"Fight for the win": Sergio Perez sets sights on winning both races after dominating the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP Sprint

Sergio Perez stormed to victory in the sprint race at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, overtaking Charles Leclerc for the win. The Mexican has now won the first sprint race of his career and is riding a confidence high for Sunday's main race.

Perez started behind Leclerc at the start of the sprint race but managed to pull off a brilliant overtake using his car's incredible DRS advantage. The former Racing Point driver waited patiently for the right moment, taking advantage of Ferrari's high tire degradation.

By winning the sprint race, Sergio Perez has added eight points to his tally, inching closer to his teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen. Verstappen finished in P3, after initially falling behind George Russell at the start of the race.

Sergio Perez will start Sunday's race behind Leclerc and Verstappen but is confident that he can take the fight to them. Speaking to Naomi Schiff in Parc Ferme after the race, the Mexican said:

"It was good with these tricky sessions. It's been a lot of pressure put on us and our team's engineers, mechanics and drivers. To get away with the maximum points was the main objective but obviously, we know tomorrow is the main race."

He continued:

"We were able to learn a bit, but tomorrow we will be on much higher fuel loads. Track conditions are going to be different. I think there is good learning today and P3 is not ideal for tomorrow's race but I will give it a go and fight for the win."

---

Sergio Perez backed to fight Max Verstappen in title fight

According to 1996 world champion Damon Hill, Sergio Perez is capable of competing with Max Verstappen for the 2023 world championship. Perez won the Saudi Arabian GP from pole position, beating his teammate Verstappen, which Hill believes is a sign of his potential.

Despite starting in 15th and facing several challenges during the race, Verstappen managed to make a remarkable comeback and secured second place.

However, Perez failed to secure a podium finish in Melbourne, where Verstappen claimed the top spot from pole position. The Mexican has now managed to outperform Verstappen in Baku's sprint race, winning from P2.

Speaking about the two, Damon Hill said:

"Checo knows what he's up against but he's not going to go down without a fight. It could be quite interesting. I think the problem that you have is that Max is a bit of a force of nature, and it's how much pressure he can put on the team to make sure his championship aspirations are not interfered with by Checo."

It will be interesting to see which of the two Red Bull drivers comes out on top at the end of the year.