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2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlights

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - APRIL 30: Race winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Third placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari, Second placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Paul Everington, Head of Electronics at Red Bull Racing celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Introduction

 

Sergio Perez doubled up on the streets of Baku by adding to his Sprint race triumph with victory in the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc home to boost his title push.

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Verstappen and Perez overhauled pole-sitter Leclerc in the early stages. They proceeded to trade the fastest lap times at the head of the field, with the defining moment of the race coming when a Safety Car was deployed on either side of the Red Bull drivers pitting.

With Verstappen pitting under yellow flags brought out when Nyck de Vries stopped on track and Perez coming in under a Safety Car that followed, the Mexican cleared his teammate and rejoined the action in the lead.

Verstappen fell to third, meaning he had to overtake Leclerc again. While that was a formality when the race resumed, he could not make inroads on Perez during the run to the chequered flag and had to settle for second.

Leclerc held off a late charge from Fernando Alonso to take third, meaning the two-time champion’s 2023 podium run ended – though fourth still represented another strong haul of points for the Aston Martin driver.

Carlos Sainz crossed the line fifth in the other Ferrari, fending off Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in the closing stages, with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and Silver Arrow of George Russell picking up minor points after a close call in the pits early on.

Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg rose from the pit lane to hold points-paying positions for much of the race as they extended their first stints on hard tyres. Still, late mandatory pit stops meant they were banking on more Safety Car drama that never arrived.

McLaren’s Lando Norris moved into the points with a late move on Hulkenberg before gaining another spot when Ocon pitted. At the same time, Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10 to salvage a result for AlphaTauri.

Oscar Piastri, Alex Albon, Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly all narrowly missed points as they completed a close midfield pack ahead of final finishers Ocon, Logan Sargeant, Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas – the latter making three trips to the pit lane amid tyre woes.

Bottas’ Alfa Romeo teammate, Zhou Guanyu, pulled into the pits late on with an unspecified technical issue, with De Vries the other retirement after his aforementioned visit to the wall at Turn 5 in the early stages, which caused terminal damage.

With back-to-back Baku wins, which add to his 2021 Grand Prix victory at the venue, Perez cuts Verstappen’s championship lead to single figures heading to the next round of the season in Miami, which follows in a week’s time.

Perez, who also took home the Driver of the Day award, could have made up further ground in the drivers’ standings had it not been for a late stop from Russell, who bolted on a set of softs to grab the fastest lap bonus point.

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

From start to finish, this was an intense race. As we fully expected, nearly all the drivers chose an opening stint on the P Zero Yellow medium before moving onto the P Zero White hard: only the drivers who started from the pit lane – Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg – or those at the back of the grid-like AlphaTauri’s Nyck De Vries, chose to start with a long stint on the hard tyre before going onto soft in the hope of a safety car during the closing stages. With very little long-run data to fall back on, mainly collected during yesterday’s Sprint, there were a few more unknowns than usual heading into today’s grand prix. We’re pleased that the hard tyre showed good reliability, with some runs of 300 kilometres on it, allowing drivers to push as hard as they liked. Proof of this came from the spectacular exchange of fastest laps among the top four, all from different teams, which also underlines this compound’s versatility. The fact that the best time among them (1m44.232s from Verstappen) was 1.8 seconds faster than last year’s fastest race lap is significant. The medium, which everyone had a bit more information on compared to the hard, showed performance in line with expectations but suffered from less graining, probably thanks also to the extra grip offered by the new asphalt.

How the race was won:

Sergio Perez led a Red Bull one-two at the Baku street circuit for the second consecutive year, followed home by his teammate Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, on pole for the third consecutive year following Friday’s qualifying, finished third to secure his team’s first podium.

The strategies were influenced by a safety car in the race’s early stages. Most drivers, including the podium finishers, swapped from medium to hard tyres between laps nine and 11. Nearly every driver took the flag on the hard tyre, setting personal best laps in the closing minutes as the tyres and times got faster, despite the long stints.

The reliability of the hard tyre in Baku was underlined by Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Both started from the pit lane with a new set of hards and then finished the race on the P Zero Red soft, changing tyres with just two laps and one lap to go, respectively. The Frenchman completed 50 laps – practically the entire race distance – on the same set of hard tyres.

