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The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP ended with Sergio Perez securing a double to win both the sprint and the main race and beating Max Verstappen in the process. The race was a bit of a damp squib as it suffered from what became a stalemate at the front of the grid between the Red Bull drivers.
There were some interesting takeaways from the weekend that saw a competitive Ferrari, a resurgent McLaren, and the trial of a new format. So, after a hectic three days of the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP, what were the key takeaways? Well, let's take a look.
#1 Sergio Perez is a contender if Max Verstappen continues to lose focus
Max Verstappen spent almost the entire weekend focussing on everything but winning the race. He came into the weekend already pissed off about the new format. Then the incident with George Russell was dragged on far more than it needed to. By the time Verstappen was on the front row of the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP on Sunday, he was a spent force.
When he finally got the jump on Leclerc, Verstappen would have expected to run away with the race. Well, he didn't.
This season, at Red Bull, we have a very determined Sergio Perez who feels this is the best possible opportunity he could ever have of winning the title. On the other hand, we have Max, who has appeared to be far more distracted than normal.
If Max continues to keep this up, it won't be a surprise if Perez turns into an unlikely championship contender this season.
#2 The first set of upgrades can't come soon enough
Ferrari getting pole position at the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP was very impressive, but it's hard to understand how the same car can't hold a candle in front of Red Bull in the race. There were times in the race when the Red Bull duo was as much as a second per lap quicker than Leclerc.
Overall, one could assume that there is arguably a deficit of around half-a-second between Red Bull and Ferrari (a very conservative guess). The first set of upgrades that are set to come at Miami cannot come fast enough.
As an F1 fan, one has to hope that those upgrades help bring the gap down between Red Bull and the other teams.
#3 Ferrari would be smart to single-handedly back Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc finished the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP close to 24 seconds ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz and this gap was pulled off in clean air. At no point in time was Sainz stuck in traffic and that played a role in him losing out. This was the difference between the two drivers on pure performance.
For a change, Ferrari now has a sensible man in Fred Vasseur at the helm. He should be smart enough to understand that Leclerc is the driver that would win the team every possible accolade. He should also be aware that the rumors of a possible Leclerc to Mercedes move have intensified in the last few weeks.
It would be very smart of him to have a chat with Leclerc and start building the entire team around him. Having two equal drivers is great but Ferrari needs a leader and in Leclerc, it has one that does not get treated like one.
Time is of the essence for the Italian team, let's hope it acts accordingly after the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP.
#4 Shortening the DRS zone was a horrible decision
The DRS zone of the main straight was shortened by a 100m over the point that last season, it was far too easy to overtake. It hasn't been taken into consideration that the cars this season are facing a major issue when it comes to getting the overtakes done.
The aero development in the last year has had an adverse effect and the impact of DRS has reduced. We all saw what happened because of that as the entire race featured far too many DRS trains and arguably not too many overtakes. It's safe to say the decision to reduce the DRS zone by 100m proved to be a horrible one.
#5 The sprint weekend format failed miserably
The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint race weekend format did prove to be a bit of a dud. One of the major reasons behind it has been the mindless attempt to bring chaos and jeopardy at every stage of the race weekend.
As a result, while everyone loved the close battle in qualifying between Leclerc and the Red Bull boys, both races were a bit uneventful.
It is safe to say that the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP race weekend proved that the sport is barking up the wrong tree when it comes to improving the product.
