2023-04-30 11:29:00
Lance Stroll makes a mistake at turn 16, loses control of his Aston Martin and is given the option of Lewis Hamilton who took advantage of the bad maneuver and snatched sixth place from him.
Checo Pérez holds the first position and behind him is Verstappen who, when the race resumed, went out to attack Leclerc who might not withstand the fury of the world champion’s Red Bull. Another who took advantage of this situation was Fernando Alonso with Aston Martin who pushed Carlos Sainz out of his way and was in fourth place, behind Leclerc.
The world champion was called to the pits as Max Verstappen’s Red Bull began to slide. At the time of his entry, a Safety Car was announced because Nyck De Vries’s car stayed. With this safety car on the track, Checo Pérez was in first position, Leclerc was second and Verstappen third.
Fast lap of Checo Pérez. The Mexican does a 1:46.885 in the last lap and cuts a tenth off Max Verstappen. He is regarding to be able to open DRS regarding his teammate at Red Bull
The Mexican pilot was patient and waited for the right moment to attack Leclerc. Checo Pérez’s Red Bull responded perfectly when he had the chance to open the DRS and also left the Ferrari driver behind on the main straight. Now Red Bull has 1-2.
The world champion does not doubt. At the first opportunity that Verstappen had, he went on the attack on Leclerc and with the DRS open, he passed him without problems on the main straight to the Monegasque. Now Checo Pérez goes for Leclerc.
A very neat game without modifications in the first places of the race. With Ferrari and Red Bull dominating. With Charles Leclerc at the top, behind is Max Verstappen, very close Checo Pérez and Carlos Sainz in fourth place.
The engineers leave the track, the engines roar and all the pilots are ready for the previous lap. The fans go wild in the stands.
No driver has won twice at this circuit. In 2016, Mercedes won with Nico Rosberg prevailing the first time the street circuit was visited. In 2017, Ricciardo, with Red Bull, climbed to the top of the podium. In 2018 and 2019, Mercedes was winning once more, but with Bottas and Hamilton, respectively. In 2020 the Covid-19 prevented the race. And in 2021 and 2022, he took all of Red Bull, first with Checo Pérez and then with Verstappen.
In Baku the climatic conditions are not similar to those that occurred throughout the weekend: more than 24ºC ambient temperature and 44ºC on the asphalt. The only modification, and one that is already considered by each of the teams, for this test with 51 laps, is the wind, since it blows directly in front of the main straight.
The tires available for each driver for this Grand Prix in Azerbaijan. They all have a new set of toughs, except Aston Martin. In addition, George Russell has a completely new set of soft tyres, as the Brit failed to get into Q3 in qualifying last Friday.
The start of Nico Hülkenberg (change in suspension) and Esteban Ocon (was withdrawn from parc fermé conditions) will be from the pit lane.
Aston Martin made modifications to Fernando Alonso’s car. Components of its rear wing, upper flap, and rear tie rod assembly were changed. As reported by the FIA authorities, he will not be penalized. “The parts have been replaced with the approval of the FIA technical delegate following a written request from the team, as stipulated in Article 40.3 of the Formula 1 sporting regulations,” the Aston Martin team explained in a statement. .
“I am very happy with the whole team. They did a tremendous job. This format [la carrera sprint] puts a lot of pressure in pilots, mechanics and engineers. Having obtained the most points is a good starting point”, said Sergio Pérez following his victory on Saturday. “I think that It was key that we had a good pace, that we pushed at the key moments of the race, and that made the difference. In the end, the whole team executed what we had planned very well”, added the Mexican driver, who will start in third place this Sunday.
The sprint race on Saturday had an incident already in the second corner. George Russellwith Mercedes, touched the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and it caused him a hole in the left side pod. The tension continued during the following braking: the Dutchman tried to overtake on the outside of the track, but the Englishman did not take his foot off the accelerator. Conclusion: the world champion hit the wall. Later, Verstappen was finally able to with Russell and he overcame it with a great maneuver. However, his anger persisted until the end of the race. With the cars already stopped, Verstappen faced Russell and unloaded his anger: “I know you didn’t have grip. Nobody had it. But you had to give me space! Next time the same will happen to you!”, he frowned angrily.
Leclerc’s second place in Saturday’s sprint race moved the Ferrari driver up the drivers’ standings. In the first three competitions, the Monegasque had barely added 6 points. Now collect 15 and rank 8th, very far from his own aspirations and those of his team. The World Cup leader is still Verstappen, followed by Pérez, his Red Bull teammate. the asturian Fernando Alonsowith a great start to the year, is third with his Aston Martin.
The format of the GP of Azerbaijan is different than usual: Friday’s qualifying test is the one that defined the starting order of the drivers in the main race. On Saturday, however, the grid for the sprint race was determined, which was held on the same day (it was won by the Mexican Sergio “Checo” Pérez, with Red Bull). Therefore, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc will start in the privileged position following setting the best time on Friday. He will be followed by the world champion, the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull). Further back will be Pérez, the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
Welcome to the liveblog of Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This Sunday since 8 in the Argentine morning, the main race in Bakuwith television Star+. The pilots will start according to the order established in the qualifying test on Friday, since on Saturday the sprint racewon by the Mexican Sergio “Checo” Perez with Red Bull. the monegasque Charles Leclercfrom Ferrari, achieved his third consecutive pole position in Baku (he had already been the fastest in 2021 and 2022) and will start from the first position.
1682855632
#Formula #live #Azerbaijan #Grand #Prix