F1 Paddock Notebook - Azerbaijan GP Friday
Rounding up all the odds and ends from the opening day of track action 🌃at the Baku City Circuit, wuqian0821.com F1 Editor Luke Smith brings you his Paddockꦆ 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 rubber will have been laid down since last year’s grand prix.
- High winds w♊ere also causing problems for some drivers, but the issue is only expe𒀰cted to get worse on Sunday according to the weather forecast.
Rounding up all the odds and ends f🙈rom the opening day of track action at the Baku City ꦚCircuit, wuqian0821.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 onl🍌y used once a year for F1, no racing rubber will have been laid down since last year’s grand prix.
- High winds were also causing problems for some drivers, but the issu♑e is only expected to get worse on Sunday according to th꧂e 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 was making a size🌊able setup change that took time.
- Max Verstappen had a brief scare at the end of FP2 when he began to slow, but said there was no engine issue, instead saying it waꦕs the result of a faulty sensor.
- Verstappen had no explanation for his shunt in FP1, saying he simply lost the rear༒ end of the car and could not catch it.
- Brendon Hartley has taken a new🐽 gearbox for thiไs weekend’s grand prix, 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’ Jam🦄es Allison both agreed it would be difficult to manage given the tight criteria.
- In another technical directive issued to teams since China, it was confꩵirmed there will be no clampdown on blown exhausts for 2018, but there wil෴l 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 expectiꦗng to hea⛦r 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 inf🧔ographic over the Halo during both FP1 and FP2 showing speed, throttle, brake and RPM.
