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Right Place, Right Time Yields Return to Podium:
Azerbaijan GP Recap

16 September 2024
Min Read

And that's why you should never take your eyes off the Azerbaijan Grand Prix!

Some late drama on the streets of Baku helped the team come away with some unexpected silverware. Sometimes, F1 is about being in the right place at the right time.

A Tale of Two Power Units

If you were to ask an F1 race mechanic what a good weekend looks like, they would probably say 'quiet'.

It was anything but in Baku, with the team needing to spring into action twice to change both W15 Power Units.

George's issue arose on Friday, as we chose to replace the PU he had used in FP1 with one from his pool for the season - thus not incurring a penalty. A fantastic turnaround by the team saw him only miss half of FP2.

For Lewis, it was a case of needing to go outside the allocated allowance for the year and use a fifth new PU. This meant a grid penalty, the decision taken to maximise opportunity at the remaining races of 2024.

One Power Unit change under time constraints in a weekend is impressive enough for any team, but two is a really mega effort.

Right Place, Right Time

It was clear given how the race pace that W15 did not have enough to challenge for the podium on Sunday, but sometimes all you can do is put yourself in position to benefit from chaos ahead.

A superb effort on Saturday left George just 0.1 off P3, a gap he would have perhaps bridged had he not had to back off on the installation lap for his final Q3 effort for yellow flags.

After unfortunate circumstances with reliability at home at Silverstone, and the agony of losing a race win in Spa before the summer break, this was a welcome slice of fortune for George - particularly after sitting out half of FP2 on Friday.

A 14th podium in F1 and his third of the season, his first since winning in Austria in July.

Best Pictures from Baku

100,000km with MB Power

Lap five of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Lewis become just the second driver - after Fernando Alonso - in F1 history to have raced 100,000km.

That distance equates to 19,927 racing laps, and in total the seven-time world champion has led over 27,000km.

The special bit? Every single lap and every single kilometre of Lewis' stellar F1 career has been powered by Mercedes-Benz.

Incredible Stats Behind Lewis' British GP Win

Kimi Keeps the Momentum Going

A second front row start of the season and a third podium in four rounds, it was an impressive first Baku appearance for Kimi Antonelli.

The 18-year-old Italian kept it clean around the tight, twisty streets all weekend, and collected a third trophy of year - adding a P3 to wins at Silverstone and Budapest.

After Qualifying P2 and scoring points in the reverse-grid Sprint race on Saturday, Kimi now sits P5 in the standings, just over 20 points behind third place.

The final two rounds of the Formula 2 season will take place in Qatar and Abu Dhabi in December.

Everything You Need to Know About Kimi Antonelli

Fresh Prince in the Paddock

A little bit of Hollywood came to Baku on Saturday morning when Will Smith paid a visit to the paddock.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star was welcomed into the team on Saturday, and got to watch FP3 from our garage viewing gallery.

Will then got a chance to meet some F1 royalty, catching up with Lewis and Toto before the start of an intense Quali session.

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