2025 Azerbaijan GP — Race Pace (summary)
Smoothed mean laptime per driver. Times below are mean lap times and delta per lap relative to the quickest driver (VER).
| Driver | Mean lap time (s) | Delta vs VER (s / lap) | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| VER | 105.10 | +0.00 | Red Bull |
| RUS | 105.25 | +0.15 | Mercedes |
| SAI | 105.48 | +0.38 | Williams |
| ANT | 105.50 | +0.40 | Williams |
| NOR | 105.65 | +0.55 | McLaren |
| TSU | 105.65 | +0.55 | RB |
| LEC | 105.69 | +0.59 | Ferrari |
| HAD | 105.70 | +0.60 | RB |
| HAM | 105.71 | +0.61 | Ferrari |
| LAW | 105.74 | +0.64 | McLaren |
| ALB | 106.06 | +0.96 | Williams |
| BEA | 106.22 | +1.12 | Haas |
| BOR | 106.30 | +1.20 | Sauber |
| ALO | 106.34 | +1.24 | Aston Martin |
| HUL | 106.51 | +1.45 | Haas |
| STR | 106.83 | +1.73 | Aston Martin |
| OCO | 107.02 | +1.92 | Alpine |
| COL | 107.20 | +2.10 | Alpine |
| GAS | 107.20 | +2.10 | Alpine |
RACE PACE — headline takeaways
- Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the benchmark, managing pace comfortably.
- George Russell was close behind at +0.15s/lap, a strong recovery after his poor start.
- Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli impressed, leading the midfield with pace within 0.4s/lap of VER.
- The midfield was tight: McLaren, RBs, and Ferrari all sat within 0.55–0.61s/lap of VER, making traffic and strategy critical.
- Alpine were well off the pace at +1.9 to +2.1s/lap, the slowest team by some margin.
Ferrari Race Pace — key takeaways
- Charles Leclerc was the faster Ferrari on average, running at +0.59s/lap vs VER — firmly in the midfield fight.
- Lewis Hamilton matched closely at +0.61s/lap, showing both Ferraris delivered very similar long-run pace.
- As a pair, Ferrari were consistent and competitive, but lacked the pace to trouble Red Bull or Mercedes.
- Their battle was squarely against McLaren and RBs, where track position and pit strategy made the difference.
Team race pace ranking (average delta vs VER)
- Red Bull – quickest
- Mercedes – +0.15s/lap
- Williams – +0.38s/lap
- McLaren – +0.55s/lap
- Ferrari – +0.59s/lap 🚨
- Racing Bulls – +0.60s/lap
- Haas – +1.12s/lap
- Sauber – +1.20s/lap
- Aston Martin – +1.24s/lap
- Alpine – +1.92s/lap
