Baku GP: Perez win, Lewis and Max score 0
Sergio Perez won a dramatic Baku Grand Prix after Red Bull Formula 1 teammate Max Verstappen crashed out late on due to a tyre failure.
Two major tyre blowouts dominated the race. This will leave serious questions for Pirelli to answer. Sudden left tyre delamination left both Lance and Max eliminated from the race.
Verstappen had looked on course to take a well-deserved victory in Baku but crashed out at high-speed along the main straight just four laps from the end.
The Dutchman had dominated the race up until his accident. He jumped Lewis Hamilton in the pits when the race restarted following a mid-race Safety Car.
A lengthy red flag suspension ensued to clear the significant amount of debris strewn across the track. The race then resumed with a standing start restart for a two-lap sprint to the finish to determine the victor.
Disaster for Mercedes
The drama continued at the restart as Lewis Hamilton overshot Turn 1. He ran straight down the escape road in his bid to snatch the lead from Perez.
Hamilton ultimately finished 15th as he missed an open goal to retake the championship lead from Verstappen.
Hamilton’s rare error opened the door for Sebastian Vettel to claim his first podium for Aston Martin. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly completed the podium in third.
Gasly came out on top of a huge late scrap with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for the final place on the rostrum, with the pole sitter left to settle with fourth place at the chequered flag.
Lando Norris finished fifth for McLaren, ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and AlphaTauri F1 rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who scored his first points since the Bahrain season-opener.
Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen completed the rest of the top-10 order for Ferrari, McLaren and Alfa Romeo.
It proved to be a disastrous day for Mercedes as neither driver scored points, with Valtteri Bottas struggling to 12th in what was a dire performance from the Finn.
Baku Race Classification : Perez won the race as Lewis and Max failed to score.
