The Times - UK (2022-06-11)

Hamilton and George Russell it was
also an uncomfortable day, with their
Mercedes cars suffering from the
return of the “porpoising” issues —
when the car bounces violently up and
down on the straights — that afflicted

them so badly in the first few races of

the season.

“I’m a bit sore,” Hamilton, who was

1.65sec slower than Leclerc in the

second session, said. “We were hitting

serious speeds and it is bouncing a lot.

“I can’t tell you one specific area

which is costing us the 1.3 or 1.6-second

difference to the front — a lot of it

seems to be on the straight, but we

need to get our heads down and find

solutions.”

his views known on a wide range of

issues. The seven-times world

champion, 37, said: “The sport is

growing continuously and we have a

bigger audience than ever before. I

think it has gone up something like 90

the times | Saturday June 11 2022 1GS 7

Sport

Hamilton had a

bumpy ride on

the Baku street

circuit that

left him “sore”

for £24m team salary cap

MOTORSPORT IMAGES/SPLASHNEWS.COM

Since joining the Formula One

calendar in 2016, Baku has had the

highest average number of drivers

failing to finish the race (Lucy Rimmer

writes).

There have been an average of 5.2

retirements per grand prix, with a

high of seven in both 2017 and 2018.

Using existing roads on the shores

of the Caspian sea, the Baku circuit is

occasionally narrow and has hard

walls, meaning even small mistakes

can amplify the damage to cars

compared to a regular circuit.

Mistakes that can lead to

retirements at Baku would, if made

elsewhere, simply result in the driver

running off the track and onto grass

or gravel before returning to the race.

Monaco is similar, in so far as it has

street-circuit status, but whereas

drivers reach top speeds of 180mph in

the principality, it is more like 210mph

in Azerbaijan. The high speeds are

combined with slow, 90-degree

corners at Baku, so engineers need to

find a balance between setting up the

car to be optimised for straight-line

speeds and having enough downforce

to navigate slow corners.

Almost all the collisions at Baku

take place between turns one and

four, which are 90-degree corners

after a long, fast straight.

Unlike Monaco, the track allows for

plenty of overtaking which, in itself,

creates the possibility of more

crashes and retirements. “It is one of

the most difficult tracks there is, one

of the scariest places that I’ve ever

driven an F1 car,” Nico Rosberg, who

won the first Baku race in 2016, said.

No driver has won the Azerbaijan

Grand Prix twice. Championship

contenders Max Verstappen and

Charles Leclerc are yet to get on the

podium at Baku in F1, although

Leclerc won there when competing in

F2 in 2017. Verstappen, in particular,

has had bad luck at Baku.

In 2017 he was forced to retire due

to an engine issue and last year, only

five laps from the end and while in the

lead, his tyre blew out. Pirelli, the tyre

manufacturer, blamed this on the

debris on the track from previous

collisions — another peril of Baku.

Yet, it was in 2018 that Verstappen,

the world champion, had his worst

Baku experience. The Dutch driver

and his then Red Bull team-mate,

Daniel Ricciardo, dramatically collided

going into turn one, causing both cars

to retire from the race. Christian

Horner, the team principal, made the

two drivers apologise to every

member of the Red Bull team for

taking themselves out of the race and

losing crucial points in the

constructors’ championship.

Expect plenty of excitement... and crashes

It’s the hardest track

Average number of drivers who

did not finish

Courses that have hosted at least four races since 2016

Azerbaijan

Germany

Austria

Australia

Bahrain

Monaco

USA

5.2

4.75

4.33

4

4

3.8

3.8

Red Bull‘s Verstappen and Ricciardo crashed into each other at Baku in 2018

HASAN BRATIC/DPPI/ALAMY

Lewis Hamilton has vowed to carry
on speaking out on matters that he
feels strongly about and has urged
his fellow Formula One drivers to do
the same.
Hamilton was responding
to criticism from Moham-
med Ben Sulayem, the
new FIA president, who
had suggested that he,
Lando Norris and
Sebastian Vettel had
become too outspo-
ken on subjects such
as human rights,
mental health and
LGBTQ+ issues, and
that they should
stick to talking
about motorsport.
“Niki Lauda and
Alain Prost only

Hamilton defies FIA boss and tells drivers: Keep speaking out

cared about driving,” Ben Sulayem, a

former rally driver, said in a recent

interview. “Now, Vettel drives a

rainbow bicycle, Lewis is pas-

sionate about human rights and

Norris addresses mental health.

Everybody has the right to think.

To me, it is about deciding

whether we should

impose our beliefs in

something over the

sport all the time.”

Ben Sulayem sub-

sequently tried to

play down his re-

marks in a Twitter

post in which he

said: “I have

always believed in

sport as a catalyst

of progress in

society. That is why

promoting sustain-

ability, diversity and

inclusion is a key priori-

ty of my mandate. I value

the commitment of all

drivers and champions for a

better future.”

per cent and it continues to be an

important platform to use our voices.

“Every single one of us, within the in-

dustry and companies, must do more

and speak out more, to spark more

conversations.”

Hamilton, who is sixth in the driver

standings, and his Mercedes team-

mate, George Russell, will have rain-

bow stars on the front of their cars for

the next three races — in Azerbaijan,

Canada and England — as a gesture of

support for the LGBTQ+ community’s

Pride Month.

Vettel, who features on the cover of

the gay lifestyle magazine Attitude this

month, and who has also been outspo-

ken on climate matters, backed up

Hamilton’s insistence that drivers must

be free to say what they think.

Vettel said: “The topics Lewis is

continuing to raise, the issues Lando

has been talking about and the stuff

that I’ve been mentioning, I believe

they are topics that are very important

to be addressed. It is important to

mention those and to raise awareness.

There’s still lots of things that we

can improve.”

Alasdair Reid

The former world

champion Nico Rosberg

has been banned from

the Formula One

paddock after failing to

get the Covid-19

vaccine.

Rosberg, who beat

Lewis Hamilton to the

2016 title, now works as

a pundit for Sky Sports.

But the 36-year-old is

having to conduct his

role remotely after the

sport’s new-for-2022

Covid requirements.

All travelling Formula

One personnel —

drivers, team members,

caterers and media —

must be fully

vaccinated to access

the paddock.

A spokeswoman for

the former Mercedes

driver said: “Nico

Rosberg recovered from

a coronavirus infection

and currently holds a

recovery certificate.

“He has his antibody

levels tested regularly

and, on the

recommendation of his

doctor, does not

currently need any

vaccinations.”

Rosberg appeared as

a Sky Sports pundit

remotely for the Emilia

Romagna Grand Prix in

Imola in April.

Rosberg lives in

Monaco and conducted

his Sky requirements

from beside the

harbour — just metres

from the entrance to

the paddock — during

the race there on

Sunday, May 29.

Unvaccinated Rosberg banned from paddock

Hamilton wants to
use his platform to
“spark conversation”

Speaking before the first practice ses-

sion yesterday in Azerbaijan, Hamilton,

who in December 2021 called Saudi

Arabia’s LGBTQ+ laws “terrifying”,

made it clear that he would not be

silenced and would continue to make