F1 Grand Prix race results: Verstappen wins Azerbaijan GP

Leclerc, who pitted early under a virtual safety car caused by team-mate Carlos Sainz’s own retirement, was leading the race when his power unit failed after 20 laps.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez had taken the lead at the start from poleman Leclerc and held it until team-mate Verstappen passed him on lap 15, both Red Bulls then pitting to allow Leclerc back in front until his retirement soon after.

That gifted an easy win to Verstappen, who pulled well clear of Perez to extend his world championship lead.

2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix race results

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time
1	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	Red Bull	51	-
2	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	Red Bull	51	20.823
3	George Russell		Mercedes	Mercedes	51	45.995
4	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	Mercedes	51	1'11.679
5	Pierre Gasly		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	51	1'17.299
6	Sebastian Vettel		Aston Martin	Mercedes	51	1'24.099
7	Fernando Alonso		Alpine	Renault	51	1'28.596
8	Daniel Ricciardo		McLaren	Mercedes	51	1'32.207
9	Lando Norris		McLaren	Mercedes	51	1'32.556
10	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	Renault	51	1'48.184
11	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	50	1 lap
12	Alex Albon		Williams	Mercedes	50	1 lap
13	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	50	1 lap
14	Mick Schumacher		Haas	Ferrari	50	1 lap
15	Nicholas Latifi		Williams	Mercedes	50	1 lap
16	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	Mercedes	46
	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	Ferrari	31
	Zhou Guanyu		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	23
	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	Ferrari	21
	Carlos Sainz		Ferrari	Ferrari	8
View full results

How the Azerbaijan Grand Prix unfolded

Leclerc held his pole advantage on the short run to Turn 1 but Perez lunged ahead of him at the first corner to take the lead. Verstappen had to defend from Sainz at Turn 3 but maintained third. Mercedes’ George Russell was best of the rest, ahead of Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin).

Perez extended a 2s lead by the time DRS was activated, while Verstappen began to pressure Leclerc for second on lap five. Perez complained of a lack of traction, but maintained his advantage over the warring Leclerc and Verstappen.

Sainz then pulled off at Turn 4 with a hydraulic failure on lap nine, causing a virtual safety car that Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Vettel and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) decided to pit under. Leclerc suffered a slow stop, while Hamilton lost a place to Vettel having been stacked in the pits behind Russell.

Perez led Verstappen 2.3s as the race went green, with Leclerc in third on fresh hard tyres but 13s back.

Verstappen then reeled in Perez and passed him for the lead at Turn 1 on lap 15, while Leclerc was catching them both on his new rubber. Perez pitted for fresh hards on lap 17 but also suffered a slow stop and rejoined in third, just ahead of Russell.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Verstappen stopped on lap 19, meaning a nine-lap fresher tyres advantage over Leclerc as he rejoined 13s behind him. But Leclerc’s race ended soon after when his power unit failed at the end of lap 20 and he smokily toured into the pits.

Verstappen led by over 6s by half distance and further extended the gap in the second half of the race.

Kevin Magnussen’s Haas ground to a halt on lap 33 to cause another virtual safety car. Verstappen, Perez, Russell and Hamilton stopped again, with Gasly and Tsunoda staying out, the latter gaining a spot from Hamilton.

Hamilton quickly regained fifth from Tsunoda, the latter then suffering a DRS flap failure. He pitted for some hasty repairs and was told not to use DRS again, but it dropped him out of the points. Hamilton then passed Gasly for fourth on lap 44.

The top five remained in that order, with Verstappen winning from Perez, Russell, Hamilton and Gasly, while Vettel finished sixth despite a trip down an escape road. He had tried to pass Esteban Ocon’s Alpine at Turn 3 early on but overshot the corner and had to spin turn, dropping to 12th. It took him over 10 laps to catch and pass Ocon properly but, in the long run, his misadventure only cost him one place to Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso (Alpine), the McLarens of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, and Ocon rounded out the point scorers.

2022 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix fastest laps

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap
1	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	Red Bull	1'46.046
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	Red Bull	1'46.050	0.004
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'47.044	0.998
4	George Russell	Mercedes	Mercedes	1'47.177	1.131
5	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'47.523	1.477
6	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'47.531	1.485
7	Alex Albon	Williams	Mercedes	1'47.966	1.920
8	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	Renault	1'47.989	1.943
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	Mercedes	1'47.997	1.951
10	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'48.038	1.992
11	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'48.179	2.133
12	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'48.206	2.160
13	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	Mercedes	1'48.276	2.230
14	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	Renault	1'48.297	2.251
15	Mick Schumacher	Haas	Ferrari	1'48.410	2.364
16	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'48.519	2.473
17	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'48.723	2.677
18	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	Ferrari	1'48.789	2.743
19	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	Ferrari	1'48.978	2.932
20	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	Mercedes	1'49.583	3.537
View full results