Mexican team pilot Red Bull, Sergio “Checo” Perezopened the first sprint race calendar for 2023 Formula 1 with victory after defeating the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), the second, and his partner is Dutch, Max Verstappenthird.
CZECH REPUBLIC UNITES VICTORY IN SPRINT!!! 🏆
Important moments on the board for the Mexican racer in the championship fight 💪
He really likes Baku! 🙌#Azerbaijan GP #F1Sprint @SChecoPerez @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/Y5JYQaXTYa
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023
opening new sprint format the highest category presented this week, ‘Czech’ ripped second after good classification “Shootout”behind ferrari and ahead of other RB18s.
Leclerc’s start was perfect to keep position over Checo at the start, where the Guadalajara player didn’t take too many risks in the first corners and settled in second position.
Who, without hesitation, went for everything from the very beginning, is the British from Mercedes, George Russellwhat pushed Verstappen to the limit steal a position and finishing in third place, abandoning maneuvers that Max, the championship leader, considered overly dangerous.
SPRINT ROUND 1/17
Russell passes Verstappen at Turn 3! 🙌
Verstappen unimpressed by Mercedes driver’s overtaking radio waves#Azerbaijan GP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/3MCtC87rwK
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023
However, having driven only two laps, they gave the first yellow flag race after AlphaTauri from Yuki Tsunoda completely lost rear tire what ended rolls independently along the Azerbaijani highway. Tsunoda stood aside and forced safety car.
SPRINT ROUND 1/17
⚠️ VIRTUAL SAFE MACHINE ⚠️
Tsunoda hits a wall and loses his right rear wheel! 😩#Azerbaijan GP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/aZWMp3eHQX
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023
The restart was given before the 6th lap out of 17.
Verstappen is back in third place taking advantage of the speed of his RB18, and the original positions were restored, and Ferrari from Leclerc to the point and then Red Bull, Mercedes Russell And galloping horse from Carlos Sainzrounded out the top five.
The biggest beneficiary of the safety car was Perezwho did not miss his chance, keeping him in close proximity to the Monegasque and, for the second time with DRS, on the eighth lap, finally the Mexican won first place in a street race: his specialty.
SPRINT ROUND 8/17
SERGIO PEREZ SELECTS THE LEADER!
He sends it inside Leclerc on turn 1. #Azerbaijan GP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/V8j2EMHT46
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2023
From there Red Bull’s dominance was noticeablefor although he was unable to increase his difference to more than a second on the following laps over the Italian team, all of Leclerc’s efforts were in vain and he was relegated to second position, which, however hard Verstappen struggled, he could not get.
sprint race Azerbaijan Grand Prixwhich will continue from full race on sunday, finished in the following way:
1. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
9. Alexander Albon (Williams)
10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
11. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
12. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
14. Nick DeVries (AlphaTauri)
15. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
16. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
17. Lando Norris (McLaren)
18. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
19. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) Dropout
20. Logan Sargent (Williams) Did not participate
Source: Aristegui Noticias
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
