Max Verstappen opened up a 21-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez in the Formula One World Championship when Red Bull finished 1-2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on a disastrous day for Ferrari.
Verstappen had a troubled start in defending a title won so spectacularly last year, suffering from early-season reliability issues that have now become a thorn in the side of Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, who started from pole position in Baku and has done so in six of the eight races of the season so far, led the race to an engine failure after 19 of the 51 laps of the race.
“It hurts a lot,” said the Ferrari man, who has retired from the lead in two of the last three GPs. “We really don’t need that to happen again. We didn’t have big problems at the beginning of the season and we didn’t change too much. It’s hard to understand and very disappointing.”
Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz also retired early due to hydraulic problems, the first double withdrawal of the Italian team since Monza 2020 that gave Red Bull the race on a plate.
Perez, a specialist in Baku and winner in Monaco a fortnight ago, led the first laps after beating Leclerc on the first corner, but after overtaking Verstappen for the second consecutive race, he suffered worse tire degradation and having to give the best to the reigning champion after 14 years. laps, the Dutchman won comfortably. His 25th victory put him at the height of former sports legends Jim Clark and Niki Lauda.
Christian Horner, director of the Red Bull team, said: “Today was bad luck for Ferrari. They made a cheap pit stop under a VSC. [virtual safety car] for Leclerc, who gave him an advantage but would have meant a long stay with those tires. We had a good pace and later we would have been in better shape. It would have been fascinating to see how it played out. “
At one point, Red Bull drivers were instructed not to “fight” on a runway known for the danger of closed walls and lack of runoff areas. Horner, however, clarified: “Sergio was magical in the classification yesterday, but maybe we prioritized the classification next to him in the garage a little more. He got into a bit of a grenade from the rear tires a little faster than Max today. All we asked was for them to give us the room, and they did. It was a very mature boost from Max and last year’s redemption. ”In Baku in 2021, Verstappen was stolen by a tire explosion six laps from the end, while he was leading.
Charles Leclerc failed to turn pole position into a race victory for the fourth time in a row. Photo: Dan Istitene / Formula 1 / Getty Images
Behind the dominant Red Bulls, George Russell achieved his third podium of the year and held his record as the only driver to score in all races. But driving a Mercedes that still suffers from “porpoises” or bounces, the result of this year’s new aerodynamic regulations, was not a comfortable afternoon. “It was pretty brutal,” Russell confirmed. “I’m going to sleep well tonight after a race on a track that’s not usually that physical.”
Lewis Hamilton knew exactly how he felt, struggling to get out of his car after finishing fourth, behind teammate Russell for the seventh time in eight races. “I was biting my teeth in pain,” said the seven-time world champion. “It simply came to our notice then. The adrenaline rushed through. You were just praying for it to end. “
Quick guide
Azerbaijan GP: complete result
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1 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull 1h 34min 05.941s, 2 Sergio Pérez (Mex) Red Bull in 20,823 seconds, 3 George Russell (GB) Mercedes GP at 45,995, 4 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes GP 1 min 11,679 seconds, 5 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Scuderia AlphaTauri a 1: 17.299, 6 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Aston Martin at 1: 24.099, 7 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Alpine at 1: 28.596, 8 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) McLaren at 1: 32.207, 9 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren at 1: 32.556, 10 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Alpine at 1: 48.184, 11 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo 1 time, 12 Alexander Albon (Thai) Williams 1 lap, 13 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) 1-time AlphaTauri Team, 14 Mick Schumacher (Ger) Haas F1 1 lap, 15 Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1 time, 16 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 5 lapsDNF: Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1, Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo, Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Ferrari, Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari.The fastest lap Sergio Pérez 1min 46.046secs on lap 36
General classification
Drivers: 1 Max Verstappen (Neth) 150 points, 2 Sergio Pérez (Mex) 129, 3 Charles Leclerc (Dl.) 116, 4 George Russell (GB) 99, 5 Carlos Sainz (Sp) 83, 6 Lewis Hamilton (GB) 62, 7 Lando Norris (USA) 50 8 Valtteri Boots (End) 40, 9 Esteban Ocon (Fr) 31, 10 Pierre Gasly (Fr) 16, 11 Fernando Alonso (Sp) 16, 12 Kevin Magnussen (Den) 15, 13 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) 15, 14 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 13, 15 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) 11, 16 Alexander Albon (Thia) 3, 17 Spear ride (tin) 2, 18 Guanyu Zhou (Chn) 1.
Manufacturers: 1 Red Bull 279 pts, 2 Ferrari 199, 3 Mercedes 161, 4 McLaren 65, 5 Alpine 47, 6 Alfa Romeo 41, 7 AlphaTauri 27, 8 Haas 15, 9 Aston Martin 15, 10 Williams 3.
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Again, it hadn’t been an impressive performance from the current constructors ’champions, but Hamilton was still optimistic enough to offer some hope. “I think we’re losing 1 second per lap with this rebound and once we fix it, we’ll be right there in the race,” he said.
That, however, has been a family comeback since the first round of the championship, with Toto Wolff apologizing for what had happened to Hamilton. “We all know it’s a bit of a shit box to drive right now, and I’m sorry for the back, but we’ll fix it,” the Mercedes team manager said.
Nearly one man, drivers questioned the rebound phenomenon which is not exclusive to Mercedes and which they fear could cause long-term physical damage.
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Pierre Gasly scored his best result of the season with fifth place for Italian team AlphaTauri, ahead of a four-time battle of former Aston World Champion Martin Sebastian Vettel, who could have finished fourth if not he would have made a quick trip down a getaway road. 12 laps in.
Fernando Alonso, who with 7,771 days, can now boast the longest F1 race in terms of duration, finished seventh for Alpine, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Britain’s Lando Norris at McLaren, and his teammate Frenchman Esteban Ocon.