Azerbaijan arrived

Once the noise of Monza, the famous "temple of speed," has subsided, we can say it didn't leave many positive impressions or an interesting and hard-fought race beyond Max Verstappen's great victory. The Dutchman won practically from start to finish in a last, desperate attempt to retain a world title that had slipped through his fingers amid the overwhelming advance of McLaren vehicles. Unfortunately for his aspirations, not one but both cars are at a superlative level, reason enough to predict sure success after many frustrating seasons. This statement might seem reckless with a third of the races left to run, but common sense dictates that all has been said.

Good old Max has to wait and pray that next year the new regulations and a car, as expected by Red Bull, will return him to the top spot he deserves as the best of this era. It's dizzying to think that the team is abandoning the extraordinary Honda engine that currently powers its cars, but they know what they're doing, so let's have confidence in their decision.

With the noise of Monza quieted, as I mentioned earlier, it's time, two weeks later, for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the 17th round of a championship that features 24 Grands Prix. The chosen venue is the small state of Turkish descent located in the Caucasus region, and its venue is the same as always, the one used since 2016: the Baku City Circuit, a narrow, fast, and dangerous street circuit. We already spoke about its characteristics a couple of days ago.

This morning, the first free practice session began very early, and in a little while, the second hour will arrive, where perhaps we'll be able to see more and begin to outline the teams' sensations and possible performances. Something to get excited about and draw conclusions that are unlikely to be repeated in the race. We do it because we like to anticipate the competition and speculate on strong emotions, with battles at the front and in the middle positions, with overtakes and other unexpected twists and turns that contribute to a more interesting race. These days, these dreams are more utopia than reality, but that's how we are, and after all, we contribute to our anxiety to make the race interesting, even if it's short-lived, and we surrender to reality.

And Baku started slowly, very slowly, I'd say, because just as the cars were getting a feel for the track, just as the soft C6 compound tires, being used for the first time, were providing the first data to determine if they're good, how long they last, and if they could even be used in a race, a problem with a curb caused part of the rubber covering the joint with the asphalt to come loose, and the red flag waved for a while. It was then changed to yellow, but the problem persisted. It dragged on, and the hour was two-thirds over.

Little time to practice, to fine-tune the vehicles, almost none at all. That's the problem with street circuits: anything can fail when it's built in a few days for a few hours of use.

The hour passed, and they didn't even get to test any full tanks or other compounds. Let's hope that in a little while, when the second free practice session begins, things will be a little better and we'll get a glimpse of what might happen on Sunday.

We only saw a few blockages and runs along one of the relief lanes: Bortoletto twice, as well as Verstappen, Hadjar, and Ocón. Piastri hit one of the nearby walls harder than he would have liked at the most dangerous corner on the circuit, typical of these early practice sessions, although we were left wanting more.

This is just beginning, almost literally.