Sergio Perez has stormed to victory in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, beating teammate Max Verstappen to the flag for a commanding one-two for Red Bull and Perez’s second win of the round.
The Baku Street Circuit is renowned for its entertainment value, however, this year’s event didn’t replicate the drama of years gone by. The top eight were ultimately decided by Lap 21 following the race’s sole Safety Car restart, with no further passes coming among that group in the final 30 laps.
Charles Leclerc couldn’t repeat the pace which saw him stun his rivals to qualify on pole for the race, finishing a distant third some 17 seconds off the pace of the leading duo.
Fernando Alonso had pressured Leclerc at times during the race in search of the final podium spot, ultimately held off and forced to settle for fourth ahead of the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
Lewis Hamilton was the first Mercedes home in sixth, unlucky to lose out to a Safety Car having boxed the lap prior. Lance Stroll drove well for seventh, however ultimately cost himself a better result by allowing Hamilton through by running wide on entry to the straight.
George Russell rounded out the top eight, losing out off the Lap 21 restart but recovering well to hold his position. The Brit did build a big gap over the pack behind, allowing him to box for a fresh set of tyres in the hunt for the fastest lap on the final time around, which he managed to achieve.
The two pitlane starters, Esteban Ocon and Niko Hulkenberg, ran in the top 10 without stopping until the very final laps, with Ocon’s stop set to face extreme scrutiny with hordes of teams and media entering a live lane and having to scramble to avoid the Alpine as it came in.
Once they did stop, it was Lando Norris who came through for ninth, with Yuki Tsunoda taking a sole point for finishing tenth.
Verstappen now leads the Drivers Championship by just 6 points over his teammate, while Red Bull pull further clear of Aston Martin in the Constructor standings with a 93 point gap.
Formula 1 returns next weekend with the Miami Grand Prix.
Race Report
Despite Leclerc leading away from pole, it didn’t take long for the Red Bulls to get to work, Verstappen needing only three complete laps to take the lead on the long main straight as soon as DRS was enabled.
Perez followed suit just two laps later at the same place, the two Red Bull running one-two after just six laps.
As the three pulled clear of the pack, the battle behind intensified, rapid tyre degradation seeing Lewis Hamilton, in fifth, quickly brought into range of the two Aston Martins before stopping to switch to the hard compound.
Mercedes was unfortunate to miss a trick with Hamilton’s stop, a Safety Car called for with a stranded Nyck De Vries sustaining damage following contact with the inside wall at Turn 5, coming to a halt in the Turn 6 runoff.
Perez had bridged the gap to his teammate up front when the initial yellows were shown, Red Bull boxing Verstappen with the Safety Car period looming but not yet called.
Staying out the extra lap ultimately gave Perez the lead, the Mexican passing the Safety Car line before it was called.
Ferrari and Aston Martin also leapt on the caution, both double-stacking successfully to return to their positions deep within the top 10.
Once racing resumed on Lap 14, the order was Perez leading Leclerc and Verstappen, with Sainz, Alonso, Russell and Stroll rounding out the top seven. Hamilton’s untimely stop dropped him to 10th.
The biggest movers from the caution were Esteban Ocon and Niko Hulkenberg, both moving into the top 10 by not stopping, despite starting from the pits, electing for the one-stop strategy.
Perez pulled clear of Leclerc off the restart, with Verstappen returning to second with a move on the Ferrari just corners later. Stroll was also able to clear Russell for fifth, while Alonso picked off Sainz for fourth with a brave move at Turn 6.
Stroll proceeded to run wide on entry onto the long pit straight on Lap 19, making easy picking for Hamilton, who had to pace to move up to sixth.
By Lap 21, the two Red Bulls had pulled 9 seconds clear of Leclerc, seemingly locked in a duel between themselves as to who would take race honours.
A relatively tame portion of the race followed, with no moves inside the top 10 until the very dying stages with Perez and Verstappen some 16 seconds up the road from Leclerc.
Hulkenberg finally came in for his mandatory stop on the penultimate lap, with Ocon’s stop a lap later set to be subject to severe criticism with hordes of media and other pit crews already entering the pit area despite the lane still being live.
Thankfully people were alert to him coming in, several having to quickly move out of the way to allow the Alpine through, putting a slight dampener on a commanding Perez victory.
With Hulkenberg and Ocon boxing, it was Norris who moved through for ninth and Tsunoda claiming a sole point in tenth, one spot ahead of Oscar Piastri.
Header Image: Getty Images/Mark Thompson
