2023-04-29 18:26:00
The tension returned to seize the Great Circus. A day that began with the good work of Charles Leclerc in the shootout and with the triumph of Checo Pérez in the sprint, where a controversial episode caught everyone’s attention. It happened when following the test, Max Verstappen went to reproach George Russell for a maneuver that ended up harming the world championwhich ended with a hole in his car.
The event occurred following a friction where the sidepod of Verstappen’s Red Bull broke. The English driver was able to stay ahead of the Dutchman, who following the Safety Car recovered the position. After the test, won by the other Red Bull, that of the Mexican Checo Pérez, Verstappen crossed paths with Russell and the following dialogue was full of tension:
Russell: -I had no grip.
Verstappen: -Dude, we all have no grip. We all have to give a little space.
Russell: -I know, I know [se va y deja a Verstappen hablando solo].
Verstappen: –[le grita a la distancia] But expect the same next time, you know.
Finally, an insult from Verstappen is heard under his breath.
Later, both pilots gave their versions before the press. Verstappen stated: “I don’t understand why he needs to take such a risk on the first lap, understeer once morest my sidepod, create a hole. We all have cold tires and it’s easy to lock up. Your beautiful way of explaining it… doesn’t make sense.”
However, far from apologizing or making excuses, Russell was adamant that there was nothing wrong with his actions on the track. And he even put a seasoning of irony in his explanation: “I had the curve on the inside, I’m not going to hold back because Verstappen is leading the World Cup”.
After a shootout in which Charles Leclerc excelled once more, the Mexican driver Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez (Red Bull) won the sprint of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this Saturday, taking better advantage of the DRS of his car to overcome the Monegasque Charles Leclerc ( Ferrari), who finished second. The Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull), reigning world champion, finished third in a test conditioned by the loss of a tire by Japanese Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) during lap 2 of the 17 planned in total on the urban circuit of Baku. Thus, in turn 15 the rear right wheel of Tsunoda’s car came off and that caused a ‘safety car’ to appear on the track.
Already on lap 5, there was another particular ‘outing’ with the British George Russell (Mercedes) mixed up with Verstappen just behind Leclerc. The Monegasque opened a gap of almost 7 tenths of a second with Pérez, but Pérez overtook him with 10 laps to go thanks to the DRS power of his car on the main straight. Verstappen did the same and regained the position from Russell. The soft tires faltered sooner than expected for most teams, something that became clear when Lando Norris (McLaren) had to stop in the pits for lap 11. In this context, Sainz and Alonso battled for a fifth place that finally the man from Madrid took
With information from DPA
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