Formula 1 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix results

The F1 stalwart saw first-hand the challenges that Alpine faced as its weekend "snowballed out of control" following a fire on Pierre Gasly's car on Friday.
At an event where the team had hoped to have a trouble-free run to evaluate a new floor update, it encountered engine swaps, crash repairs, set-up changes, pit exit starts, and then a dramatic pitlane near-miss for Esteban Ocon at the end ...

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Drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were reckoned to have lost 0.2s on the main straight in Baku during the Friday practice run and both the grand prix and sprint race qualifying sessions.
The malfunction was primarily caused by an aerodynamic characteristic of the new low-drag wing specification, which meant the overtaking device was oscillating and would only intermittently ...

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Hamilton was running fifth in the early stages but, along with initial race leader Max Verstappen, he was one of several drivers who pitted under green-flag conditions just before a safety car emerged.
Many of his rivals were able to make cheap stops and, by the time it had all shaken out, Hamilton had tumbled to 10th.
Under the safety car, he inevitably sounded frustrated on the radio ...

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Victories for Perez in both Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s grand prix in Azerbaijan left the Mexican just six points shy of his team-mate after the first four events of the 2023 campaign.
Horner stressed that the team is happy to see the points shared out between the duo as it helps to lift both men clear of the rest of the field.
He says the strong showing from both drivers will help ...

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The Italian outfit knows that its current weakness against Red Bull is in managing tyres over a race stint, with there being little to separate the two teams in single-lap qualifying form. 
Despite making a breakthrough in unlocking better race pace in Australia, and grabbing pole position for Baku’s sprint and main grand prix, the team was still no match for Red Bull over long runs last ...

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The Italian acknowledged that at one stage there was a possibility that the Australian might have missed some of Saturday's sprint day track action in order to focus on being fit for Sunday's main event.
In the end, Piastri greatly impressed the team by not only completing the weekend but also finishing a respectable 11th in the race.
"We have had a couple of points during the weekend in ...

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Sergio Perez's latest street track victory has raised his hopes of really taking on Max Verstappen for the 2023 world title. That and the Mexican driver's victory in the tweaked sprint format, along with his team-mate's George Russell clashes, meant Perez left the Baku weekend nine points closer in the points standings. He is now just six back from the reigning world champion.
That is the ...

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The legendary F1 designer’s current deal had been up for renewal at the end of this year, prompting recent speculation that he could be targeted by competitors.
But on the back of a dominant start to the 2023 season for Red Bull’s RB19, sources have revealed that the team and Newey have moved quickly to sort out the details of a new arrangement that will see them work together for many more ...

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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was dominated by talk over the new sprint timetable and debate about whether or not it risked taking attention away from the main race on Sunday. 
However, a lack of action in the grand prix itself has highlighted that the current generation of cars is not delivering the kind of spectacle hoped for when new rules were introduced from 2022. 
Wolff believed ...

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Perez benefited when team-mate Max Verstappen pitted just before a safety car, which cost him two places.
Before that, Verstappen had passed Ferrari’s pole-winner Charles Leclerc to take the lead at the start of lap 4 and pulled away. A safety car was called after Verstappen made his pitstop, dropping him to third as his rivals pitted under yellow.
Despite quickly repassing Leclerc ...

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Early leader Verstappen was brought into the pits on lap 10 of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after starting to struggle with his rear tyres and being put under pressure by team-mate Sergio Perez.
Moments before the decision AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries had stopped on track after clipping the wall in Turn 5 and as the safety car was brought out, the move backfired on Red Bull.
With Verstappen ...

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Ocon stretched his starting hard compound Pirellis until the final lap, with his Alpine team hoping a late safety car or red flag event might create an opportunity for the driver to gain a cheaper pitstop.
With no such incident occurring, to avoid disqualification and similar to Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, Ocon was required to pit on the run to the chequered flag in order to change onto a set of ...

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Verstappen's countryman Nyck de Vries clipped the inside wall at Turn 6 on the 10th lap which broke the front-left suspension on his AlphaTauri and left him stranded on the morsel of run-off available at the corner.
Red Bull elected to pit Verstappen at the end of that lap but, as he was leaving the pits, the safety car emerged to allow the marshals to clear up de Vries' car.
This prompted ...

