Azerbaijan GP: Sergio Perez WINS Sprint Race, Leclerc Finishes 2nd & Verstappen 3rd

Azerbaijan GP: Sergio Perez WINS the Sprint race at Baku. Charles Leclerc fought hard to Max Verstappen behind to claim the 2nd spot. George Russell couldn’t fight with Max and had to settle for the 4th spot. Carlos Sainz had a lonely race where he managed to keep his fifth place. A poor outing from Lewis Hamilton saw him losing a spot from Fernando Alonso and finishing 7th. Lance Stroll finished on the last spot for the points counting. Follow Formula 1 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.

Sprint Race Highlights

1 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing
2 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +4.463
3 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing +5.065
4 George RUSSELL Mercedes +8.532
5 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +10.388
6 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +11.613
7 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +16.503
8 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +18.417

Also Read: Azerbaijan GP LIVE: Hattrick of Poles in Baku for Leclerc, Verstappen 2nd and Hamilton 5th after Qualifying – Check Highlights

Sergio Perez won Saturday’s sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to maintain Red Bull’s perfect start to the season. Ferrari’s pole-sitter Charles Leclerc took second with Max Verstappen in third to keep his lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of Sunday’s main event. Leclerc is on pole again for the fourth round of the season but judged on this display he will have his work cut out again to clip the Red Bulls’ wings.

Perez was adding the first of six sprint races in 2023 to his win in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Verstappen taking the season-opener in Bahrain and last time out in Melbourne. In the drivers’ championship Verstappen leads on 75 points from Perez on 62 with Leclerc picking up seven points – more than he’s earned in the three races run so far.

Leclerc fended off Perez in the short run to the first corner as Verstappen complained after being outmuscled by Russell at turns two and three. Verstappen complained that the Mercedes driver had damaged his car and the pair had words after the race. Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri then lost a rear tyre which nonchalantly rolled its way down the straight, coming to a stop eventually at turn 16 as the safety car came out.

The safety car came in on lap six of 17, Leclerc keeping his lead on the restart, with Verstappen taking back third place from Russell. With 10 laps to go Perez picked off Leclerc, Red Bull’s straight line speed helping the Mexican sweep past the Ferrari. Perez picked his way safely around the tricky circuit over the closing laps for a comfortable win. Alpine’s wretched weekend continued meanwhile with Esteban Ocon forced to start from the pitlane having qualified in seventh after changes to his car.

And Williams were forced to pull out Logan Sargeant blaming not enough time to repair the American rookie’s car following the morning’s crash in qualifying.

Sprint Shootout Highlights

Leclerc had already clinched the top spot in Friday’s qualifying session and carried his impressive form into the Sprint race. The 23-year-old had a confident outing on a track he rates among his top three on the F1 calendar.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen finished second and third, respectively, in the Shootout, failing to challenge Leclerc’s impressive time. Perez will line up alongside the pole-sitter on the front row, while championship leader Verstappen will start third on the grid.

George Russell of Mercedes secured fourth place on the grid, while Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, could only manage fifth place after he had to abort his final run following Leclerc’s accident.

Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, finished sixth for Mercedes, while Alex Albon of Williams enjoyed an excellent outing and will start seventh on the grid. The two Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso rounded up the top ten, with Alonso struggling with an intermittent DRS issue.

The Sprint race, which is a new addition to the F1 format this year, will take place on Saturday and will determine the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. The winner of the race will be awarded three points, with two points going to the second-placed driver and one point to the third-placed driver.

Azerbaijan GP Qualifying Highlights

Charles Leclerc claimed pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after getting the better of Max Verstappen in a thrilling, hotly-contested qualifying session on Friday evening, making it three poles on the bounce at the Baku City Circuit.

With the Red Bull faster in a straight line, but the Ferrari quicker through the corners, a fascinating battle developed over the course of an incident-packed qualifying hour on the shores of the Caspian Sea – and it was Leclerc who ultimately came out on top.

Incredibly, Verstappen and Leclerc posted identical 1m 40.445s lap times during their first Q3 runs, only for Leclerc to step forward with a 1m 40.203s on the decisive final laps, putting him 0.188s up on Verstappen.

Azerbaijan GP: FORGETTABLE Outing for Mercedes in Qualifying, George Russell suffers EARLY EXIT in Q2 as Aston Martins, McLarens OUTCLASS Silver Arrows – Check Out

With Leclerc adding to his 2021 and 2022 poles at the venue, Verstappen settling for second and Sergio Perez securing third in the other Red Bull, it was Carlos Sainz who took the ‘best of the rest’ spot, some eight tenths off the pace of his Ferrari team mate.

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were fifth and sixth respectively for Mercedes and Aston Martin, McLaren’s Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda took eye-catching P7 and P8 spots, with Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri rounding out the top 10 positions.

A virtuoso qualifying performance from @Charles_Leclerc 👌

Watch how the Ferrari driver topped the charts in Baku 🍿#AzerbaijanGP @pirellisport pic.twitter.com/3e0HzYErkB

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2023

Azerbaijan GP remaining schedule:

Sprint Race, Date – 29th April: Timings – 7 – 7:30 PM
Race, Date – 30th April: Timings – 4:30 PM IST

Where can you watch Sprint and Main Race on TV?

The Qualifying, Sprint and the Race unfortunately cannot be viewed on television in India.

Where can you watch Sprint and Main Race? – Live Stream

The Qualifying, Sprint and the Race can be Live Streamed on the F1TVPro App and Website.

F1 Azerbaijan GP: Timings of Sprint, Main Race, Live Streaming and All you need to know – Check Out

Location – Baku, Azerbaijan
First Grand Prix – 2016
Number of Laps – 51
Circuit Length – 6.003 km
Race Distance – 306.049 km

When was the track built?

The track was ‘by definition’ built for F1, because it is a street circuit on the F1 calendar, joining the positions of Monaco, Melbourne, and Singapore.

When was its first Grand Prix?

The first Grand Prix in Baku was held in 2016, as the European Grand Prix. Then in 2017, the race was held under the name of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which saw perhaps the greatest surprise of the time, with Daniel Ricciardo winning out from Valtteri Bottas and the Williams of Lance Stroll, while Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel engaged in a fierce behind the Safety Car.