F1 Equestria: Duels of the Century

Duel Highlights
Round 4: Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Duel 1: CEL (Alfa-Romeo) VS GAL (BWT Racing Point) VS FLT (Toro Rosso) VS OCE (Toro Rosso)

Duel 1 was supposed to be close but turned out to be anything but. First onto the track was Ocellus in her STR14. Although she looked like she was handing the track like a champion, in reality, she felt very intimidated by both Celestia being in her round and the speed in which she had to take the Castle Section. In fact, when she came around for her hot lap, her intimidation got the better of her, which caused the timid changeling to make multiple mistakes. But the worst was when she took Turn 8 at around 70 kph, when most drivers race through the turn at at least 100 kph. This cost Ocellus a few more seconds, and she finished her lap with a dismal lap time of 1.44.496.

Next up was Celestia. She was expected to post a time well within the time needed to gain a spot in the final and further extend her lead in the Driver's Championship. But this was not the case. As she set off on her timed lap, she started to feel the pressure of the tight Baku course. And not even the great driving of Celestia herself could deal with this track. Going into the infamous Turn 8, Celestia let her nerves get the better of her and she locked her brakes and skidded into the barriers. Her run was also over. Also, this incident would spark reactions from all the other drivers and has also been unofficially credited as the sole reason that most of the top-tier drivers failed to qualify for the finals.

The third driver onto the track was Gallus. And after Celestia's crash, it was doubted if any of the drivers could qualify with a competitive time. But nopony told that to Gallus. He was as confident as ever and was determined to set the fastest time. He didn't let Celestia's shocking crash stop him from setting a really quick lap time of 1.40.733.

Finally, was Fluttershy of the Toro Rosso team. She also felt confident with the track, as it suited her clean and respectable driving style. Somehow, she managed to keep her STR14 under control and was able to set a very quick lap of 1.40.971.

Duel 3: TWI (Mercedes-AMG Petronas) VS RBD (Scuderia Ferrari) VS PIN (Aston-Martin Red Bull) VS APP (McLaren)

Duel 3 was between three of the front-runners and back-runner, Applejack. After Celestia's crash, nopony was sure who would take the top spot.

And first up, was Twilight. She was intellectual with her car and made multiple adjustments to her car. The car's aerodynamics were tweaked, the fuel load was lightened to it's limit and many more calculations were made to make sure that Twilight would have the best chance to set a fast lap. And she did very well, but it wasn't the best lap when compared to Gallus' time of 1.40.733. The lap time was a 1.42.021.

Next, Rainbow Dash was up. Although, this time she was lacking her part of confidence and cockiness. Possibly when she found out about Leclerc's accident, or when she saw Celestia's wreck. Either way, she had a lot of trouble with the circuit and posted a time of 1.42.830

Next, was Pinkie Pie. She didn't have a care in the world and despite feeling bad for Celestia, she planned on racing to the best of her ability. And race to the best of her ability she did. She posted a very fast lap time of 1.41.782

Last up was Applejack. While the tight streets and corners of the Baku Circuit suited the McLaren car, it was Applejack's driving that let the team down. She felt intimidated by the city and being a simple, outdoorsy cowpony didn't help. She didn't handle the track well. Her lap time was a very bad 1.43.011.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie had the fastest laps and moved on.

Duel 4: LTD (Scuderia Ferrari) VS AKU (Mercedes-AMG Petronas) VS LUN (Alfa-Romeo) VS SUR (Renault)

Duel 4 was between two of the top drivers against two of the secondary drivers from the mid-pack teams.

First onto the track was Akula, for the Mercedes team. Many expected that Akula would power through the stage and take the victory easily and snatch the pole position from Gallus. But then again, those who expected that didn't even know Akula well enough. Akula, in fact, absolutely HATED city courses with every fibre in his changeling body. Although it was the Monaco circuit that Akula hated the most, Baku was close behind it. The only thing that saved Baku from being his last favourite track was the long straightaways in the first and third sectors, which Akula could use to perform his signature late-braking attack in Turn 1.

Although Baku wasn't his favourite circuit, he still tried his hardest to set a lap that could get him into the final and close the points gap between him, Celestia and his teammate, Viral. Also, he needed the points to extend the lead that Mercedes had in the Constructors Championship. And Akula did post a competitive lap time of 1.42.476. It wasn't the best, but it was competitive.

Next up, was Lightning Dust. She was very confident in her ability and the fact that Dash had bowed out of her Duel only made her more cocky. She bragged that her driving would set a time that would destroy Gallus' time. Dust could talk-the-talk, but could she walk-the-walk?

