Red Bull is unbeatable! On the streets of Baku, after a thrilling battle, Pérez wins the sprint

On Saturday 29 April, Formula 1 had the first of six sprint races on the schedule. For the second time in his career, Sergio Pérez stood on the top step of the podium in the Azerbaijani capital. Charles Leclerc claimed his first podium of the season. Max Verstappen had to settle for third place with a damaged car.

The opening lap of the race offered a terrific battle between George Russell and Max Verstappen, who failed to start from third place. The Mercedes driver got into an advantageous position on Verstappen’s left flank, which gave him the advantage going into the first three left-hand corners.

Even with light contact at turn two, which left a hole in the side of Verstappen’s car, Russell fought his way past the reigning champion, who subsequently complained about the British driver’s actions on the radio.

Before the first lap was completed, yellow flags were displayed following Yuki Cunoda’s accident. The AlphaTauri driver failed to turn in a fast corner in the second sector and hit the barrier with his rear wheel. In addition, a tyre came loose from the affected wheel and remained on the track.

Cunoda managed to get his car back to the pits. After changing the tyres, his team sent him back on track. However, the mechanics failed to notice the damaged rear suspension, so the Japanese driver returned to the pits with his hard-to-handle car after one lap and retired from the race.

The restart of the race went well for Red Bull. Verstappen fought his way into third place at the first corner. Sergio Pérez took the lead a lap later in the same corner.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, had a miserable restart. His failed attack on Carlos Sainz was cleverly exploited by Fernando Alonso. The seven-time world champion subsequently failed to find the pace to pose any threat to the Aston Martin driver in front of him.

A great performance by Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque stayed within striking distance of Pérez for a long time after losing first place and did not even give the onrushing Verstappen a chance to attack.

But with four laps to go, the Mexican Red Bull driver set a pace that Leclerc could not match. He crossed the line with a four and a half second lead. He was joined on the podium by Leclerc and Verstappen.

The remaining points positions were taken by Russell in fourth, Sainz in fifth, Alonso in sixth, Stroll in seventh and Stroll in eighth.

Source: F1TV