Azerbaijan GP: Verstappen claims victory as both Ferraris retire

Max Verstappen eased to victory after both Ferrari drivers retired in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Dutchman ran third early on but would pass teammate Sergio Perez between a pair of mechanical problems for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Mercedes also capitalised as George Russell continued his impressive top-five finishing streak in third ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fourth.

Race Review

At the start, Perez took the lead into Turn 1 after Leclerc locked up, otherwise, the changes in position came further down the order on the opening lap.

Nicholas Latifi was given a 10-second stop/go penalty after a mechanic was working on his car within the 15-second signal before the formation lap.

A hydraulics problem caused Carlos Sainz to retire, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Ferrari teammate Leclerc took the opportunity to pit while both Red Bulls stayed out.

George Russell moved up to fourth after Sainz’s issue and also pitted ahead of Fernando Alonso and the two McLarens who did not change tyres.

At the front, a loss of pace for Perez saw Verstappen sweep into the lead at Turn 1 as Leclerc relentlessly closed in on his fresher tyres.

Checo would then pit for hards but a slow stop compromised his race further.

A disastrous day for Ferrari saw Leclerc suffer an engine failure on the main straight and retire back to the pits, leaving the two Red Bulls out front.

Russell was promoted again this time into the podium places ahead of Pierre Gasly and Hamilton, who was battling back pain in his Mercedes.

An engine issue for Kevin Magnussen led to a Virtual Safety Car with the top three using the opportunity to pit for a second time.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of only a few drivers to start on the hard tyre, and the Australian used the cheaper pit stop to switch to mediums and only drop to ninth.

Yuki Tsunoda ran as high as fifth as AlphaTauri opted not to pit under the second VSC, but a DRS problem dropped the Japanese driver down the field.

The decision to stay out on used tyres also hurt Gasly’s race as the Frenchman was a sitting duck for Hamilton on fresher tyres to overtake for P4.

Out front, the memories of last year’s puncture were fresh in Red Bull’s mind as the team urged Max Verstappen to manage his pace.

And the Dutchman reluctantly agreed with the result being a comfortable victory by over 20 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Perez.

George Russell secured third ahead of Hamilton as Mercedes once again limited the damage on an uncompetitive weekend.

Gasly crossed the line in fifth ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in seventh.

Ricciardo claimed eighth as McLaren had to hold Lando Norris back in ninth. Esteban Ocon completed the top 10.