

(Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas)

In reality,  the most necessary equipment was a Mercedes power unit.   It is obvious on this track how much Mercedes has been cautious in the past in deploying its full power potential.  It certainly seems like the Germans have a vast reserve to call upon whenever another team gets too close.  On a track with a two plus kilometer straight, Ferrari and Renault powered cars had little hope, the Silver Arrows could only beat themselves.

Which they partly managed to do in Baku.  

We get attacked by the Hamfosi any time we dare say anything about the spiritual heir of Ali and Senna ,  suffice it to say, he had a doozy of a week end, starting with him calling other drivers "moaners" on Friday and ending with him complaining about the new radio restrictions.   We'll leave it at that.

I would recommend you read the editorial on Formula1blog.com.  Eloquently put.

On the subject of press coverage:  After Canada, Ferrari got creamed for "blowing a sure victory"  this was both in the international media and in particular with the often bloodthirsty Italian press.     In reality, it's not at all certain Vettel would have been able to keep Hamilton behind in Montreal.  
But everyone is Ross Brawn on Monday.

In Baku, Red Bull made the same "error" but ended up with a much worse result.   Will they get the same thrashing?    Maybe in the Australian press.

(photo: Getty/Red Bull)

Ferrari actually had a fairly good week end, Vettel second,  Raikkonen fourth despite a two stop strategy and a questionable penalty.

It's an interesting stat that as of the start of the  European phase of the championship, Vettel has scored 63 points, Hamilton 60 and Rosberg 41.

Chances are the fat lady will sing Wagner or God Save the Queen but, she has not sung yet.

(photo : Ferrari)

RESULTS - 51 LAPS:

Pos	Driver	Car	Gap
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1h32m52.366s
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	16.696s
3	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	25.241s
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	33.102s
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56.335s
6	Valtteri Bottas	Williams/Mercedes	1m00.886s
7	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1m09.229s
8	Max Verstappen	Red Bull/Renault	1m10.696s
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India/Mercedes	1m17.708s
10	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	1m25.375s
11	Jenson Button	McLaren/Honda	1m44.817s
12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber/Ferrari	1 Lap
13	Romain Grosjean	Haas/Ferrari	1 Lap
14	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1 Lap
15	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1 Lap
16	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas/Ferrari	1 Lap
17	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1 Lap
18	Rio Haryanto	Manor/Mercedes	2 Laps
-	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	Gearbox
-	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor/Mercedes	Brakes
-	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Ferrari	Suspension
-	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso/Ferrari	Suspension

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Nico Rosberg	141
2	Lewis Hamilton	117
3	Sebastian Vettel	96
4	Kimi Raikkonen	81
5	Daniel Ricciardo	78
6	Max Verstappen	54
7	Valtteri Bottas	52
8	Sergio Perez	39
9	Felipe Massa	38
10	Daniil Kvyat	22
11	Romain Grosjean	22
12	Nico Hulkenberg	20
13	Fernando Alonso	18
14	Carlos Sainz	18
15	Kevin Magnussen	6
16	Jenson Button	5
17	Stoffel Vandoorne	1
18	Esteban Gutierrez	0
19	Jolyon Palmer	0
20	Marcus Ericsson	0
21	Felipe Nasr	0
22	Pascal Wehrlein	0
23	Rio Haryanto	0

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Mercedes	258
2	Ferrari	177
3	Red Bull/Renault	140
4	Williams/Mercedes	90
5	Force India/Mercedes	59
6	Toro Rosso/Ferrari	32
7	McLaren/Honda	24
8	Haas/Ferrari	22
9	Renault	6
10	Sauber/Ferrari	0
11	Manor/Mercedes	0