The fastest lap on the hard tyre was set by Verstappen (1m44.232s), while the fastest time on the medium came from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m46.304s), who also completed the longest stint on this compound at 16 laps. The fastest overall race lap was set by Mercedes driver George Russell on the final lap, after switching to the soft tyre one lap earlier to hunt down an additional championship point.

There was just one neutralisation on lap 11 after De Vries touched the wall and brought out a safety car. Some drivers had previously tried an undercut by stopping early, including Verstappen, who switched tyres just seconds before the decision to send out the safety car. Most teams used the safety car to make a pit stop with both drivers.

Just three drivers selected the hard at the start: De Vries (from last on the grid) and Ocon and Hulkenberg. Ocon, Hulkenberg and Russell were the only drivers to run the soft in the race.

Bottas made several visits to the pit lane. Starting on medium, he switched to hard on lap six and then stopped again for another set of hards under the safety car. With 16 laps to go, he switched to the medium – the only driver to finish the race on that compound.

Temperatures were similar to Saturday at around 25 to 28 degrees centigrade ambient, with track temperature peaking at 44 degrees shortly after the start.

What’s next?

Next weekend Formula 1 will be in Miami from May 5-7. This will be the first back-to-back race on the calendar, with a particular challenge coming from the eight-hour time difference between Azerbaijan and Florida. Miami will be the first of three American races in 2023, with F1 visiting Austin in October and Las Vegas in November.

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Race Results

PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing Honda1:32:42.4362587
2.1Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull Racing Honda+2.137s1893
3.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+21.217s1528
4.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAlpine F1 Team+22.024s1260
5.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari+45.491s1034
6.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+46.145s848
7.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Team+51.617s627
8.63George RussellGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+74.240s528
9.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+80.376s210
10.22Yuki TsunodaJapanScuderia AlphaTauri+83.862s12
11.81Oscar PiastriAustraliaMcLaren Racing+86.501s04
12.45Alexander AlbonThailandWilliams Racing+88.623s01
13.20Kevin MagnussenDenmarkHaas F1 Team+89.729s01
14.10Pierre GaslyFranceAlpine F1 Team+91.332s02
15.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Team+97.794s04
16.2Logan SargeantUSAWilliams Racing+100.943s00
17.27Nico HulkenbergGermanyHaas F1 Team+1 lap06
1877Valtteri BottasFinlandAlfa Romeo F1 Team+1 lap04
9.24Zhou GuanyuChinaAlfa Romeo F1 TeamDNF02
15.21Nyck De VriesNetherlandsScuderia AlphaTauriDNF00

2023 Constructor Standings

PosPictureTeamPoints
1.Red Bull Racing860
2.Mercedes-AMG F1 Team409
3.Scuderia Ferrari406
4.McLaren Racing302
5.Aston Martin F1 Team280
6.Alpine F1 Team120
7.Williams Racing28
8.Scuderia AlphaTauri25
8.Alfa Romeo Racing16
10.Haas F1 Team12

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Red Bull Racing

 

Sergio Pérez won the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to add to his Sprint race victory and cut the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship drivers’ title gap to six points from Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate Max Verstappen, who completed a memorable 1-2 on the street circuit.

Verstappen and Pérez overhauled Charles Leclerc early on, then Mexican Pérez took advantage of a Safety Car pit-stop shuffle to clear Verstappen and rejoin the track in the lead, which he never relinquished as Verstappen overtook Leclerc to finish in second with Ferrari’s Leclerc third.

Max Verstappen, Driver, Red Bull Racing

Overall it was quite a good race. Of course, I was unlucky with the safety car call, but we pushed flat out in that second stint. We used every centimetre on that track and touched a few walls! It was a good Team result, and there were a lot of learnings from this weekend to take forward for the rest of the season. We bought it home, and a 1-2 for the Team was ideal. Checo had a great race and did very well today. I’m already looking forward to Miami and seeing what we can do there.