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Polesitter Leclerc was passed by Max Verstappen and eventual Baku victor Sergio Perez come only lap six of 51, with the Ferrari driver opting not to fight the Red Bulls to preserve his Pirelli tyres.
The Monegasque eventually finished 21 seconds adrift of Perez but held off Aston Martin driver Alonso by 0.8s to end the two-time champion’s run of consecutive podiums at the start of the ...

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Alongside Haas' Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine driver Ocon had completed the entire race on the hard tyre, hoping for a late red flag to give him a free, mandatory swap to a different compound.
When that red flag didn't arrive, Ocon waited until the start of the final lap to dive into the pits and pick up soft tyres.
But with race leader Sergio Perez about to cross the line to take the win in Baku ...

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Friday and Saturday qualifying topper Leclerc had launched cleanly to comfortably hold off front-row rival Verstappen into Turn 1 at the race start.
But the Ferrari driver was then left vulnerable as DRS was activated at the start of lap three of 51, with the chasing defending champion cutting the 0.4-second gap before using the overtaking aid to pass over the line.
A compliant Leclerc was ...

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Perez led Max Verstappen home after a tepid Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but his afternoon nearly came undone when on lap 34 he clipped the outside wall on the entry to Turn 15.
The Mexican came away unscathed but afterwards admitted his error led to a hard thump on the right-front corner of his Red Bull RB19.
"Really hard," he said about the hit. "I had a bit of luck, especially with the front ...

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The Mexican driver took advantage of a pitstop under the safety car to emerge in the lead after Verstappen had led the early phases of the race from polesitter Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc led away at the start line from Verstappen and, without DRS being made available in the opening series of laps, was able to hold a scant lead over the two-time champion.
But at the end of the third lap ...

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The multiple incidents at the Australian GP highlighted issues that drivers were having getting temperatures into their tyres on the way to standing restarts, when they were obliged to initially follow the safety car until it turns its light out.
The subject was discussed at length in Friday's drivers' briefing in Baku, and on Saturday morning the FIA canvassed teams before confirming a new ...

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Russell muscled ahead of Max Verstappen at the start of Saturday's sprint event, but after a resumption following a safety car period, the Dutchman passed him on the run down to Turn 1.
Although that move was achieved with DRS not yet activated, Red Bull's speed on the straight when it is open has been a focus of attention for rivals all season.
"We know what the speed difference is," said ...

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Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll had been struggling with the DRS overtaking device all weekend on their new low-drag wing for Baku's long straights.
The problem came up in Friday practice and continued all the way through both qualifying sessions this weekend and while Alonso reported no problems during Saturday evening's 17-lap sprint race he wasn't totally convinced the issues is fully ...

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Once Sergio Perez had shaken off polesitter Charles Leclerc in Formula 1’s sprint race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, victory seemed to be plain sailing.
The Mexican, a winner here in 2021 and a driver who has always performed strongly in the Azerbaijani capital, stuck with the Monegasque on the sixth-lap restart under the safety car and waited until DRS was available.
He scampered free of ...

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In the end, the team had nothing to gain by so doing and the anomaly in the regulations is set to be addressed before the next sprint event in Austria.
Read Also:

F1 Azerbaijan GP: Leclerc grabs Baku sprint pole despite crash
F1 Azerbaijan GP: Perez passes Leclerc to win F1 sprint


McLaren could potentially have gained an advantage because Norris had used up all of his soft ...

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The German was due to start from 16th on the grid, following Alpine's decision to start Esteban Ocon from the pitlane in both the sprint and grand prix, amid a difficult qualifying performance.
Hulkenberg's fortunes improved in the sprint shootout where he qualified 12th, but fell back through the 17-lap race having endured severe rear tyre graining throughout to finish 15th.
Haas has ...

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Ferrari will soon lavish the SF-23 with performance-finding upgrades. But for now, after a dismal start to the campaign, set-up tweaks alone have allowed the team to take a marked step forward in Australia and this weekend again in Azerbaijan. As proof, lead charge Charles Leclerc used the revised format for sprint race rounds to snare two pole positions across Friday and Saturday in ...

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Verstappen was left furious after Saturday’s Baku F1 sprint race when he felt Russell had unnecessarily made contact with him as they battled for third position in the first corners of the race.
The Red Bull driver confronted Russell in parc ferme after the race and, left unimpressed with his rival’s explanation, muttered that he was a ‘d***head’ as the Briton walked away.
Read ...

