Verstappen wins Azerbaijan GP as both Ferraris retire

Max Verstappen led a 1-2 finish for Red Bull Racing in the Azerbaijan GP, ahead of Sergio Perez, on a day that saw both Ferrari cars retire. Verstappen, who has now scored his fifth win out of eight races so far, has also further stretched out his championship lead as a result.

George Russell capitalised on Ferrari’s misfortune to grab the final podium spot for Mercedes.

• Verstappen wins, 20.823 secs ahead of Perez
• Leclerc drops to third in championship after another DNF
• Russell complete podium

Double retirement for Ferrari

Sergio Perez snatched the lead from pole sitter Charles Leclerc at the start. However, Leclerc was able to regain the lead after pitting early under the Virtual Safety Car, trigged by his teammate Carlos Sainz stopping with a hydraulic failure.

But a similar fate awaited Leclerc and he was forced to retire on Lap 20 due to what appeared to be a power unit issue – the second time this has happened in three races. This delivers a big blow to Leclerc’s championship bid. The Ferrari driver, who was leading the championship before the Spanish GP, has scored only 12 points in the last three races compared to Verstappen’s 65.

“We were in the lead of the race, I was managing the tyres well, we just had to manage the tyres and the race till the end, which I think we were definitely in the best position possible to do that. Another DNF, it hurts. We really need to look into that for it to not happen again,” a dejected Leclerc said after the race.

In fact, all four cars that retired – including Zhou Guanyu in the Alfa Romeo and Kevin Magnussen in the Haas – were using Ferrari power. This is in stark contrast to the Italian squad’s promising start to the season, and could very well derail their championship hopes if not addressed soon.

Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2

Amidst all of this drama, Verstappen had successfully passed Perez on Lap 15, with Red Bull issuing orders to not fight. Having inherited the lead once Leclerc retired, Verstappen set about opening a gap and crossed the chequered flag 20.823 secs ahead of Perez.

"I think today we had incredible pace in the car, we could really look after the tyres and we could chip away at it, pass for the lead. Obviously, also, maybe a tiny bit lucky with the retirements, but nevertheless I think our car was really quick today so I could have closed that gap, so then you have a race on your hands. But overall, really happy with the balance of the car today," Verstappen said.

George Russell was third, continuing his streak of finishing in the top five of every single race so far this year.

Lewis Hamilton fourth in Azerbaijan GP

Hamilton finished behind his teammate in fourth place. The Mercedes driver climbed from seventh on the grid and used his fresher tyres to overtake Pierre Gasly for the position on Lap 44.

Sebastian Vettel finished behind Gasly in sixth place, followed by Fernando Alonso. They were followed by the McLaren pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris. Ricciardo benefitted by pitting during the Lap 33 Virtual Safety Car to finish ahead of his teammate. Esteban Ocon scored the final point with a 10^th place finish.

2022 F1 drivers’ championship standings

With Leclerc suffering his second retirement in three races, he’s dropped to third place overall in the drivers’ championship, behind Sergio Perez. Verstappen has stretched his lead to 21 points from Perez and 116 points from Leclerc.

Up next is the Canadian GP, which returns to the F1 calendar after three years. The race will take place on June 19.

2022 Azerbaijan GP results