Sergio Pérez, Driver, Red Bull Racing:

It has been an unbelievable weekend, I am super pleased, and I cannot say more about the Team. It has been a tremendous day for us, and I am so proud of everyone. I want to thank Thibaut, one of my mechanics who is at home for personal reasons, but he is still a big part of our Team. The Team enjoy calling me the King of the Streets; I am super happy for them all. They have been tremendous all weekend. It was perfect from yesterday’s sprint race to how we executed it today. Today we were the fastest car on the track, and regardless of the safety car, we would have won the race. I am fighting for the title, not just because of Baku, I believe I can be very good anywhere this season, and now I am just thinking of Miami. There are a lot of races coming up, and we must make sure we are on it.

CHRISTIAN HORNER – CEO and Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Checo absolutely excelled today. He had the pace and really controlled the race, he benefitted from the timing of the safety car, but it was a phenomenal performance from him today and all weekend. Hats off to him. We were unlucky with the safety car and the pit stop for Max. Sometimes things like that don’t go your way, but that is racing, and we will learn from it. Other than that, it was an excellent performance from the whole team, another 1-2, our 25th! Things are clicking for us now, and it sets us up nicely for next week, but it is still early days. There are 19 races and five more sprint races in this long season. With each race comes moments to savour, but as many learnings, we take those and move to the next challenge. Preparation for Miami is already well underway. See you at the beach!

Red Bull Racing Honda best pictures:

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 28: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing with Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr Helmut Marko a Happy 80th Birthday in the garage prior to during practice ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on April 28, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 28: Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner looks on from the pit wall during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 28, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 29: Sprint winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing (C), Second placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari (L) and Third placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing (R) pose for a photo in parc ferme during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 29, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Race winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrate in parc ferme during the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Race winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates after the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Second-placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Red Bull Racing team celebrate after the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Aston Martin Formula One Team

 

With 22 points scored at the end of the first Sprint race weekend of the 2023 season, Fernando, Lance and Team Principal Mike Krack offer their thoughts on the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Fernando and Lance raced up the order in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on race day to come away with plenty of points on the board.

Both drivers made moves in the race’s early stages and delivered decisive overtakes on the Safety Car restart to help secure their results after fighting until the race’s final laps.

At the end of a fast and frenetic weekend, the drivers and Team Principal, Mike Krack, shared their views on how the race was shaped.

Fernando Alonso

We had a tricky weekend with the DRS issue on Friday and Saturday, but despite this, we finished only one second away from the podium at the chequered flag. With that in mind, I have to be happy with the fourth position and our overall performance, which was encouraging all race.

Thankfully, the DRS worked fine today, and our tyre management was vital. I thought the tailwind was quite random, and here in Baku, you are always on the edge.

We only have to wait a few days before racing again, so let’s see what we can do next week in Miami!

Lance Stroll

It was pretty tough out there today. I was happy with my start and the Safety Car restart, but I didn’t feel comfortable with the car once the race started and made a slight mistake. A little misjudgement can end your day here, so I was fortunate to get away with brushing the wall and managed to continue with the race.

Once Lewis [Hamilton] passed me, it was about maintaining position and holding George [Russell] off for the remaining laps. He was pushing hard, but we managed the tyres well, and I could keep him behind me.

Mike Krack

Another well-executed weekend by the entire team, and we left Baku with 22 points. That is a good return from a challenging event on a demanding street circuit.

Full credit to the drivers who did an excellent job in making progress from their starting positions. They managed the Hard tyres well over a long stint while maintaining a good race pace and brought the cars home safely to round off a clean weekend.

This sets us up nicely for our first trip of the year to the United States next week as we get ready to entertain the fans in Miami.

Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team best pictures:

Helmets, portrait, Baku City Circuit, GP2304a, F1, GP, Azerbaijan
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

portrait, TS-Live, Baku City Circuit, GP2304a, F1, GP, Azerbaijan
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, during the pre-race driver presentation

portrait, TS-Live, Baku City Circuit, GP2304a, F1, GP, Azerbaijan
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23, during the pre-race driver presentation

action, Baku City Circuit, GP2304a, F1, GP, Azerbaijan
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23

action, Pit Stops, Baku City Circuit, GP2304a, F1, GP, Azerbaijan
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23, makes a pit stop

Helmets, Portrait, Baku City Circuit, GP2304a, F1, GP, Azerbaijan
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team, in Parc Ferme after Qualifying

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

 

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, and George Russell eighth in the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Following Qualifying on Friday, Lewis lined up fifth with George starting 11th for Sunday’s race, both on the medium compound tyre.

