Red Bull’s Sergio Perez secured a victory in the sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday, maintaining his team’s perfect start to the season.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who had started on pole, came in second place, while Max Verstappen finished third to keep his lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of Sunday’s main event.
Although Leclerc will start on pole again for the fourth round of the season, his performance in this race suggests that he will have a tough time competing against the Red Bulls.
This win marks Perez’s second victory of the season, with his first coming in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Verstappen had taken the season-opener in Bahrain and last time out in Melbourne. In the current drivers’ championship standings, Verstappen leads with 75 points, followed by Perez with 62 points, while Leclerc has picked up seven points, which is more than what he has earned in the three races run so far.
Leclerc was able to hold off Perez in the short run to the first corner, while Verstappen complained about being outmuscled by Russell at turns two and three. Verstappen claimed that the Mercedes driver had damaged his car, and the pair had a confrontation after the race.
Later, Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri lost a rear tire, which rolled down the straight and eventually came to a stop at turn 16, resulting in the safety car coming out.
The safety car went back in on lap six of 17, and Leclerc managed to keep his lead on the restart, while Verstappen took back third place from Russell.
With 10 laps remaining, Perez overtook Leclerc, taking advantage of Red Bull’s straight-line speed and securing a comfortable win.
Perez navigated the tricky circuit safely over the closing laps, adding the first of six sprint races in 2023 to his list of victories.
Meanwhile, Alpine had a poor weekend, with Esteban Ocon having to start from the pit lane after qualifying in seventh place due to changes to his car.
In addition, Williams had to withdraw Logan Sargeant due to a lack of time to repair the American rookie’s car following the morning’s crash in qualifying.
