Today’s Spanish GP could really go one of two ways: it’s either going to be a procession, or chaotic.
I’ve made this comment to my media center colleagues already this weekend. But I’m getting similar vibes to when F1 first visited Baku in Azerbaijan for the 2016 European GP, a previous candidate for the most misleading name for a grand prix before the Bahrain GP in Malaysia turned up.
I digress! Baku in 2016 was expected to be chaos. The Formula 2 races had been crazy, leaving the entire F1 grid braced for a madcap race that anyone could win.
What followed was a fairly dull affair, comfortably won by Nico Rosberg without even a single safety car period and just six overtakes for a top-five position all race. The thinking was that everyone had played it safe, hoping that would be a way to capitalize on any drama.
Yet come 2017, Baku really gained its reputation for being one of the craziest tracks on the calendar. Daniel Ricciardo won from 10th on the grid, Sebastian Vettel drove into Lewis Hamilton behind the safety car, Hamilton’s headrest came loose mid-race. Valtteri Bottas beat Lance Stroll in a drag race to the finish line to settle second and third. It was non-strop drama.
In Madrid so far, the Formula 2 race on Saturday afternoon was quite tame, but the Formula 3 race in the evening did feature an early red flag after a six-car incident on the opening lap, pointing to the potential for drama.
Over to F1 now to see whether it’s Baku 2016 all over again, or something much more exciting.
