Before the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend began, I posted five prediction polls on the Lights Out twitter account. How many of the questions did you get right? Find out below!
1. Will Max Verstappen have a trouble-free weekend?
1. Will Max Verstappen have a trouble-free weekend? #AzerbaijanGP #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) April 26, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: NO
CORRECT ANSWER: NO
64% of you thought Max Verstappen would fail to have a clean weekend in Baku, and you were right. The weekend started badly for the Dutchman with a crash in the first practice session on Friday. Things got worse on Sunday as he and his Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo collided in the closing stages of the Grand Prix, leaving them both out of the race. Whoever you apportion blame to, Max Verstappen is still yet to have a clean weekend in 2018.
2. Where will the race be won from?
2. Which row of the grid will the 2018 #AzerbaijanGP be won from? #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) April 26, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: ROW 2
CORRECT ANSWER: ROW 1
53% of you expected a win from third or fourth in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It was Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo who qualified on the second row on Saturday, but both retired from the race. It was Lewis Hamilton, who started on the front row, who won a chaotic race.
3. What will the pole margin be?
3. In seconds, what will the pole margin be on Saturday? #AzerbaijanGP #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) April 26, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 0.101 – 0.300 seconds
CORRECT ANSWER: 0.101 – 0.300 seconds
The average pole margin before this weekend at the Baku track was around half a second. 62% of you predicted a gap from pole to the second fastest man on Saturday of between 0.101 and 0.300 seconds, and you were correct. The gap between polesitter Sebastian Vettel and his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who lined up in second, was 0.179 seconds. It could have been a different story though, if Kimi hadn’t messed up the final sector of his lap.
4. How many teams will score points?
4. Last year, 9 teams scored points at the #AzerbaijanGP. How many will score this season? #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) April 26, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 5 or 6
CORRECT ANSWER: 8
Last season, nine of the ten teams scored points in Baku. Another chaotic race this year enabled eight teams to score points. Only Haas and Red Bull didn’t score. Kevin Magnussen was the only Haas driver who made it to the finish, but crossed the line outside of the points. The Red Bull drivers eliminated each other with their crash, leaving the team pointless in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Williams scored their first points of the year with Lance Stroll finishing eighth.
5. Which driver will finish higher?
5. Which of the following drivers will score more points on Sunday? #AzerbaijanGP #LightsOutPredictions #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) April 26, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: KEVIN MAGNUSSEN
CORRECT ANSWER: SERGIO PEREZ
From this bunch of drivers, it was Sergio Perez who came out on top. He finished on the podium for the eighth time in his F1 career. Next best was Carlos Sainz, who finished fifth for Renault. Stoffel Vandoorne scored two points in ninth, while Kevin Magnussen, who the majority of you thought would do best from this quartet, finished last of the thirteen cars still running at the end of the Grand Prix.