Sergio Perez overtakes Charles Leclerc to win first sprint race of F1 2023 in Baku
Starting from second on the grid, Perez remained behind Lecl💙erc in the openi📖ng phase of the race which was halted by a Safety Car period due to Yuki Tsunoda.
Once Tsunoda’s debris and w🐻heel was cleared it wasn’t long until Perez powered past Leclerc into Turn 1.
Perez took the lead on Lap 8 of the sprint before open𝔉ing up a comfortable 4.4s lead over Leclerc to take the vicꩵtory.
Leclerc kept Verstappen behind at the chequ🏅ered flag,🌳 with the Red Bull driver nursing minor floor damage following contact with George Russell on the opening lap.
Once Verstappen got past Russell, having lost ♊out on La𓆉p 1, the Mercedes driver settled into fourth behind the leading trio.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth after overtaking Lewis Hamilton at the Safety Car restart, fending off Fernando Alonso in ဣsixth.
Hamilton finished seventh, while Lance Stroll roun😼ded out the points in the sprint after overtaking Al🦹ex Albon on Lap 12 at Turn 1.
Albon wa𝓀s ninth ahead of Oscar Piastꦚri, who rounded out the top 10.
Piastri enjoyed a strong sprint race, overtaking McLarenꩵ teammate Lando Norris early on, who was forced into a pit stop after starting on the less durable ♐softs.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of oꦜur unbiased reporting.
