F1 sparks back into life after a month-long break due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix. The Baku event begins a run of five races across six weeks, while the majority of teams are expected to deliver a raft of upgrades in the coming rounds which may shake-up the pecking order.
During the impromptu break Ferrari saw its attempt to overturn Carlos Sainz’s Australian GP penalty fail, meaning he doesn’t regain fourth place lost due to a five-second penalty for clashing with Fernando Alonso.
While at Mercedes, it has shuffled its senior technical personnel with key figures James Allison and Mike Elliott swapping roles, as the team is set to introduce major upgrades part of a potential wider car concept change.
The break also saw an unexpected revisit to the 2008 F1 world championship, after Felipe Massa revealed he was assessing legal options to challenge the title outcome after fresh intrigue of that year’s Crashgate saga.
But the main focus this weekend will turn to the first sprint race of the 2023 F1 season, with qualifying lined up for Friday afternoon to decide the starting order for the sprint – unless a late rule change is announced to install a standalone Saturday qualifying.
Source: Autosport