[Official] Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019: Rate the Grand Prix

[Born Racer]

What score do you give it?

[RichardRenes]

4: snorefest

[Peter Mallett]

Ditto. Only made interesting by the possibility that Merc would manipulate a Lewis win.

[Compromised]

Absolutely amazing, I love seeing the underdog teams do well. The Ferrari is mega quick but the supreme skill of the Mercedes drivers really shines through. Kinda of odd though, underdogs winning so many races....no, no, the tv man said the red car is the fast one...

[Aysedasi]

5. Probably because I was expecting some real unpredictable action and we got virtually nothing.

[Compromised]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

5. Probably because I was expecting some real unpredictable action and we got virtually nothing.

Unprecedictable action? F1? I hate to be the one to tell this but...

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Compromised

Unprecedictable action? F1? I hate to be the one to tell this but...

The sad thing is that Baku is the one place where it can happen. But not today.

[steve_r]

Not quite the mayhem of previous years, but I thought it was OK. 7

[bjohnsonsmith]

I thought this year's race, might be as exciting as the last two GPs at Baku and was disappointed that I couldn't watch the race live, so it was highlights on C4. I needn't have been disappointed, as this year's race was in complete contrast to the last two. Highlights never do an event justice but even they were rather dull.

4

[FIRE]

5

[S griffin]

6. Not the most exciting race, especially by Baku standards, but not all bad despite Merc domination. At least there were some things that kept it interesting

[Neil22]

6, not too impressed.

[F1Pete]

The Mercs were the only cars to show up to race.

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[Razor]

4. Was expecting a lot more. Only real interesting thing was to see Riccardo making a brown pants decision and reversing into Kyvat.

[TrapezeArtist]

6. Hard but sensible intra-team racing by the Mercs in the first couple of laps and again near the end. Not much else of note except Ferrari continue to hobble Leclerc, although at least they gave him a punt at fastest lap this time.

I'm not much of a fan of the Baku circuit. It's just another 90 left - straight - 90 right type of street circuit. Some people think the "Turn 8" bit injects excitement. To me it just seems like something out of Peter Ustinov's Grand Prix du Rock. Or maybe, a little like the old Starkey's Bridge on the pre-war Donington Park.

[chillibowl]

6 i didnt think it was a bad race. fairly typical imo.

if i have any issue, it is that the place does not seem to be teaming over with people. all those balconies and i saw one old lady with her grandkid and they werent even wearing team kit. there were some people on one roof but again not a large number.

whats the point of a street race if its not going to bring in people. i dont see this race lasting through to the end of their contract. i actually think its a bad look for F1.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

6 i didnt think it was a bad race. fairly typical imo.

if i have any issue, it is that the place does not seem to be teaming over with people. all those balconies and i saw one old lady with her grandkid and they werent even wearing team kit. there were some people on one roof but again not a large number.

whats the point of a street race if its not going to bring in people. i dont see this race lasting through to the end of their contract. i actually think its a bad look for F1.

I'm not sure if they care whether there are people there to watch it trackside - the country are paying to presumably make people aware of Baku and Azerbaijan. I have to say from what I've seen it looks like an incredible place to visit - job done?

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

I'm not sure if they care whether there are people there to watch it trackside - the country are paying to presumably make people aware of Baku and Azerbaijan. I have to say from what I've seen it looks like an incredible place to visit - job done?

actually think they just signed an extension so they must be doing well. certainly they have presented their city in a favorable way so on that front it is a success.

this is more coming from a personal bias, but if the crowd isnt there for a live sporting event then i tend to find myself wondering why i should bother watching it on TV.

the roar of the crowd and all that.

thinking about that though maybe its a bit of an outmoded way of thinking. size of the global internet audience, how many people can you connect with via social media, is the viewing experience integrated into my cell phone.

i have to admit that i do enjoy following along with twitter to see live comments, reactions to incidents etc. it does add to the experience maybe even more so then hearing the roar of the crowd!

[GT6]

very disappointing race as mercs ran away with it and very few incidents which to be honest we were all expecting, gave it a 4

[Peter Mallett]

It's certainly a lot different to when I was there in 1999.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

It's certainly a lot different to when I was there in 1999.

Without wishing to veer off-topic for too long, can you elaborate, Peter?

[Peter Mallett]

Yes, there was only one skyscraper and that was on fountain square, the Radisson SAS hotel. The square around the castle was full of cafes and great kebab restaurants.

You needed a visa before arrival.

The coast where the fountain is, was covered in oily substances and the oil wells out towards the south were heavily polluted. I could go on but my impression is that the place has been cleaned up dramatically.

[Greem]

4. I started to watch it on Tuesday night and actually fell asleep.

Not the most riveting of races, was it?