April 30, (THEWILL) – Red Bull’s Sergio Perez made history by becoming the first driver to win multiple Azerbaijan Grand Prix races in Baku.
The Mexican driver followed up his Sprint win with a commanding victory in a lacklustre race, leading his teammate, Max Verstappen, home. Charles Leclerc completed the podium, denying Fernando Alonso his fifth consecutive top-three finish of the season.
The safety car was deployed after Nyck de Vries hit the barriers at Turn 5, causing Lewis Hamilton to drop from fifth to tenth place. Red Bull also made a mistake by pitting Verstappen too early, costing him the lead. While there were some early clashes among drivers, including Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen sustaining damage, the race failed to deliver on its past thrills, with little action after the safety car period.
The driving from Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg proved that the hard tires could serve throughout the race making for an uneventful finale. The pair were able to complete the race distance without pitting until the closing laps, and despite a mid-race challenge from Alonso, Leclerc maintained his charge to finish on his first podium of the season, therefore, ending Alonso’s hopes of a perfect podium record.
Leclerc’s podium finish was well-deserved, as he fended off Alonso’s challenge in the middle of the race and then increased his pace towards the end to earn his place. In the end, it was Mercedes driver, George Russell, who claimed the fastest lap of the race with fresh soft tires in the closing stages.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
