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Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race

Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint

F1 is in Baku for round four, with Charles Leclerc beating the Red Bulls to pole in both qualifying sessions for the sprint and grand prix.

But after Leclerc lost out to Sergio Perez in the sprint race, the Ferrari driver will aim to fight back with a second shot from pole for the main race.

As part of the 2023 sprint race weekend format tweaks, the starting grid was decided by Friday’s qualifying session rather than the finishing order in the sprint race.

But both Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg will start from the pitlane due to car changes in parc ferme conditions.

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Albon and Magnussen are the next ones to blast past Hulkenberg as he tumbles down the order.
Yellow flag
There was a brief scare for Russell there as he closed on the back of Stroll. He locked up and went very deep into Turn 1 but keeps it out of the wall.
It is the fight for the fastest lap, as all of the top six set their personal bests last time around. Alonso holds it, but Russell is pitting for softs...
Pit stop
And, finally Hulkenberg does now pit to discard those well-worn hards. But he has now fallen back to a lowly 17th place and it wasn't exactly the fastest stop either.
Final lap time, Perez leads by 2.5s, so that could be that.
Pit stop
And so Ocon now stops on the final lap, his wait for a safety car ultimately proving unsuccessful. But it's not a simple entrance to the pits as he has to dodge the gathering photographers getting ready for the post-race parc ferme images.
Checkered flag
Perez wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix! It is a Red Bull 1-2 with Verstappen in second!
Leclerc keeps clear of Alonso to complete the podium by 0.8s. Sainz takes fifth ahead of Hamilton and Stroll. Russell, in eighth, also bags the fastest lap bonus point thanks to his late soft tyre switch.
Norris and Tsunoda round out the points places, as Ocon's last-lap pitstop sees him finish 15th, even if he almost took some photographers for a ride on his car for the final lap.
Perez leaps into the arms of his Red Bull mechanics to celebrate the sixth F1 grand prix win of his career. He's also the first repeat winner in Azerbaijan!
A sprint win and a grand prix win for Perez - not a bad weekend all told!
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Leclerc on losing out to the Red Bulls: "They are in another league when it comes to the race. The good first lap managed to put us in front but then over 51 laps it was not possible, they have so much more pace than we do."
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Verstappen on second place: "The safety car [timing] was unlucky and then I had to push to stay close and stay in the DRS and then the tyres overheated when trying to follow. The balance also, I was struggling to be consistent."
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Perez on his grand prix win: "It really worked out today for us. We managed to stay in the DRS, kept the pressure on Max, it was looking good already and then the safety car came and bunched everyone up."
Leclerc takes the middle winners' seat in the cooldown room, but when Perez arrives he offers to move over, but the Mexican declines. "You were unlucky there [with the safety car]," Perez says to Verstappen on the safety car timing.
The Mexican anthem plays on the podium for Perez's win, as he beats his chest with his fist. That one meant a lot.
The podium trio get busy with the fizzy, Perez getting a face full from Verstappen. That's probably the only thing that's gone wrong for the Mexican in the last 24 hours!
Breaking news
Here's the full race report:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-azerbaijan-gp-perez-leads-dominant-red-bull-1-2-from-leclerc/10463146/
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

So, after all that, Verstappen retains his F1 world drivers' championship lead on 93 points with Perez six points behind. Then it is Alonso in third, 23 points off Verstappen.
Checkered flag
It's a two-Bull title race after four rounds, but it is set up very nicely. Next up is Miami on 5-7 May, just a few days away. Until then, have a lovely rest of your Sunday. Go well!

By: Autosport Staff

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