Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez claims his first victory for Red Bull Racing after his teammate and championship leader, Max Verstappen, crashes out on Lap 47.
[Image taken by Mark Sutton]
Throughout practice, Mercedes appeared to be struggling for pace due to which appeared to be issues with their rear wing. While their closest rivals, Red Bull, looked strong having taken both the lead in the drivers and constructors’ championship in the previous race at Monaco.
Following a tense qualifying and a record of four red flags, all eyes were on the race with the safety car very much likely to appear. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc parked his car on Pole for a 2nd consecutive week, with Sir Lewis Hamilton managing to achieve a somewhat surprising P2 and Verstappen qualifying in P3. At the start of the race, Perez made up two places to fourth as Hamilton quickly overtook Leclerc. As Verstappen also passed Leclerc, he began chasing down Hamiton who once again looked to be having difficulties with his rear wing.
A slow stop for Sir Lewis having to wait for Gasly to pass, saw him lose at least two seconds. Both Red Bull drivers choosing to stay out longer allowed a stronger lead. Ultimately, this then proved to be strategically advantageous with both Max and Checo coming out ahead of Hamilton with fresher tyres after their pit stops. Perez came under attack from the Mercedes driver who came close, although not close enough to execute the overtake. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas remained stuck in P10 behind McLaren’s Lando Norris despite Mercedes taking a new power unit to Baku.
Aston Martin displayed promising pace and positions with both driver’s staying out as long as possible for a chance to pit under the predicted safety car. While some drivers did lock up, ending in the escape roads, they managed to re-join the race safely, causing only yellow flags to be shown. Ironically, it wasn’t until Lance Stroll himself crashed with a suspected left rear tyre failure, was the safety car needed. However, the pit lane remained closed due to the position of the car and the huge amounts of debris on the track.
During the restart, the hard tyre proved difficult to warm up to temperature but the top 3 cars - Verstappen, Perez and Hamilton managed to maintain their positions. Nonetheless, Vettel was able to pass Leclerc to take P4.
Just a few laps from the end, the championship leader, Verstappen, crashed out like Stroll with again a suspected left rear tyre failure. After a delayed response, the safety car appeared with the race eventually being red-flagged as concerns about the tyres came from Red Bull’s team on the radio to F1 Race Director, Michael Massey. Also, allowing the marshals to clear away the crash. A devastating blow for Red Bull who had no warnings reported from sensors on the car on the tyres. Especially devastating being that this race looked likely to provide Red Bull with their first 1-2 finish since 2016.
A standing start was confirmed with drivers changing their tyres for what eventually became a sprint race. In P2, Sir Lewis Hamilton’s car smoked as he looked set to overtake Sergio Perez for the lead of the race. Yet, disaster struck Hamilton by hitting a ‘magic button’ that disrupted his break balance, causing him to lock up and go straight ahead rather than turn left.
Finally, Perez took his first victory for Red Bull even though he almost had to retire with hydraulic issues. After much criticism, fan-favourite Sebastian Vettel claimed redemption, finishing in P2 with Pierre Gasly taking 3rd, managing to keep Leclerc behind him. Hamilton’s run of 54 consecutive points finishes came to an end as Mercedes drops back further in the constructors’ championship. The gap between Verstappen and Hamilton remains unchanged as both driver’s failed to score points - as Sir Lewis Hamilton stated ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’.
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