F1 Azerbaijan GP: Stroll looking to continue his points streak at Baku
THE CANADIAN DRIVER HAD SCORED HIS MAIDEN F1 PODIUM IN 2017 IN BAKU AND FINISHED IN THE POINTS LAST YEAR
We can say things have not gone his way since the beginning of the season but Lance is looking froward to Baku: “I’m really pumped for this weekend in Baku. It’s a circuit I enjoy and a race with happy memories for me. I scored my first podium there in 2017 and I picked up points last year too. Baku is one of those races where you have to take your chances and make those opportunities count.
“I enjoy street circuits generally and the layout in Baku is great fun to drive. It’s quite a technical lap because there are lots of 90-degree corners, but also some really quick sections. The end of the lap is really fast and because it’s a street track the walls are really close to you. It’s tight with no margin for error and it always looks really spectacular on TV.
“This weekend is a good opportunity for us to score some more points. I think the track layout will suit us better than Bahrain and China, and we’ve done lots of preparation work in the simulator. I think we will see plenty of slipstreaming down the main straight again this year so I would expect some close racing.”
Baku has been a very good track for the previous Force India outfit. With the same personnel SportPesa Racing Point is ready to continue amassing great results as Otmar Szafnauer points out: “We arrive in Baku determined to extend our run of points finishes. It’s a place where we have had success in the past and I think the track layout will play more to our strengths compared to Bahrain and China. At this time of year we just need to keep up our consistency and picking up points when we can. We know the middle of the grid is very close but nobody is running away in the points’ race just yet. There is all to play for because we are only five points away from fourth place in the standings.”
Image: Racing Point F1
