Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB19. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku Street Circuit,
Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB19. Formula 1 World Championship,…

How the F1 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix unfolded

A recap of how the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix unfolded, as Sergio Perez beat Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen to an important victory. 

30 Apr 2023
13:54
See you in Miami!

That wraps up our coverage of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Be sure to join us again next week as F1 heads to America for the Miami Grand Prix. 

13:50
Full Azerbaijan GP result

Here is the full result from the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku Street Circuit,
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4,…

13:42
Ocon drives into pit lane full of people

Absolute chaos right at the end as Ocon came into the pits to make his mandatory pit stop when mechanics and photographers were in the pit lane making their way to the podium. 

That was too close for comfort...

13:39

Alonso finishes fourth ahead of Sainz, who holds off Hamilton for fifth. 

Stroll is seventh, ahead of Russell - who did claim the fastest lap bonus point. 

Norris and Tsunoda claim the final points on offer in ninth and 10th. 

13:37
Perez wins Azerbaijan GP!

Perez crosses the line to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

That is Perez's second victory of 2023 and he has now cut the gap to Verstappen to just six points. 

Verstappen takes second, 2.1s behind Perez. 

Leclerc completes the podium in third place. 

13:35
Final lap!

Perez begins his final lap and is well on course to take victory here in Baku. 

13:35
Russell pits for soft tyres

Russell takes advantage of the gap behind him to pit as he takes on soft tyres in a bid to snatch the fastest lap bonus point. 

13:34
Verstappen and Alonso trading fastest laps

Verstappen and Alonso have been trading fastest laps in the last few tours. Who will grab that extra point? 

13:29
Lap 46 - Norris moves into the points!

Norris has snuck past Hulkenberg's Haas on the run to Turn 7 to snatch 10th place in the closing stages. 

13:26
Hamilton looking to pass Sainz

Hamilton is consistently a few car lengths behind Sainz but just doesn't seem to have enough grunt in his engine to get the move done on the straights, even with DRS activated. 

Sainz continues to hold on. 

13:21
10 laps to go!

Perez is looking good out front with 10 to go. Gap is nearly three seconds. 

13:15
Lap 37 - Zhou becomes second retirement

Zhou has been told to box with an issue by his team. 

The Alfa Romeo driver becomes the second retirement and joins De Vries on the sidelines. 

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku Street Circuit,
Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd…

13:11
Hamilton back on Sainz's tail

After falling a few seconds behind Sainz, Hamilton has been chipping away and is now back within DRS range in the battle for fifth place. 

13:09
Perez's turn to clip the wall

Now it's Perez who has clipped the Turn 15 wall. The race leader hasn't done any damage to his RB19 and is still over two seconds clear of Verstappen. 

13:06
Lap 33 - Verstappen kisses barrier

Verstappen has just clipped the Turn 15 barrier with his rear right tyre. 

Meanwhile, Perez has taken the fastest lap back from Verstappen. 

13:02
Verstappen battling car issues?

Verstappen reports he is struggling with issues in his Red Bull. 

"The balance between the diff and the engine breaking is not good," he says. 

13:00
Lap 31 - Verstappen falling back from Perez

Perez has now pulled 2.5s clear of Verstappen.

The Mexican is managing this race beautifully, so far. 

12:56
Alonso hunting the podium

12:55
Red Bulls in a league of their own

Perez and Verstappen are setting a relentless pace here in their private battle for the win. 

Perez leads Verstappen by 1.5s but they are both pushing hard and pulling further clear of Leclerc with each passing lap. 

Leclerc is now 15 seconds adrift of Perez and over 13 seconds behind Verstappen. 

12:51
Lap 25 - Hamilton hunting Sainz

Hamilton is within DRS range of Sainz's Ferrari. He looks to have more pace at this stage of the race but hasn't quite managed to get close enough to make a move. 

12:47
Russell putting pressure on Stroll

Russell has closed up to Stroll and has hovered in DRS range for a couple of laps now. Is he biding his time to make a move? 

12:44
Red Bulls dropping Leclerc

Leclerc is struggling to keep up with the Red Bulls here. The Ferrari driver has slipped nearly nine seconds behind Verstappen on Lap 22. 

12:42
Hamilton passes Stroll for P6

Hamilton continues to make moves after that frustrating Safety Car intervention. 

Stroll makes a mistake and runs wide at Turn 16, allowing Hamilton to pounce and take sixth place on the main straight. 

12:40
Lap 19 - Verstappen sets fastest lap

Verstappen has just set the fastest lap of the race but Perez is doing a great job so far keeping his teammate at bay. The gap is 1.5s.