F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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.
Live Standings
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Summary
Summary
Sergio Perez won F1's 2023 Azerbaijan GP, becoming the first driver to take two victories in Baku. He was joined by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc on the podium
Leclerc kept the lead from pole at the start, followed by Verstappen, Perez and Sainz
Verstappen overtook Leclerc at the end of lap 3 with a DRS-assisted move. Perez followed through a couple of laps later
De Vries stopped on track on lap 11, with the safety car neutralising the race. Verstappen lost out to Perez and Leclerc but quickly fought back to second
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!
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.
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!
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.
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."
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."
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."
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
There are going to be some frustrated drivers at the end of this race, either having been stuck behind a rival without the chance to pass or waiting for a safety car to shake up the strategy.
Wow, we are being treated, another overtake! Norris has now finally got by the struggling Hulkenberg and is up into 10th. Hulkenberg was slightly wide at Turn 7 and Norris got the better exit.
Perez, barring disaster, looks to have this one in his hands. The gap is 3.7s over Verstappen with five laps to go. Further back, Leclerc is third with a 3.4s gap on Alonso.
Hulkenberg is clearly struggling on his ancient tyres and has now clonked the wall at Turn 15 again. But, as with his earlier strike, no major damage is done - although he's fall adrift from Ocon in ninth.
Ocon and Hulkenberg are seemingly leaving as late as they can before pitting, just in case a safety car creeps into play. But, when they do eventually stop, they're going to plummet down to very nearly last place.