Lewis held a position in the early laps, with George gaining two places to run in P9. As both cars struggled with tyre degradation, Lewis was unfortunate to pit one lap before the Safety Car was deployed and lost out to others around him.

George took advantage of the Safety Car to pit for the hard tyre as the order was shuffled, George moving up to P6 and Lewis dropping to P10. On the restart, George struggled, however, and they switched positions once again; George ultimately landed in P8 and Lewis P6.

Despite valiant efforts to pass cars ahead, Lewis and George could not make further progress, George taking the point for fastest lap after a free late-race stop on to the soft tyre.

Lewis Hamilton

The timing of the Safety Car wasn’t ideal! I couldn’t get bogged down in that frustration, though. I had to keep my head down and get focused on attacking. That’s what I did, and I got right back in the race. I enjoyed those battles with the cars around me. The Ferrari of Sainz was just slightly quicker on the straight than us, even with the DRS open. I gave it everything I had to get past, though.

I’m continuously proud of my team. We didn’t have the pace that we did in Melbourne, which is not the greatest, but there is no lack of motivation in this team. We’re all super hungry, and hopefully, this is the beginning of something better in the coming races. Once I get that confidence in the car, the pace will come.

George Russell

I’m a little bit disappointed with myself today. I made an excellent start and got in a decent position. I made a good move on Stroll to get past him into the pit lane, but I made a mess of the restart. I was defending Lance and almost ran into the back of Fernando (Alonso). I then ran wide and got my tyres dirty. Ultimately that’s why both Lance and Lewis got past. From there, it was line astern.

I’ll take the extra point for the fastest lap, but we only had that opportunity because we were in the wrong position. It was close pace-wise between ourselves, Ferrari and Aston Martin, and slight differences can significantly change results. Whether we finish P4 or P8, it’s far from the first, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

Today was not a thriller. There was very little overtaking, even with a significant pace difference. We headed into a sub-optimum set-up direction during FP1, and by the time we realised it was too late, the car was in parc fermé conditions. It’s the same for everyone, though, under this format.

The pace in free air today looked similar between ourselves, the Ferraris and the Aston Martins. It was hard to tell who was ultimately quicker, though, because, with the difficulty of overtaking, you are stuck where you are. The Red Bulls, meanwhile, sailed away into the sunset on merit. If we can get the platform right, we can close that gap this year. It’s not about adding points of downforce but more about giving the drivers a car they have confidence in.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We’ll never get excited about the sixth and eighth place, but it was a day when the car could have been quicker, and neither driver had much luck during the race. Lewis had a decent opening lap; he’d started to get a bit of pressure from Alonso towards the end of the stint, so we came in to protect the position. Unfortunately, that was the lap before the Safety Car, so he lost out. A good restart helped the recovery, but he couldn’t get past Sainz.

George had a perfect opening lap, getting through some key cars early. He could take the stop under the Safety Car but then struggled on the restart and lost a couple of places. Similarly to Lewis, he couldn’t make a pass despite having a bit more pace, so our only consolation was a point for the fastest lap at the end. We haven’t got long to wait before we bring some more performance to the car, and in the meantime, we need to focus on collecting as many points as possible. We’re hoping the car will be better suited to the track in Miami and looking forward to getting back on track in just a few days.

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team best pictures:

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Friday – Finn Pomeroy

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Friday – LAT Images

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Friday – LAT Images

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Sunday – Sam Bloxham

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Sunday – Sam Bloxham

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

Scuderia Ferrari

 

Scuderia Ferrari leaves Baku having secured its first podium finish of the season courtesy of Charles Leclerc’s third place. The team also got its best points total of the year so far, thanks to the ten scored by fifth-placed Carlos Sainz. The podium is a morale booster for Leclerc and, indeed, for the whole team and a reward for all the hard work this weekend and over the past few weeks, highlighting the progress made with the SF-23. It is clear from qualifying and race performance that development is going in the right direction, even if there is still much to do to fight for the win.

