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In terms of shocks and surprises, thrills and spills, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix delivered more stand-out headlines per square metre of track than any race so far this season. There are some big ratings in store for several drivers - and inevitably, some not so good ones for a few others.
Yuki Tsunoda, RB (Lap 14, Damage): 5.5/10
It's all gone a bit sour for RB this season. They started full of hopes with a new team principal and assurances that they weren't going to be Red Bull's junior team any more but rather its equal partner in success. But as problems have mounted for the senior squad, RB seem to have been left in the corner and forgotten about. The biggest loser is Yuki Tsunoda: this was supposed to be his breakout season, one that would put him in the running for a top seat at Red Bull, but now such hopes appear all but gone. He's had some rotten luck and hasn't scored points since the summer break: the latest upgrades for the VCARB01 failed to perform at Monza even before he was punted out of the race by Nico Hulkenberg. And he suffered a similar fate here with a first lap clash with Lance Stroll. After limping around for 15 laps, the damage to his sidepod proved unsurmountable and he pulled into pit lane. For the second race in succession he was the first and only official retirement of the day.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (Lap 45, Brakes): 5/10
You'd think that Lance Stroll would be top of the world after this week's announcement that technical icon Adrian Newey s joining Aston Martin in 2025. But come Friday it was back to the reality of the here and now. Things started well enough on Friday where he was in the top ten and ahead of his team mate Fernando Alonso, but the situation flipped overnight. While he made the first cut in qualifying he was slowest of anyone in Q2 which put him in dangerous territory for the start of the race. He duly made contact with Yuki Tsunoda on the first lap that punctured the RB's sidepod, and while Stroll was able to continue it was clear that the Aston was compromised. He was able to do little in the cockpit and retired six laps from the end with brake issues.
