Sergio Perez secured a remarkable surprise win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on 28 April 2023. Famously known as Checo Perez, the Mexican beat his teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen to ring in the victory. With the win, Red Bull extends its domination in Formula One with a double victory. Perez is now just 6 points behind Max Verstappen for the Championship.
Charles Leclerc, F1 driver for Ferrari finished third and secured the first podium for his team this year. Leclerc finished a distant 21.27 seconds behind the second Red Bull. George Russel bagged the fastest lap for Mercedes.
Ecstatic on his win, Sergio Perez remarked on his team radio, “Well done guys, we dominated this weekend,” as he won the Saturday sprint as well.
The race wasn’t so straightforward as Alpha Tauri’s Nyck de Vries collided with the wall on lap 11 and caused serious damage to the front left suspension of the car. This brought out the safety car and aided Sergio in his win. At the time when the safety car was deployed Max Verstappen had already made his pitstop while Perez decided to stay out on the track. Shortly when Perez came for a pitstop, it was like a free stop as the track has already slowed behind the safety car. Nevertheless, the in-team rivalry and fight for the championship gives F1 2023 the much-needed fire!