The race. The race was not very eventful: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez made the most of their straight-line speed to get ahead of Charles, and almost the entire field pitted for the compulsory tyre change when the Safety Car came out following Nick de Vries’ accident on lap 10. That’s what Charles and Carlos did, with the mechanics performing a perfect double stop in 2.4 and 2.9 seconds, respectively, the drivers rejoining in second and fourth, respectively. At the restart, Verstappen had dropped to third after pitting just before the Safety Car, but he passed Leclerc while Fernando Alonso got ahead of Carlos. From then on, nothing changed for the Scuderia duo. In the closing stages, with his tyres clearly able to get to the chequered flag without any problem, Charles was lapping in similar times to Perez and Verstappen, fighting for the fastest race lap while keeping the gap to Alonso. Carlos had Lewis Hamilton tailing him for the second part of the race, but the Englishman could never attack.

The next stop is the USA. The season’s pace is picking up, with the championship resuming next Sunday with Round 5, the Miami Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz #55

This has been a very difficult weekend. P5 brings home some points, but I must put my hand up and admit I lacked confidence under braking, and the pace was not there. I could push a bit more on the Medium tyre, but with the harder compound, I didn’t feel the car. Now I look forward to a reset, as Miami is just around the corner, and I can’t wait to jump in the car again and keep pushing.

Charles Leclerc #16

We are still not quite there regarding race pace, and we know that’s what we have to work on the most. We maximised every session throughout the weekend and couldn’t have done anything differently, so that’s something to be happy about, and the team did a great job. We must focus on race pace and tyre management and push to make even more progress in the coming races.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

Overall, this has been a positive weekend for the team. We took two pole positions and one podium finish with Charles, and our overall points total, thanks also to Carlos’ fifth place, is satisfactory. There were signs of progress in Melbourne, but the poor race result overshadowed them. In the four-week break, we worked hard in Maranello, and here in Baku, we have made further progress, translating into a good result.

We definitely are back to where we wanted to be regarding qualifying, but there’s still a significant gap to Red Bull in the race. However, we aim to fight them for the win and are gearing up to do just that. It’s a morale booster for the whole team to finish on the podium, which we will carry forward as we prepare for next weekend’s race in Miami.

Scuderia Ferrari best pictures:

1 – GP AZERBAIJAN F1/2023 – GIOVEDI’ 27/04/2023

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, a third place for Charles Leclerc.

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP, Frederic Vasseur, Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal.

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

McLaren Racing

 

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Oscar is clipped going into Turn 2 at the start of the race. He avoids damage but drops a place to P11. Lando also loses a position, falling to P8. Lando battles off a challenge from Russell. The Mercedes driver had passed, but Lando pulled back ahead shortly after. Oscar pits on Lap 9 for Hards and returns P15. Lando follows a lap later, also taking Hards, and he rejoins the track in P13.

The Safety Car is deployed on Lap 11 with De Vries’ Alpha Tauri stranded on track, allowing those not yet pitted to take on fresh tyres. Oscar attempts to take P12 off Tsunoda at the restart and briefly gets ahead, but he can’t make it stick, and the Alpha Tauri driver reclaims the position.

Despite remaining within the DRS range, Lando had been stuck behind Hulkenberg in P11 since the Safety Car. He finally made his move on Lap 46, passing the Haas brilliantly at Turn 7. Hulkenberg continued falling down the order as his tyres fell off, and Oscar clambered ahead of him for P12 on Lap 48.

Lando Norris

A good race. It was as good a result as I would get and the best we could achieve today. P9 doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was the best we could do now. We got a bit unlucky with the Safety Car happening just after we had pit. I then got stuck behind Hulkenberg, but we got a couple of points on the board, which is a solid result, plus we got some good things out of the new parts we bought to track. So, I’m happy with that, and we’ll try to improve again in Miami.

