Hit or miss? Azerbaijan F1 team-by-team ratings

Mercedes - Hit

The so-called 'slump' of Lewis Hamilton was finally quashed with a manic victory in Azerbaijan that handed him the championship lead for the first time.

Granted, Ferrari once again appeared to have a pace advantage over the Silver Arrows throughout the weekend, but Mercedes made it count when it mattered as late safety car interruptions made for a spectacular finish. Valtteri Bottas is not the man to take lottery predictions from this week, as cruel luck denied him a certain victory with a late puncture.

Sometimes, there are just no words... phenomenal drive from @ValtteriBottas that deserved so much more. Absolutely gutting - but he'll be back ?#F1 #DrivenByEachOther #AzerbaijanGP ?? pic.twitter.com/wR7NF9SPez

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) April 29, 2018

Ferrari - Miss

Defeat was arguably snatched from the jaws of victory by Ferrari. A certain front row lockout evaporated with Kimi Raikkonen's sideways moment in the final minutes of qualifying, while Sebastian Vettel made a costly error under braking for the first corner on the final restart.

Ferrari had a pace advantage over Mercedes, and without the safety car's intervention Vettel wouldn't have lost the lead to Bottas in the first place. But the team could only manage second with Raikkonen after an erratic weekend for the Finn, Vettel dropping to fourth with a flatspotted tyre having been 10s clear at one stage.

LAP 48/51

We go green for the mad dash to the flag!

Vettel goes for it but locks up, and drops to P4 ?#AzerbaijanGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/aBl6jjJc5n

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018

Red Bull - Miss

Rule number one of motorsport? Never take out your team-mate.

It looked as though Red Bull's drivers had got the memo after Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen avoided contact during a fierce intra-team squabble midway through the race.

Memories of Turkey '10 soon resurfaced, as the Red Bulls collected each other spectacularly heading into the first corner. Being overtaken by both Renaults would also not have been in Christian Horner's script, who furiously reprimanded both his drivers.

The pivotal moment in Baku ?

Ricciardo and Verstappen collide in dramatic fashion

Recording a second double-DNF for Red Bull in three races#AzerbaijanGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/OMwH9Ct9BV

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018

Force India - Hit

It was the race they could have won 12 months ago, but silverware came the way of Force India this year thanks to an inspired Sergio Perez. The Mexican was the only Force India to make it into Q3 and survived a five-second penalty to charge up to third place, picking off Vettel's Ferrari to seal a podium that left him "speechless".

Team-mate Esteban Ocon was eliminated in a first-lap clash with Kimi Raikkonen, but it was a weekend to be positive at Force India as they jumped up to sixth in the constructors' championship.

Never give up! Damage on lap 1, a penalty, and coming home with a podium still! What a race @SChecoPerez! Unlucky Sunday for @OconEsteban who was sent into the wall on lap 1. #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/aiNaEMQps7

— Sahara Force India (@ForceIndiaF1) April 29, 2018

McLaren - Miss

A serious upgrade package is on the way for McLaren at the Spanish GP and it can't come soon enough. Both cars again failed to make it through Q2 although Stoffel Vandoorne didn't even enjoy the luxury of making it that far, falling in Q1.

Sunday was better and a double points finish was a reward for tenacity rather than a sudden turn of speed from the MCL33. Fernando Alonso's involvement in the first-lap incident left him playing catch-up, but he battled his way to seventh place while Vandoorne salvaged ninth.

A double points finish for the team at a dramatic #AzerbaijanGP with Fernando finishing in P7, Stoffel P9. ??? pic.twitter.com/Z4eE642hOF

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 29, 2018

Renault - Hit

The works team finally looked as if it would finally get not one, but two over on engine customer Red Bull at Baku. Both cars rounded out the top 10 in Q3 before Nico Hulkenberg's grid penalty for a gearbox change was applied, but the charges of both the German and team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr in the race elevated them to fourth and fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen thanks to some inspired overtaking.

Hulkenberg's race unfortunately ended in the wall (as it did last year), but Sainz took the team's best finish of the season with fifth.

Feel free to post replays of those laps anytime. And often. #SoMuchFun #RSspirit #AzerbaijanGP https://t.co/vajV9BFTds

— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) April 29, 2018

Toro Rosso - Miss

While a collision in China left Toro Rosso red-faced, a spine-tingling near-miss for both drivers in qualifying further sounded the alarm bells in Azerbaijan. Pierre Gasly said he had visions of flying through the air at almost 320km/h after narrowly missing the back of team-mate Brendon Hartley, who was slowing to a crawl due to a puncture.

"A big apology" from Hartley will have eased the fear of any brewing internal fall-out, but 10th place on Sunday was a mere consolation on an off-the-pace weekend for the team.

Fair play, @BrendonHartley ?

An apology for his teammate @PierreGASLY after their near "disaster" during qualifying #AzerbaijanGP #F1 ?? pic.twitter.com/j7Vd5pw94B

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2018

Haas - Miss

Romain Grosjean quickly made himself a neutral's favourite as he provided a large dose of on-track entertainment in Baku. Starting 20th and last, the Frenchman clawed his way up to sixth place but suffered a humiliating exit when he crashed out of the race behind the safety car.

Kevin Magnussen endured a forgettable race, his best lap over three seconds slower than the outright fastest as he finished 13th and last of those that reached the flag, following a collision with Pierre Gasly on the final restart.

Nooooo......@RGrosjean into the barrier as he was warming up his tires. Race done! ☹️ pic.twitter.com/PJ3OuRgMbO

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 29, 2018

Williams - Hit

Finishing just 12s behind the race winner sounds like improvement for Williams, but the reality still shows it is a struggling team. Lance Stroll bagged the team's first points of the season with eighth place as he kept his nose clean, team-mate Sergey Sirotkin not as fortunate as he was among the lap one retirees. Qualifying spots of 11th and 12th were a pleasant surprise.

What. A. Race.

Lance crosses the line in P8. A solid effort in a chaotic race.#AzerbaijanGP #F1Baku pic.twitter.com/bS01rPsIDX

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) April 29, 2018

Sauber - Hit

Charles Leclerc needed to deliver a strong performance to quash the pressure on him, and he did so in fine style with his first points in F1.

And your #F1DriverOfTheDay is...

It's the man who scores his first points in #F1, @Charles_Leclerc ?#AzerbaijanGP ?? pic.twitter.com/RtitDtY0zA

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2018

The Frenchman was erratic in the opening three weekends of the season, but offered signs of performance gains for Sauber-Alfa Romeo in Baku. Outpacing team-mate Marcus Ericisson, Leclerc kept his nose clean to grab sixth place and the team's best result since Felipe Nasr achieved the same result back in Russia '15.