Pérez wins in Baku after crash
Max Verstappen missed out on a near certain victory on Sunday due to a blowout in the closing stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Dutchman was in the lead when he crashed and fell out with six laps to go. Sergio Pérez took advantage and won his first race for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton fouled out and didn’t take any points.
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Verstappen’s crash halted the race, followed by another short sprint race with Pérez from the first starting spot and Hamilton from the second. The seven-time world champion appeared to take the lead at the restart, but distanced himself and shot straight ahead in Turn 1.
Verstappen retains the lead in the World Championship standings with 105 points. Hamilton finished 15th, also didn’t score any points and remains on 101 points. The Formula One season continues on 20 June with the French Grand Prix.
It is the second win of Pérez’s career. Sebastian Vettel took advantage of the chaos and a strong strategy, taking his first podium for Aston Martin with second place. Pierre Gasly crossed the line in third place with the AlphaTauri. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc had to settle for fourth place.
Pérez wins in Baku after crash
Verstappen and Hamilton quickly past Leclerc after start
Leclerc started the race from pole position, but was not under the illusion that he could keep Verstappen and Hamilton behind him for a long time. De Monegask had to clear the field quickly, after which Verstappen came second behind leader Hamilton.
The Dutchman then saw his big competitor go into the pit lane in front of him. While Hamilton made a slow stop (4.6 seconds), Verstappen throttled. In the pit lane, Red Bull then also put new tires on the Limburger’s car within 1.9 seconds. That was the way to get back on the track for Hamilton.
Red Bull then managed to get Pérez in front of the Mercedes
leader. That’s how the unusual scenario unfolded for Hamilton that he faced against two Red Bulls. Teammate Valtteri Bottas was nowhere to be seen.
Pérez wins in Baku after crash
Safetycar on the track after blowout at Stroll
The race then stabilized again, until Lance Stroll got a blowout on the straight. The Aston Martin driver turned right into the wall at high speed. For a moment, the Canadian farmer stayed in his car, but then got out unharmed.
It gave the head a chance to make a pit stop, but the entire top ten stayed outside to reach the finish line on the hard tyres. The biggest winner of the safety car situation was Vettel, who had made his pit stop last and therefore had newer tyres than the drivers around him. After Verstappen had started the field again, the German struck immediately at Gasly in the AlphaTauri.
It wasn’t long before the real chaos hit the streets of Baku. Verstappen seemed to be racing for the victory carefree, but suddenly got a blowout on the long straight. The Limburger could no longer control his car and folded right into the wall. The race management decided to stop the race.
Restart gave Hamilton a chance to win
The race management wanted to finish the remaining three laps, with a standing restart. That seemed like an excellent opportunity for Hamilton to win. In the phase before verstappen’s blowout, he didn’t get past Pérez, but when the red lights went out again, he was away much better than the Mexican. Hamilton briefly took the lead but went ostentatiously wrong and missed the first corner completely.
As the entire field raced past the seven-time world champion, Pérez immediately punched a hole in his pursuers Vettel and Gasly, while Leclerc made another frantic but unsuccessful attempt to take third
place. For this struggling duo, Pérez crossed the line first, followed by Vettel and Gasly.
Behind the unusual podium and Leclerc, Lando Norris crossed the finish line in fifth place in the McLaren, followed by the experienced Fernando Alonso in the
Alpine. Mercedes had a disastrous day, with a twelfth place for Bottas and ultimately a 16th-ranked Hamilton.
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