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Azerbaijan GP: Perez passes Leclerc to win sprint race

  • Darshan Chokhani
    • F1, Azerbaijan GP

    BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - APRIL 29: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Ferrari SF-23 during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 29, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202304291041 // Usage for editorial use only //

    Sergio Perez passed Charles Leclerc to win the F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint race, with Max Verstappen in third after damage.

    It was a clean start to F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint race for pole-sitter Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez behind him but Max Verstappen lost third to an aggressive Mercedes’ George Russell in the couple of corners they fought.

    The two even touched where Verstappen was miffed with no investigation as yet. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fifth from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Williams’ Alexander Albon, with McLaren’s Lando Norris jumping to ninth.

    He was on the soft tyre to pass Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. While things were fine up front, AlphaTauri pair had minor touch which damaged Yuki Tsunoda’s car as he lost right-rear wheel after wall clip. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed which converted to Safety Car.

    Tsunoda was then put under investigation after AlphaTauri released him despite a damaged car. He eventually retired while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon gambled with a soft tyre switch. The re-start, meanwhile, worked well for Leclerc from Perez.

    Verstappen did not wait long to pass Russell for third as Hamilton behind lost out to both Sainz and Alonso to be seventh ahead of Albon. Even Stroll regained a place from Norris, where the Brit later on lost 10th to teammate Oscar Piastri.

    Norris lost more places to pit and change tyres with a suspected issue. Just ahead of Piastri, Albon lost the final point to Stroll after a good move from the Canadian at Turn 1. While there was some changes at the fag end, not much happened at the front.

    Leclerc closed in on Perez but the Mexican had enough to win the F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint race from the Monegasque and Verstappen, who closed in on the Ferrari but didn’t have enough laps. The Dutchman had damage to nurse through with a whole

    Russell was fourth from Sainz with Alonso in sixth from Hamilton and Stroll in the points places, while Albon and Piastri missed out in the Top 10. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was 11th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly moving up to 13th.

    AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries was 14th from the back, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg in 15th from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas in 16th, McLaren’s Norris in 17th and Alpine’s Ocon only 18th.

    DNF: Tusnoda; DNS: Logan Sargeant