Two race reports have come your way today, you lucky thing.
As we know, this particular race weekend saw the inaugural stand alone Sprint race which would then be followed by the main Grand Prix race the following day and, although the new weekend format was met with some criticism, everyone got through the weekend relatively unscathed. So, how did it play out exactly? Let's find out!
Saturday was Sprint day and the new format included a shootout, that took place earlier in the day, to define the grid for the 17 lap jolly to the flag around the streets of Baku. Charles Leclerc, in his red Ferrari, was on pole. Both Red Bulls lined up behind him. Williams' driver; Logan Sargeant, was to sit this one out due to an accident in the shootout that left his car severely damaged.
Every driver, bar Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas, is on the medium tyre whereas those two are starting on softs. The formation lap is complete. And, it's go time!
Leclerc gets away strong and leads the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen into Turn One. George Russell in the Mercedes is clinging onto fourth when he clips Verstappen's tyre sending the Dutchman into a rage. Verstappen finds that he has to concede the place to Russell.
Further back, Alpha Tauri driver, Yuki Tsunoda, looses a tyre after touching the barrier. The tyre continues to roll down the middle of the track, resulting in the first Virtual Safety Car period and then full Safety Car period of the weekend. Tsunoda pits and is released back on track but it's no good, the Japanese driver has a broken car and is forced to retire.
During the Safety Car period, Esteban Ocon pits for Alpine, switching the medium tyre to the softs. The stewards announce that Tsunoda and Alpha Tauri will be investigated for an "unsafe release" after the race. Whereas, back at the front of the field, Verstappen is informed that he has floor damage after his tussle with Russell on lap one - news which does nothing to improve his mood.
The safety car comes in and the race resumes. Despite Leclerc's intriguing radio message about an engine cut(?), the Monagasque driver gets another good start. But, he's not the only one. Verstappen takes his third place back from Russell, Lewis Hamilton loses several places to Spaniards; Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, in the Aston Martin, pips Norris to 9th. However, only a couple of laps later, Leclerc finds himself on the backfoot with Perez as the recipient of DRS. The Red Bull driver passes the Ferrari with ease into turn one and leads the race.
Tyres start coming in to play and Norris finds himself going back down the order. At the end of Lap Ten he has had enough and pits to get rid of the soft tyre. A few laps later, Ocon makes a second stop, throwing on a new set of softs. Back at the front, Leclerc is starting to be stalked by yet another Red Bull, but this time in the form of Verstappen. Stroll overtakes a Williams and finds himself in that all important 8th position. The last one in the points.
Five laps to go and Leclerc is taking chunks out of Perez's time. He also now has DRS which will help in his defense against Verstappen. But, Perez reacts to this and pulls the gap to 1.2 seconds, disabling Leclerc's DRS. Near the back, it's Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas who is now suffering with tyres. Surprisingly, he is on the mediums but is dropping back with his pace over 5 seconds slower than his teammate. The team confirm it's tyre graining that is his issue.
Two laps left and Perez is over 3 seconds ahead of Leclerc. The battle is on for second between the Ferrari and Verstappen, with the latter struggling to get into the DRS range, most likely due to his floor damage.
4.7 seconds is the gap between first and second on the final lap. Surely Perez has this in the bag? His teammare, Verstappen, finally has DRS and is on the hunt for second. But it's no good. Time has run out for the double World Champion. Perez wins from Leclerc and Verstappen. The final points go to Russell, Sainz, Alonso, Hamilton and Stroll.
In parc-ferme we get to see the full extent of Verstappen's damage (and foul mood.) Can Red Bull get his car repaired for the Grand Prix tomorrow?
Well, the answer to that is yes.
It's a new day, a new race and Verstappen has eye's on the prize. But, it's Leclerc on pole for a second time over the course of the weekend. Yesterday's Sprint winner; Perez, starts in 3rd.
And, it's lights out and away we go. Just like yesterday, Leclerc has a strong start keeping the Red Bulls at bay. In fact, there is very limited, if any, movement from any of the front runners with everyone getting through turn one clean and tidily. Turn three comes and contact is made between the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and the Williams of Alex Albon. Both drivers come away with limited damage and continue on their way. By the end of Lap one, Russell has made up a few places from his disappointing 11th place start and now has his eyes on Lando Norris going into the second lap.
DRS is enabled on lap two and Verstappen is getting ever so closer to the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Perez is just behind, waiting to pounce if either driver ahead makes any mistakes. But it's on lap four, into turn one, when Verstappen finally makes the move on Leclerc and rushes off into the distance. Leclerc quickly finds himself under pressure from the second Red Bull. Race control decide that the contact between the McLaren and Williams on lap one will need investigating. However, it is quickly dismissed, with neither driver receiving a penalty.
