Johnny Herbert: Baku Grand Prix can bring Lewis Hamilton vs Sebastian Vettel title battle to the boil

Front-runners | Vettle and Hamilton
Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Johnny Herbert23 June 2017

Baku is the race we’ve been waiting for: the chance to properly ignite this World Championship.

We’ve had a captivating battle so far but, bar turn one in Barcelona, we’ve not had the wheel-to-wheel racing between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel that was anticipated. Instead, it’s almost been a case of one week on for Mercedes, the next for Ferrari. But the unusual nature of this race — formerly the European Grand Prix - means this has every chance to be the flashpoint for the 2017 title race.

The circuit is split into three parts: in the first part, 90-degree corners; then the narrow section coming into the old city; followed by the final part of left-handers to the long straight.

The ebb and flow of 2017 will materialise in that trio of sectors: the superior pace of the Mercedes against the Ferrari, which has shown itself to go well in tight sections, like Monaco. I cannot stress how important qualifying is in Azerbaijan and my feeling is still that Mercedes have the ultimate pace over one lap.

But the dream scenario would be to have Lewis and Sebastian on the front row for Sunday’s race. After that, it becomes as much a mental battle as it does the one on the track.

Some of the mental machinations have already been playing out outside the cockpit, with Lewis’ team boss Toto Wolff saying the Brit is in the best place he’s ever been with the team.

In addition, he described Hamilton’s former team-mate Nico Rosberg as “the vicious one” in the former inter-Mercedes battles before the German’s decision to retire after winning the title last year. Is that true? Well, that never seemed the case to me. Just take the example of Lewis in Abu Dhabi, where he backed up the track to hamper Nico’s chances of becoming world champion.

It comes off the back of Paddy Lowe - previously at Mercedes but now at Williams - talking about Lewis’ talent: comparing it to that of Ayrton Senna after Montreal but saying he lacked his hero’s cunning. What Toto was doing by speaking out was putting a supportive arm around his driver.

Is it harsh on Nico? Probably, but the reality is that if he hears this or reads this, all he has to do is look at his World Championship trophy. No words can take that away.

It’s also another indication of team orders coming into play at Mercedes.

We’ve seen it with Sebastian being favoured over Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari and it makes sense now for Mercedes to do so with Lewis as well, as he’s the one most likely to deliver the drivers’ crown on current form.

Where once it was Lewis v Nico, now it’s Lewis v Sebastian. Lewis gained the advantage in Montreal but Seb will have taken great heart from coming back to fourth after his early problems sent him way back. Things like that are key when it comes to deciding this title - and Baku can be hugely influential.

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