Perez admits “horrible” Australian GP qualifying “really knocked my confidence”
Sergio Perez says he is rebuilding his confidence after his disastrous Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix four weeks ago.
Leclerc claims sprint race pole ahead of Red Bull pair despite last-lap crash
Charles Leclerc took his second pole position of the weekend in Azerbaijan, putting the Ferrari driver in the top spot for today’s sprint race.
Azerbaijan GP
Sprint ShootOut Qualifying Session
Pos No. Driver Team Model Time Gap Laps
1 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-23 1:41.697s - 14
2 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull RB19 1:41.844s 0.147s 15
3 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB19 1:41.987s 0.290s 13
4 63 George Russell Mercedes W14 1:42.252s 0.555s 18
5 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari SF-23 1:42.287s 0.590s 15
6 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W14 1:42.502s 0.805s 17
7 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW45 1:42.846s 1.149s 17
8 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 1:43.010s 1.313s 16
9 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 1:43.064s 1.367s 17
10 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 No time 12
11 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 1:43.427s 1.010s 12
12 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas-Ferrari VF-23 1:43.806s 1.389s 12
13 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault A523 1:44.088s 1.671s 11
14 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari VF-23 1:44.332s 1.915s 11
15 2 Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes FW45 No time 6
16 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 1:45.177s 2.357s 6
17 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 1:45.352s 2.532s 6
18 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Red Bull AT04 1:45.436s 2.616s 6
19 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A523 1:46.951s 4.131s 3
20 21 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri-Red Bull AT04 1:48.180s 5.360s 6
Leclerc relieved last-lap qualifying crash “doesn’t have any consequence”
Charles Leclerc was relieved his crash on the final lap of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race did not cost him pole position.
F1 extends Azerbaijan Grand Prix contract to 2026
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will remain on the Formula 1 calendar until at least the 2026 season after the series announced a contract extension with the Baku race promoters.
Sargeant withdrawn from sprint race as Alpine confirms pit lane starts for Ocon
Only 19 drivers will start today’s Formula 1 sprint race in Azerbaijan as Williams have withdrawn Logan Sargeant’s car.
F1’s standing restart procedure changed following crashes and “dangerous” near-miss
Formula 1 has confirmed a change to its procedure for standing restarts following the incidents which occured at the Australian Grand Prix.
Perez passes Leclerc for sprint race win, Verstappen third in damaged car
Sergio Perez took victory in the sprint race for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after overtaking Charles Leclerc mid-way through the race and pulling away from the Ferrari driver.
Azerbaijan GP
Sprint Standalone Session
Pos No. Driver Team Model Laps Time Gap
1 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull RB19 17 33:17.667s -
2 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-23 17 33:22.130s 4.463s
3 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB19 17 33:22.732s 5.065s
4 63 George Russell Mercedes W14 17 33:26.199s 8.532s
5 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari SF-23 17 33:28.055s 10.388s
6 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 17 33:29.280s 11.613s
7 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W14 17 33:34.170s 16.503s
8 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR23 17 33:36.084s 18.417s
9 23 Alex Albon Williams FW45 17 33:39.424s 21.757s
10 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 17 33:40.518s 22.851s
11 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari VF-23 17 33:45.657s 27.990s
12 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 17 33:52.269s 34.602s
13 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A523 17 33:54.585s 36.918s
14 21 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri-RedBull AT04 17 33:59.293s 41.626s
15 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas-Ferrari VF-23 17 34:06.254s 48.587s
16 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari C43 17 34:07.584s 49.917s
17 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL60 17 34:08.771s 51.104s
18 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault A523 17 34:18.288s 1:00.621s
Ret 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-RedBull AT04 2 9:17.244s 15 Laps
DNS 2 Logan Sargeant Williams-Mercedes FW45 0
Here is the World Standings after the Azerbaijan GP Sprint:
World Championships Standings
Driver Standings
Pos Driver Pts
1 Max Verstappen 75
2 Sergio Perez 62
3 Fernando Alonso 48
4 Lewis Hamilton 40
5 Carlos Sainz 24
6 George Russell 23
7 Lance Stroll 21
8 Charles Leclerc 13
9 Lando Norris 8
10 Nico Hulkenberg 6
11 Valtteri Bottas 4
12 Esteban Ocon 4
13 Oscar Piastri 4
14 Pierre Gasly 4
15 Zhou Guanyu 2
16 Yuki Tsunoda 1
17 Kevin Magnussen 1
18 Alexander Albon 1
19 Logan Sargeant 0
20 Nyck De Vries 0
Constructor Standings
Pos Team Pts
1 Red Bull 137
2 Aston Martin 69
3 Mercedes 63
4 Ferrari 37
5 McLaren 12
6 Alpine 8
7 Haas 7
8 Alfa Romeo 6
9 AlphaTauri 1
10 Williams 1
Furious Verstappen brands Russell a ‘d*******’ after sprint race clash
Max Verstappen was left fuming at George Russell after the pair collided on the first lap of the sprint race.
Leclerc reveals near-miss with “a cat in the middle of the road” in sprint race
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc described how he and the Safety Car had to avoid an errant cat on the circuit during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race.
Russell ‘very surprised how angry Verstappen was’ after pair’s collision
George Russell says he does not understand why Max Verstappen was so infuriated by the pair’s opening-lap clash in the Baku sprint race.
Alonso’s DRS worked in race but he doubts Aston Martin have “bullet-proof” fix
Fernando Alonso admits he isn’t sure Aston Martin have solved the problems with their Drag Reduction System ahead of tomorrow’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
AlphaTauri fined after overruling Tsunoda and sending damaged car onto track
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix stewards have fined AlphaTauri €5,000 (£4,400) after deciding they sent Yuki Tsunoda’s car out of the pit lane in an unsafe condition.