'
We'd been expecting a total crash-fest in Baku. But in the end it didn't turn out that way, with the only (virtual) safety car in the race proving to be for perhaps the slowest-speed collision ever seen in Formula 1. It means that for once, the F1i driver ratings for the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix aren't just a collection of laments about who crashed into who - with one notable exception...
Daniel Ricciardo (Retired, Lap 31): 4.5/10
Just when it seemed that Shanghai had put Daniel Ricciardo back in the game after a slow start to 2019, Baku pretty much bounced him straight back out the door again. He's been complaining for weeks that he's not yet comfortable with the braking system of the Renault in comparison to his old ride at Red Bull, and if there's one place you don't want to lack confidence in your brakes then it's the notoriously tricky Baku City Circuit. Small wonder then that Ricciardo wasn't in the top ten in any of the practice or qualifying sessions this weekend. Even so he was actually having a fairly decent race, right up until lap 31 and that bizarre incident at the turn 3 escape road when he engaged reverse gear without first engaging brain, and backed into Daniil Kvyat. The Aussie admitted that he'd 'panicked' in his rush to get back out, but that's surely no excuse for such an experienced racer. He gets a grid penalty for Spain, two penalty points on his superlicence - and worst of all, a severe demerit in the F1i ratings!
