MOTORSPORT: Perez wins Azerbaijan GP

The Red Bull Racing duo of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are two wins apiece after four rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 world championship, with Perez claiming the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a fortunate strategy move under a safety car early in the race.

The effort replicated Perez’s win from the venue in 2021, and brings him to within six points of Verstappen, after also taking victory in Saturday’s F1 Sprint.

“It really worked out today for us,” said Perez.

“I think we had better deg on that first stint, it was looking good already from that side, then the Safety Car came and bunched everyone up, and it was again another race on the hard tyre.

“I think it was very close between us [myself and Verstappen], we pushed to the maximum today, we both clipped the wall a few times.

“The way Max pushed me throughout the race was really hard, but we managed to keep him under control.”

Polesitter Charles Leclerc won the race into turn one, however, when DRS was enabled at the end of the third circuit, Verstappen used Red Bull’s straight-line advantage to ease into the lead, while Perez replicated the pass to move into second at the start of lap six of 51.

Pit stop action commenced early, with drivers such as Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) heading in for tyres from lap 10, as Nyck De Vries’ AlphaTauri clipped a wall and parked on track, forcing teams to swing into action.

Verstappen was the first to pit, with the bulk of the field heading in the next time around, which saw Perez lead Leclerc and Verstappen at the restart, however, the Dutchman moved back into second place by turn three.

While there were numerous bumps and scrapes, the race ran cleanly to the finish, with Perez prevailing from Verstappen, with Leclerc a somewhat distant third.

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) claimed fourth, his first non-podium finish of the year, ahead of Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), who resisted a prolonged attack from Hamilton, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), George Russell (Mercedes), who stopped late and claimed the fastest lap bonus point, with the top 10 rounded out by Lando Norris (McLaren) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri).

Esteban Ocon made his compulsory stop on the last circuit, causing consternation in the pits, which were filling with pedestrians, while Aussie Oscar Piastri finished 11th, after battling illness throughout.

Earlier in the weekend, Perez won the opening F1 Sprint of the season, leading home polesitter Charles Leclerc, with Verstappen getting the better of George Russell, after the pair came to blows on the opening lap of the race.

That battle boiled over in a tense post-race confrontation.

Carlos Sainz was fifth from Fernando Alonso, Hamilton and Lance Stroll, with the only major on-track drama of the Saturday encounter being an early safety car after Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri hit the fence.

The Formula 1 season continues next weekend with the Miami Grand Prix.

2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix results:

2023 Formula 1 championship standings:

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