#AzerbaijanGP Race Report – @SChecoPerez takes second victory in Baku. #F1

Azerbaijan GP victory – Sergio Perez scored a comfortable victory at the Azerbaijan GP, assuming the lead from Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen amid the safety car pit-stops, which he did not give up.

The Mexican took advantage of a pitstop under the deployment of the safety car to emerge in the lead after Verstappen had led the early proceedings of the Grand Prix from pole-sitter Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

When the 51 lap Azerbaijan GP began, pole-sitter Leclerc got a comfortable getaway into the first corner with Verstappen second, Perez third, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fourth and Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton fifth.

Behind them, there was contact between McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen and Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon, which brought out double-waved yellow flags due to debris.

At the end of the opening tour, Leclerc was half-a-second ahead of Verstappen with Perez third, Sainz fourth and Hamilton fifth.

On the start of lap four, Verstappen breezed past Leclerc with DRS assistance into the lead on the main-straight and Perez is close on the Ferrari’s tail with Sainz fourth and Hamilton fifth with the fastest lap set by the Mercedes driver.

On the beginning of lap six, Verstappen held a 1.251 second gap over Perez who blasted his way past Leclerc into second place with DRS into the opening corner and off to chase his leading Red Bull team-mate, Sainz held fourth by 0.917 seconds in-front of Hamilton with Alonso a further 1.474 behind the Silver Arrows.

On lap 10, Verstappen lead team-mate Perez by 0.651 seconds who held the fastest lap time with Leclerc a further 2.933 behind the Mexican in third with Sainz fourth and Alonso completing the top five with Hamilton pitting for a set of hards and emerging in 12^th.

On the 11^th tour, the yellow flags were waving as AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries hit the wall at turn five, which broke his front suspension and stopped at turn six meanwhile Verstappen pitted from the lead to a set of hards.

The Safety Car was deployed to clear the stricken AT04 entry of de Vries and Perez stopped from the lead on lap 12 for a set hards with Leclerc and Sainz following suit by double-stacking, Aston Martin double-stacked too along with Russell pitting.

Perez emerged in the lead from Leclerc and Verstappen, Sainz fourth and Alonso moved up into fifth and George Russell jumped his team-mate Hamilton.

When the race went back to green, Perez made a comfortable getaway with Verstappen right on the rear of Leclerc’s Ferrari meanwhile Stroll made a very bold move on Russell into turn two as Verstappen made his way by Leclerc into turn three.

On lap 18, race leader Perez made his way out of DRS range to his Red Bull team-mate, as Russell was let off the hook in his battle with Stroll.

Behind them Haas F1 Team’s Magnussen picked off Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu for 16^th, but the Dane then overcooks it into the opening corner and Zhou snatches the place back.

On the 20^th lap, Hamilton overtook Stroll down the main-straight into sixth place.

At the end of the 21^st tour Perez lead team-mate Verstappen by 1.311 seconds with the latter holding the fastest lap bonus point, Leclerc was a distant 8.137 behind in third, Alonso fourth and Sainz completing the top five.

On lap 25, Perez was 1.5 seconds clear of Red Bull team-mate Verstappen with Leclerc third, Alonso fourth and Sainz rounding out the top five.

Perez and Verstappen began trading blows, and a fight for the fastest lap occurred – but the gap began to slowly open in the former’s favour, particularly when Verstappen started to complain of a lack of balance in his RB19 racer between his differential and engine braking.

By the end of the 36^th tour, Perez was setting laps in the 1:44 bracket, with Verstappen still in the 1:45 range to help the Mexican’s lead increase to 2.5 seconds – which broke into the three second mark two laps later as Perez continued his great pace.

Continuing to set pace, Perez built the gap up to 3.6 seconds but lost 0.6 to Verstappen in attempting to overlap the twice-pitted Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, forcing him to maintain his defences in the following tour with another string of fastest laps.

Perez crossed the line to clinch the Azerbaijan GP victory by 2.137 seconds ahead of team-mate Verstappen with the latter going in search of the fastest lap, Alonso snatched the point away provisionally until Verstappen posted a 1:44.474.

But Alonso, however, went two-tenths faster than his fellow two-time world champion to add to his points tally whilst hunting down Leclerc.

Alonso was 0.8 seconds adrift to Leclerc who came a very distant 21.217 in third from race winner Perez.

Ferrari’s Sainz who rounded out the top five and Mercedes’ Hamilton who was sixth.

The other Aston Martin AMR23 entry of Stroll took seventh and ahead of Russell who came home eighth and with the fastest lap bonus point.

McLaren’s Lando Norris finished ninth and ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda who completed the final points place.

The second McLaren MCL60 of Oscar Piastri ended the Baku Grand Prix outside the top 10 in 11^th place and in-front of Williams Racing’s Albon who was 12^th and Haas F1 Team’s Magnussen who came 13^th in the classification.

The Alpine pairing of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon followed in 14^th and 15^th respectively as Williams Racing’s Logan Sargeant placed 16^th in the order.

Haas F1 Team’s Hulkenberg and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas brought up the rear and a lap down.

Zhou and de Vries were the two retirees from the race.

2023 Azerbaijan GP – The Top Three

2023 Azerbaijan GP Winner – Sergio Perez, #11, Oracle Red Bull Racing – Honda-RBPT, RB19:

“It really worked out today for us, we managed to keep the pressure on Max as we had better degradation on that first stint. I think it was very close between us, we pushed to the maximum today, we both hit the wall a few times, but we managed to keep [Verstappen] under control.”

2^nd Place – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing – Honda-RBPT, RB19, +2.137:

“The Safety Car was a bit unlucky; the tyres were overheating and also the balance, I was struggling and once I got that sorted, I was quite good again in the last ten laps. We know it’s a very long season, you keep learning – it can never be perfect all the time.”

3^rd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-23, +21.217:

“They are in another league once it comes to the race. Over 51 laps it was not possible, they have so much more pace than we do. Everyone is working flat out to understand what we can do in the races to close the gap.”

Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023 Race Results Classification (51 Laps)

* Provisional results

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2023/races/1207/azerbaijan/race-result.html

Click here for the 2023 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.

Round five of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship heads straight to the Miami International Autodrome in Miami, Florida, United States for the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2023 from Friday May 5-Sunday May 7.

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