No.

As she blasted down the home straight at full speed to start her flying lap, she locked her brakes while slowing for Turn 1 and she flat-spotted the tyres. Although she was able to fix her mistake, the flat-spotted tyres were very badly done in. When she slowed for Turn 12, the tyres gave out and she lost control, crashing into the barriers. She would not post a lap.

After Dust, was Luna. And out of all the drivers shook by Celestia's crash, Luna was the most shook. She began to doubt herself, wondering if she could even complete a lap if her sister can't. However, just before Luna was about to take to the circuit, Antonio and Celestia came in to comfort her. And that seemed to kick something inside of her. She set off on her lap and she did very well. Her lap time was a very quick 1.41.103.

Finally, Suri took too the track. She wasn't very confident in her ability to handle the track. It showed, as going into Turn 1 to start her flying lap, she locked her brakes and skidded into the escape road. And according to the rules, taking to the escape road on a flying lap results in a disqualification.

So, Akula and Luna would move on.

Duel 5: CHS (Aston-Martin Red Bull) VS CHR (HAAS) VS SIL (BWT Racing Point) VS GLA (HAAS)

Duel 5 was between the mid-pack racers. Except for Cheese and Silverstream.

First up, was Cheese. He also wasn't fazed by Celestia's crash and gave his run the best performance he could. He set a very nice lap time of 1.41.781. But that's where all the luck for all of the drivers in this duel ends.

Next, was Chrysalis. Her VF-19 had problems with downforce in the back wing, which caused it to have trouble in the braking zones and low to medium-speed corners. This was proved when she entered the Castle section. But unlike Celestia and Viral, she didn;t his the tyre barriers. Instead, she hit the concrete wall at Turn 9 and bounced off the walls like a pinball, before losing the front-right wheel and suspension.

After her, was Silverstream. Although her Racing Point was a much better car than the HAAS car, it was SIlver's attitude towards the circuit that let her down. She was expected to keep up with Gallus, but Silverstream was scared of the tight walls of the track. Her nature at this track was her downfall. Going into Turn 4, she stopped the car and got all because she was overwhelmed and scared.

Finally, there was Gladmane. For some reason, he was able to have more control over his VF-19 that Chrysalis did at Baku. But his luck would run out in the final sector. Coming in to blast through Turn 15, he suffered from understeer and went into the barriers.

Now, according to FIA rules in this series, if more cars crash in a Duel then the number required for a finals race to be run with 12 drivers, then the driver(s) that have covered the most distance will move onto the final. And in this case, Gladmane had gotten the furthest on his flying lap, so he would move onto the finals, alongside Cheese.

Duel 6: BMI (McLaren) VS DNG (Scuderia Ferrari) VS OSC (Aston-Martin Red Bull) VS SPI (Scuderia Ferrari)

The final Duel was to be very interesting, as three of the front-pack drivers had a mid-pack driver in their duel.

First onto the track, was Big Mac. He knew that McLaren was at rock bottom in the points standings and they desperately needed points. But Macintosh was sure to deliver. Despite being the same as his sis and being intimidated by city circuits due to being from the country, he took it on the chin and powered on through that feeling to post a lap time of 1.42.651.

Next, was DangerDean. And he was running a one-off livery for his Ferrari. On the side pods, a symbolism consisting of two D's (one normal and one mirrored) and three white chevrons facing towards the front. Also, a thin white stripe and a wider black stripe on the bottom half. On the front wing, a white eagle silhouette with Dean's cutie mark below the number 15. On the wing, was a logo saying TBS. With all of the decals, the car still kept most of it's Ferrari sponsor decals. Dean saw what had happened to his teammates and Charles in Q2 and he vowed that he wouldn't end up like them. But despite not crashing on his flying lap, he did see why Dash and Dust struggled on this course. He did have some trouble with Sector 2 and his lap time was a 1.42.112.

After Dean, was Oscura. She was determined to meet Dean in the finals and pushed herself to set the fastest she could. However, she pushed too hard going through Turn 16, as she suffered from oversteer. Her RB15 went rear-end into the concrete barrier and she was livid!

The final driver onto the track before the final race was to take place the next day was to be Spitfire. She wanted to join Dean in the final and ensure that Ferrari took its second place spot in the Constructors Championship. However, just like Oscura, she pushed her SF90 too hard, this time in Turn 12. She spun out and crashed.

Dean and Big Mac would be the last drivers in the final.