Perez Wins Baku Sprint Race
The Mexican driver had to take the position from 'polesitter' Leclerc who kept the gap relatively close.
The first ever, newly-formatted Sprint Race of the season took place on the city of Baku, in Azerbaijan. Saturday was solely dedicated to the Sprint Race with its qualifiers early during the day.
Charles Leclerc managed to secure pole position for the Sprint Race. The Monegasque knew that he was a sitting duck because of Red Bull's incredible speed, especially when activating the DRS.
The Ferrari driver had a great start and managed to defend his position from Perez. Verstappen, on the other hand, had to battle Russell for 3rd through the first couple of corners. Unfortunately for the Dutch driver, he suffered significant damage to his sidepod due to a collision with Russell at the beginning of the race.
It was a racing incident; however, the Mercedes driver risked too much considering it was the first lap of the race. Verstappen's winning chances were hindered and he had to 'comfortably' settle for 3rd.
Even though Verstappen's Red Bull was damaged, he was not challenged by either Russell or Sainz. That really tells you something about Red Bull's pace, compared to Mercedes and Ferrari. He managed to keep close to Leclerc although he was not able to challenge him for position.
Apart from the initial incident, the other significant eventuality happened to Tsunoda, who came too close to the wall and damaged his rear right tire. The Japanese driver limped to the pitlane and the team was able to fit a new tire and change the front wing.
The car quickly rejoined the race under safety car conditions, however, they had to retire it because it had terminal rear right suspension damage. The stewards investigated the incident because of an unsafe release protocol.
Perez was pushing, but not too much, he managed to finish 4.4 seconds ahead of Leclerc. He was also scoring purple sectors here and there. The Mexican driver also got the fastest lap of the Sprint Race.
Another notable thing to point out is that both Aston Martin's finished within the points. Keep in mind that the Sprint Race only allows points for 1st to 8th. Despite suffering from DRS-related issues, Aston Martin is showing their competitiveness.
Everything is set for tomorrow's race. It is going to be different than today's Sprint Race. Strategy will be a determining factor, and we might see Ferrari struggle to get the last podium spot, albeit, if nothing happens to Verstappen or Perez during the starting run.
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