The first was a touch with the barriers that saw him lose a position to Franco Colapinto. The second was a lapse in concentration that didn’t see him react to a green light quick enough after a yellow flag period – and that allowed Lewis Hamilton and Bearman to sneak past.
He crossed the line 11th for the seventh time this season, breaking the record for the most times anyone has finished one place outside the points in a single campaign (Michele Alboreto previously held the record for his efforts in 1992).
Winner: Ollie Bearman
For the second time in succession, Ollie Bearman seized his chance to star on the Formula 1 stage with an assured and confident drive to 10th in Baku for Haas.
Called in to replace Kevin Magnussen who was banned for this weekend after exceeding the permitted number of penalty points on his super licence, Bearman reminded Haas why they signed him to a full-time seat next year with a mature performance across the weekend.
Having outqualified Hulkenberg, he ran in the points, reacted well when the team said he was overmanaging the tyres and battled those around him – including Hamilton – hard on his way to the final point.
In doing so, he becomes the first driver in F1 history to score for two different constructors in his first two Grands Prix (he was seventh when subbing for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Saudi Arabia earlier this year).