Verstappen had a troubled start in defending a title he won so dramatically last year, facing credibility problems at the start of the season that have now become a thorn in Ferrari’s side. Charles Leclerc, who started from pole position in Baku and has done so in six of the eight races of the season so far, led the race to engine failure after 19 of the 51 laps. “It really hurts,” said the Ferrari man, who has retired from the lead in two of the last three GPs. “It really does not need to happen again. We did not have big problems at the beginning of the season and we have not changed huge things. It’s hard to understand and very frustrating. “ Leclerc teammate Carlos Sainz also retired early with hydraulic problems, the Italian team’s first double departure from Monza 2020 that gave Red Bull the plate game. Pérez, a Baku specialist and Monaco winner a fortnight ago, drove the first laps after beating Leclerc in the first lap but, after beating Verstappen for the second consecutive race, suffered worse tire degradation and had to give his best. to the defending champion after 14 rounds, the Dutchman continues to win comfortably. His 25th victory brought him to the same level as former sporting legends Jim Clark and Nicky Lauda. Christian Horner, the head of the Red Bull team, said: “It was unfortunate for Ferrari today. They made a cheap early pit stop under a VSC [virtual safety car] for Leclerc, which gave him the lead, but would mean a very long tenure on these tires. We had a good pace and would be better later. It would be exciting to see how he played. “ At one point, Red Bull drivers received a “no-fight” instruction on a track known for the danger of closed walls and lack of runoff. Horner, however, clarified: “Sergio was magic in the qualifiers yesterday, but maybe we gave priority to qualifying a little more from his side in the garage. He got into the rear tire a little faster than Max today. We just asked them to give each other a room, and they did. It was a very mature move by Max and redemption for last year. ” In Baku in 2021, Verstappen was robbed by a flat tire six laps from the end, while leading. Charles Leclerc failed to convert pole position to race victory for the fourth consecutive time. Photo: Dan Istitene / Formula 1 / Getty Images Behind the reigning Red Bulls, George Russell scored his third podium finish of the year and maintained his record as the only driver to score in each race. But driving a Mercedes still suffering from “seals” or bounces as a result of this year’s new aerodynamic regulations was far from a comfortable afternoon. “It was very brutal out there,” Russell confirmed. “I will sleep well tonight after a race on a track that is usually not so natural.” Lewis Hamilton knew exactly how he felt as he struggled to get out of his car after finishing fourth – behind his teammate Russell for the seventh time in eight races. “I was biting my teeth in pain,” said the seven-time world champion. “I can not express it. The adrenaline managed me. “Just pray it ends.” Quick guide
Azerbaijan GP: full result
projection 1 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull 1 Hour 34 Minutes 05,941 seconds, 2 Sergio Pérez (Mex) Red Bull at 20,823 seconds, 3 George Russell (GB) Mercedes GP at 45,995, 4 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes GP in 1 minute 11.679 seconds, 5 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Scuderia AlphaTauri at 1: 17.299, 6 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Aston Martin at 1: 24.099, 7 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Alpine at 1: 28.596, 8 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) McLaren at 1: 32.207, 9 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren at 1: 32.556, 10 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Alpine at 1: 48.184, 11 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo in 1 lap, 12 Alexander Albon (Thai) Williams in 1 round, 13 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri in 1 round, 14 Mick Schumacher (Ger) Haas F1 in 1 lap, 15 Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams in 1 round, 16 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin in 5 roundsDNF: Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1, Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo, Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Ferrari, Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari.The fastest lap Sergio Pérez 1 minute 46.046 seconds in the 36th lap General ranking Guides: 1 Max Ferstappen (Net) 150 points, 2 Sergio Pereth (Mex) 129, 3 Charles Leclerc (Mon.) 116, 4 George Russell (GB) 99, 5 Carlos Sainz (Sp) 83, 6 Lewis Hamilton (GB) 62, 7 Lando Norris (USA) 50 8 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) 40, 9 Esteban Ocon (Fr) 31, 10 Pierre Gasly (Fr) 16, 11 Fernando Alonso (Sp) 16, 12 Kevin Magnussen (Den) 15, 13 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) 15, 14 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) 13, 15 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) 11, 16 Alexander Albon (Thia) 3, 17 Lance Stroll (Can) 2, 18 Guanyu Zhou (Chn) 1. Manufacturers: 1 Red Bull 279 points, 2 Ferrari 199, 3 Mercedes 161, 4 McLaren 65, 5 Alpine 47, 6 Alfa Romeo 41, 7 AlphaTauri 27, 8 Haas 15, 9 Aston Martin 15, 10 Williams 3. Thank you for your response. Once again it was not an impressive performance by the champion builders, but Hamilton was still optimistic enough to offer some hope. “I estimate we are losing 1 second per lap with this bounce and once we fix it we will be there in the race,” he said. This, however, was a familiar refrain from the first round of the championship, with Toto Wolff apologizing for what Hamilton went through. “We all know it’s a little bad to drive right now and sorry for the rear, but we’ll get organized,” said the Mercedes team manager. In almost one man, the drivers questioned the bounce phenomenon, which is not exclusive to Mercedes and which, they fear, could cause long-term bodily harm. Quick guide
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Thank you for your response. Pierre Gasly scored the best result of the season in fifth place for the Italian team AlphaTauri, before a battle from four-time former Aston Martin world champion Sebastian Vettel, who could have finished fourth, but for a quick trip on an escape route. 12 rounds inside. Fernando Alonso, who with 7,771 days, can now boast the longest career in F1 in terms of duration, finished seventh for Alpine, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Britain’s Lando Norris at McLarens and French teammate Esteban Ocon.
