Why unloved Lotus 76 may be Colin Chapman's most significant car
A wide variety of Lotus cars are often proffered as the ultimate F1 game-changer – but was the Lotus 76 an unusual candidate which trumps them all?
The pendulum of the Formula 1 championship fight looks to have swung in Red Bull’s favour, with four consecutive victories for the Milton Keynes outfit.
Following Sergio Perez’s win in Monaco, Red Bull now leads Ferrari by 36 points, with Max Verstappen topping the driver’s standings by nine points.
Ferrari has shown that it has the pace in qualifying, but has been struggling to convert its recent pole positions to victory. Azerbaijan – where Charles Leclerc was on pole last year – presents another chance for the Scuderia, but Baku features the longest straight on the F1 calendar and Red Bull have the edge when it comes to power output.
To see the next instalment of this thrilling championship fight, below are the timings you need for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
You can either watch the action live, or catch-up with the highlights later on. All the timings for the Azerbaijan GP are below, with it listed in BST.
Live TV: Sky Sports F1 will broadcast each session live with the weekend starting on Friday afternoon for the first practice session.
Live stream: The action can be streamed using the Sky Go app for anybody that is subscribed to Sky Sports F1. The live coverage can also be watched via a sports membership to Now TV.
Highlights: Highlights of qualifying will be shown at 10pm on Saturday night via Channel 4. They will then show highlights of the race the following evening. However, for a faster recap of all the action, the official Formula 1 YouTube channel will upload shorter highlights soon after each session has ended.
Qualifying | Azerbaijan Grand Prix | |
Start time | 3.15pm | 12pm |
Live coverage | From 2pm, Sky | From 10:30am, Sky |
Highlights | 10pm, C4 | 6:30pm, C4 |
Sky Sports F1 will broadcast each session live, including pre- and post-race coverage. Sunday’s Grand Prix will also be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event, as well as the full build-up, but not the post-race coverage. Channel 4 will broadcast none of the practice sessions and only highlights from qualifying and the race.
Friday: FP1 – 11:30am | FP2 – 2:45pm
Saturday: FP3 – 11:45am | Qualifying – 2pm
Sunday: Grand Prix – 10:30am
Saturday: Qualifying – 10pm
Sunday: Grand Prix – 6:30pm
Existing Sky subscribers can stream the action using the Sky Go app. The coverage is also available via Now TV with a sports membership and you can stay up-to-date with the action regardless of your location.
The app can be downloaded on mobile and tablet devices, as well as specific gaming consoles. Weekend passes are also available which give you access to each live session including the pre- and post-race coverage.
It would be quite easy to say one of the Red Bull drivers considering the momentum they have built.
Max Verstappen is the championship leader and had won three consecutive races heading into Monaco, but then a superb performance from Sergio Perez – helped by a strategic error from Ferrari – gave Red Bull another victory.
In addition to that, Red Bull has a good record around the Baku Street Circuit with a win there last year and considering the more than 1.3-mile length of that start-finish straight — the longest on the F1 calendar — that should suit the RB18 with their pace in the speed trap.
However, if the past two races have taught anything, it’s that anything can happen whether that’s an out-of-the-blue retirement — Charles Leclerc in Spain — or an error with strategy — again Leclerc in Monaco.
So never rule out Ferrari, whether that’s Leclerc or Carlos Sainz, with the Italian outfit determined to halt Red Bull’s momentum and re-gain the lead of this championship.
There will be 51 laps for this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It is a 3.73 mile circuit resulting in a total race distance of 190.23 miles on a track where there are two DRS zones. The first one is down the start-finish straight, with the second being between turns two and three.
However, as seen in the recent Monaco Grand Prix, if, for whatever reason, the full 51 laps are unable to be completed, then there will be a maximum race length of 120 minutes.
(All times BST)
Friday 10 June | Saturday 11 June | Sunday 12 June | |
F1 | Free Practice 1 – 12pm
Free Practice 2 – 3pm |
Free Practice 3 – 12pm
Qualifying – 3.15pm |
Grand Prix – 12pm |
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