Oscar Piastri

It was a shame to miss out on points by one spot, but we lacked a bit of pace in the middle of the race, so there wasn’t much more we could do. I’m happy I survived the weekend after being unwell, and we’ve got some really good learning in the bank. I learned a lot about the tyres in that race and how to manage them better, which will help us fight for points next time. Thanks to the team here and back at the factory for getting the upgrades out to us. It’s definitely helped. We will go again in Miami.

Andrea Stella

An interesting weekend in Azerbaijan with the new Sprint format. Our main objective for the weekend remained to prepare for the race: this was where the most points were available. The top four teams are a bit ahead, so the mission was to be at the head of the midfield. We achieved that thanks to the upgrades we fitted this weekend. Thanks to the team back at the factory and track for helping us bring these parts to the car. Over the next few races, we can verify how much of that is a genuine improvement and how much was track-specific.

Lando, once again, was rock solid. Another clean weekend brings us a couple of very useful points. We were highly impressed with Oscar too. He’s been unwell this weekend but managed to focus on the job and deliver a clean weekend with no mistakes. Thank you to our excellent medical staff for their continuous support throughout the weekend. We hope he’ll feel better in a few days when we start again in Miami.

McLaren Racing best pictures:

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60

Lando Norris, McLaren

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60, makes a stop, 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

Lando Norris, McLaren, arrives in Parc Ferme, 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60

Alpine F1 Team

 

BWT Alpine F1 Team finished the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Pierre Gasly fourteenth and Esteban Ocon fifteenth on the weekend filled with frustration and disappointment for the team.

In a race featuring little action or opportunity to progress up the field, the team turned to a bold strategy for both drivers to get ahead of the cars in front. Pierre made a pair of neat overtakes on Valtteri Bottas and Logan Sargeant into Turn 1 during the 51-lap race and, in the end, finished fourteenth on a two-stop Medium-Hard-Hard strategy.

Starting from the Pit Lane, Esteban remained on track until the penultimate lap of the race, when, for his mandatory pit stop, he pitted for new Soft tyres for his sole lap on the red compound to finish in fifteenth at the chequered flag.

The team looks ahead to next weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, looking for a more positive and representative outing at the Hard Rock Stadium-based circuit.

Esteban Ocon:

We gave it everything we could today, going for the Hail Mary strategy and hoping for a late Safety Car or incident, but things did not go our way. We can be proud of our efforts, pushing all the way to the end and extracting the most from the Hard tyres. At the end of the race, I had a scary moment when I came into the pit and saw people congregating in the Pit Lane even though the race had not ended. Fortunately, nothing happened, but we must make sure these scenarios don’t happen again. We were not where we wanted to be in terms of performance this weekend. And after a weekend of learning, we can review and come back stronger in Miami. I know we will do just that.

Pierre Gasly:

This is a weekend all of us are keen to quickly move on from as it’s been very frustrating for everyone in the team. We have to make sure this kind of performance is not repeated again. It is not where we should be, and we need to come back stronger for Miami next week on a more conventional track. Regarding my race, we tried something different in strategy and hoped for some fortune, but ultimately, we couldn’t do much more. I made some always-satisfying moves, but it’s much more rewarding when those overtakes are for points. I’m looking forward to racing in Miami next weekend.

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal

It’s been a bitterly disappointing weekend for the team in Baku, and we must not repeat this type of performance again. We very much started on the backfoot on Friday, and since then, we could not recover in any of the sessions. We were quite far off on car set-up on Friday during practice. With such limited running – notably with some reliability issues on both cars – we left ourselves with a mountain to climb for the remainder of the weekend. We must limit these problems going forward and begin all Grand Prix weekends on the front foot to ensure we give ourselves the best possible chance on Saturday and Sunday to score points. We demonstrated our race pace in Australia, and we have a better chance to validate our upgrade package in Miami. We must keep working hard as a team, keep up our understanding of how to maximise the most from our package and target a much-improved overall team performance next weekend Stateside.

Alpine F1 Team best pictures:

Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday 29th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday 29th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

(L to R): Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team and Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team on the FanZone Stage. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday 29th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523 on the grid. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Haas F1 Team

 

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg finished 13th and 17th, respectively, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at the Baku City Circuit.