Lap six and it's a 1-2 for Red Bull at the front after Perez overtakes Leclerc into turn one. Pierre Gasly and Alpine are first to pit switching to the hard tyres. Looks like Gasly might be going to the end. Lance Stroll is on to the team via the radio and tells them that he's not going to attack his teammate. However, Alonso, the said teammate, thinks that Stroll should "have a go, if he wants." The pits also start to become a little busier as drivers decide to switch to new rubber.
Back at the front and it's the Red Bulls that are trading the fastest lap with their lap times getting as close as 0.006s apart. Leclerc finds himself in "no mans land" after being left behind by the Bulls. Down in fifth and Hamilton is the first of the front-runners to pit and is swiftly followed in by Verstappen when Perez cuts the lead down to half a second.
Yellow flag! Nyck de Vries has locked up his Alpha Tauri and gone straight on, just missing the barrier as he comes to a stop. The car doesn't seem to be going anywhere so the safety car is deployed. For Perez, this is perfect. He jumps into the pit as does Leclerc, Sainz and Alonso. Russell and Stroll follow them in side by side. Literally. As everyone filters out of the pits, it''s evident that Verstappen has lost out and finds himself in 3rd with Perez and Leclerc ahead of him. Ocon and Hulkenberg are the only drivers left to pit. They started the race in the pit lane, on hards.
A late restart for Perez but it's enough to stay out in front. Verstappen makes a lunge at Leclerc and retakes 2nd. Russell, who jumped Stroll in the pits, looses out to the Canadian driver and Alonso takes 4th away from Sainz. Hamilton who, like Verstappen, lost out during the safety car, puts himself on a mission for a good recovery.
Things start to get spicy at the front when Race Control note Perez for an unsafe release. With DRS now enabled, Verstappen puts his foot down and and cuts Perez's lead down to 1 second. But all is ok. The stewards dismiss the unsafe release and Perez goes on his way. Instead they decide to focus on Russell and Stroll's side by side pit entry but, like before, are quick to make a decision where neither driver gets penalised.
Further back and it's Stroll who is next to clip the wall. Luckily for him the car seems ok and he carries on. Down at turn one, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has a bit of a slide as he attempts to pass Zhou Guanyu. He just misses the barrier but has to concede the place to the Alfa Romeo. Ocon is another one who gets close to wall. He's also lives to see another lap. There are some very lucky drivers out there at the moment.
The race starts to settle down as tyre management kicks in. Perez is still in the lead with Verstappen 1.1 seconds back. Alonso is catching Leclerc for 3rd. At the back end of the points, Ocon and Hulkenberg are still yet to pit with a train starting to form behind them. Gasly, who was the first to jump onto the hards, is in the pits for a second time. Looks as if the hards couldn't make it to the end.
Over half way now and Verstappen seems to be dropping back from Perez with the gap now over 2 seconds. He complains on team radio about the balance between the differential and engine braking under deceleration. However, he responds by setting the fastest lap, taking it away from his teammate. Both of the Red Bulls later find themselves in a bit of bother when they both clip turn 15. All seems ok, however.
The train, led by Ocon, is still going strong with no one making any gains due to the power of DRS. Bottas, however, has had enough and pits for a new set of tyres. Hamilton, in sixth, also finds himself with DRS and puts a challenge on Sainz to no avail. He stays in sixth. Another car pulls into the pits. This time it's Zhou but unfortunately he is retiring. The team advise him they have an "issue."
10 laps to go and Verstappen cuts the gap to Perez to under 3 seconds. Hamilton is still fighting Sainz but the Spaniard is showing good defending skills. But, after what seems like a lifetime, an overtake is made. Gasly overtakes Sargeant for 16th. Leclerc is also starting to gain some pace as he sets the fastest lap.
Less than 5 laps left and Ocon and Hulkenberg are yet to pit. Hulkenberg is passed by Norris, Tsunoda, Piastri, Albon and Magnussen. He tells the team he thinks it's time they brought him in. A brief yellow flag is thrown when Russell goes wide at turn one. The Brit gets away with it, as has many drivers this race. He decides to pit and do the last couple of laps on softs. Hulkenberg finally pits but his strategy hasn't worked. He comes out in 17th. That just leaves Ocon who needs to make the mandatory stop.
Perez starts the final lap and is 2.5 seconds ahead of his teammate in second. Ocon finally stops and just about avoids a disaster as he comes into the pits to see media and teams in the pit lane preparing for post-race celebrations.
The chequered flag waves and Perez wins for a second time this season. Verstappen finishes in 2nd. Leclerc finishes ahead of Alonso having fought him off during the second half of the race. Sainz finishes 5th, ahead of Hamilton. Stroll, Russell, Norris and Tsunoda make up the the final point scoring positions.
A relatively dull race for Azerbaijan but did the Sprint the day before have any effect on that? That's an analysis for another day.
Perez is really finding himself so far this year and is really taking things to Verstappen. Can he keep it up? A Verstappen/Perez championship battle might be what F1 needs? Time will tell!
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