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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will line up on pole position after topping Friday's qualifying session, with Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez starting right behind him in second and third position.
When is the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP will begin at 3pm local time (+4 GMT) at the Baku City Circut.

Date: Sunday, April 30, 2023
Start time: 15:00 local ...

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In the first sprint of the season, which included a new qualifying format (see below), Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led from pole ahead of Perez, as Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and George Russell (Mercedes) clashed over third. After a safety car interruption, Verstappen retook third from Russell.
Perez DRS-ed past Leclerc on lap 8 and pulled clear to take victory, while Leclerc clung to second ...

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Tsunoda started two places ahead de Vries but on the first lap the Dutchman got past him as the pair exited Turn 2.
The Japanese driver then had a look down the outside at Turn 3, but on the exit de Vries took his line and clipped his team-mate’s front wing.
While de Vries continued unscathed Tsunoda lost the left side part of the wing and immediately told the team that he had to ...

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Under the safety car during Saturday's sprint, the Ferrari driver appeared to be raising the alarm about a cut to the power unit, and was publicly revealed as such on television with an on-screen graphic.
Asked about his comments regarding a 'cut' during the official post-sprint press conference, Leclerc clarified that it he was actually talking about a cat running across the path of the safety ...

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The Mercedes driver enjoyed the stronger launch in Saturday's sprint race to dive up the inside of fourth-starting Verstappen into Turn 1 in Baku and the duo continued to run side-by-side until the exit of the Turn 3 left-hander.
In their exchange, Russell and Verstappen bumped at the apex of Turn 2, with the impact tearing a gash in the left sidepod of the Red Bull before the Dutch driver then ...

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Third-starting Verstappen was hounded by fast-starting Russell into the first sequence of 90-degree left-handers of the Baku City Circuit.
An aggressive Russell tapped Verstappen's sidepod into Turn 2 and caused the Dutchman to slide, which gave Russell momentum on the stretch towards Turn 3. Verstappen then had to cede the position when he nudged Turn 3's outside wall.
The Red Bull driver ...

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Saturday polesitter Leclerc launched cleanly to hold position into Turn 1 and then retained control over second-starting Perez at a safety car restart that followed AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda shedding a tyre.
But shortly after DRS was enabled, the Red Bull's straightline advantage allowed Perez to dive cleanly up the inside into Turn 1 of lap eight for the lead and the eventual win by ...

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Starting second, Perez slotted in behind Leclerc at the start and stuck with him through the opening lap, before the race was paused for a safety car period produced after Yuki Tsunoda hit the wall at Turn 14 on the opening lap.
The Japanese driver tore the right-rear tyre off the rim, appearing to have had contact with team-mate Nyck de Vries to damage his front wing.
A virtual safety car ...

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In the new shootout session, the American driver did enough with the 11th fastest time in SQ1 to make it through to the second qualifying segment, but struck the wall at Turn 15 late on.
The impact with the barriers on the downhill exit damaged his car and included his right rear corner being ripped off, but Sargeant suffered no injuries. 
Despite there being several hours ...

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A late standing restart at the recent Australian Grand Prix led to chaos as drivers struggled on cold tyres, and that triggered a spate of collisions at the first corner that brought out a fresh red flag.
Following lengthy discussions in Friday night's F1 drivers' briefing in Azerbaijan, it is understood that Fernando Alonso suggested a tweak to procedures that could be brought into play to ...

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Adding to what has already been a troubled weekend for the French manufacturer, with Pierre Gasly starting 19th for both the sprint and main race following mechanical problems and a crash on Friday, the squad was hit by further woes on Saturday.
Ocon had qualified 13th for the sprint, one spot behind where he will line up for the race, but he will now no longer take up his place on the ...

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Formula 1 and the Baku City Circuit organisers behind the race have been in negotiations over a new deal to keep the six-kilometre street venue on the calendar, with "positive" talks having been ongoing throughout the F1 weekend.
Baku has been able to entice a sell-out crowd to the 2023 race, helped by the introduction of a new sprint format featuring standalone qualifying and race sessions on ...

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The Briton had a frustrating time in Friday qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as a mistake on his final Q2 run left him knocked out of the session and down in 11th on the grid.
But, without having been allowed to change car settings much because of parc ferme rules, Russell was able to put in a much more competitive performance as he grabbed a place on the second row in Saturday morning's ...

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