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The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Sergio Perez pull off his second victory of the season and also became the first driver to win multiple races in Baku. Perez was also voted the driver of the day after an extremely clean race saw him finish with clear daylight between himself and his teammate Max Verstappen.
There wasn't much that happened during the race, with the top five drivers being consistent for the majority of the 51-lap event. Although quite a lot of changes were expected in the top two, the Red Bulls were just too fast to be contested by any other team on the grid.
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Charles Leclerc started the race on pole, and just like in the sprint race, it wasn't long before Max Verstappen in his Red Bull took the lead from him. The Moegasque driver was sandwiched by the two RBs until Checo overtook him to claim P2.
Leclerc did quite a good job at maintaining his tires and energy to hold on to P3. The Ferrari driver held off a late charge from Fernando Alonso for long enough to bring in Ferrari's first podium of the season.
Red Bull delighted as Checo wins F1 Azerbaijan GP
Red Bull have won all four races of the F1 season so far, with the Austrian team bringing home their second one-two finish of 2023 in Baku. The RB19 has been performing extremely well in contrast to its rivals on the grid, and the Azerbaijan GP reflected the same.
Although Max Verstappen had the lead in the initial stages and held off Sergio Perez for a considerable while, the Mexican benefited from a safety car deployment to claim the spot.
Charles Leclerc pushed hard for a P2 finish, but the Dutchman was just too quick for the Ferrari. Verstappen struggled to keep up with his teammate in the lead of the race for very long time, making small mistakes here and there, but an almost-perfect drive from the Mexican registered another one of his F1 victories.
Perez's win has cut the gap to championship leader Verstappen to just six points. It looks like the two Red Bulls will battle each other for the world championship this season.
Ferrari showed signs of improvement in the race as they were technically the second fastest car on the grid. Further improvements could mean that the Maranello-based team could compete with Red Bull as well.