Kevin Magnussen

We were stuck in traffic the whole race. We had the pace for much more but couldn’t pass. Unfortunately, with the wing we have, it’s fast with no DRS, but with DRS, it doesn’t have a significant impact. Overtaking is very difficult. Defending is pretty good because, without DRS, we’re pretty fast. That little detail made the difference today because I think looking at the cars ahead, I was way quicker than them but couldn’t get past. A bit of the same story as last year, as we were in the points until the end but this year, we had even more pace. Hopefully, that carries onto Miami, and we will try again.

Nico Hulkenberg

It was hard work – I was head-down, focused. It was a quali race, to be honest. That was all I had, but it was okay for 40 laps or so and then at the end. Unfortunately, the tires started to drop quite rapidly. The Safety Car didn’t come out, which we needed with the strategy we pursued. Nevertheless, it was good learning. We elected for a pit lane start and changed the set-up entirely to something more conventional. We learned something positive, and now onto Miami, where I think we’ll be more competitive.

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal:

Kevin got his front wing endplate knocked off at the start because Bottas in front of him locked up, so he couldn’t avoid him, and it was severe enough to make a front wing change. We tried a different strategy with Nico, but it didn’t work because the Safety Car came too early. Overall, the car’s performance was good, and we could keep pace with the Alpine and McLaren. We have to take this one as a little dip and come back to Miami, where maybe it’s even better for our car, being a medium-downforce circuit.

Haas F1 Team best pictures:

BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 28: Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23 during the Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on Friday April 28, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images)

BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 29: Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23 during the Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on Saturday April 29, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images)

BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 29: Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23 during the Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on Saturday April 29, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 29: Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, on the grid during the Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on Saturday April 29, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)

BAKU CITY CIRCUIT, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Nico Hulkenberg during the Azerbaijan GP at Baku City Circuit on Sunday April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

Alfa Romeo Racing Stake

 

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake endured a difficult weekend in the streets of Baku, with no points at the end of a challenging Sprint event. In the main Sunday race, Valtteri Bottas finished 18th, while team-mate Zhou Guanyu’s race ended prematurely with technical issues currently being investigated by the team.

A tough event for Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake: the team will need to regroup and make a decisive step forward to regain the competitiveness with which it had started the season. As Azerbaijan goes into the history books, Formula One moves to Miami for the final leg of this back-to-back next week.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):

It wasn’t a great race for us, and we were never in the mix for the points: we need to understand what happened and, most importantly, how to get back to being competitive. My race was hard initially: I had a contact in turn two. I was on the outside and hit from the left and behind, which left me with some damage. It was quite a long race after that: we tried to find a way back in, as anything can happen here, but eventually, there weren’t any chances to rebuild our race. We must improve our pace and do everything possible to move forward. We head straight to Miami now: it is a very different track from this. We will stay motivated and go for it again.

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):

Quite the weekend to forget for us: it’s never nice to DNF, but realistically we didn’t have a chance to score points today. As a precaution, we needed to retire the car as we had rising temperatures and alarms on my dash. In general, it was a tough weekend for all of us. We need to understand the reasons for this and work hard, all of us, to make a step forward. I am confident this team can do that. I see it in the people here and at home. We will do all in our power to get back to where we expect to be and continue to improve.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative:

This was a disappointing race, and it showed that, right now, our package is not competitive enough to score points. The priority for everyone in the team – here at the track and back at base – is to work hard and make the improvements necessary to get back where we expect to be. The field remains tight, and we can return to this battle, but we must deliver a step forward. We are all fully committed to this and will do whatever it takes to get there.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team best pictures:

Alfa Romeo F1 Team mechanics.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday 29th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday 29th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Friday 28th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Scuderia AlphaTauri

 

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda banked a gutsy point in 10th, with Dutch teammate Nyck de Vries unable to finish the race with the 2023 season now moving on to the Miami Grand Prix next Sunday.

Nyck de Vries

The accident today was entirely my mistake. It was very silly and unnecessary, and that responsibility was on me. I am disappointed with myself, but that’s the way it is. There are positives to take away from this weekend and I’ll try to look at them. I am happy to be racing again next week, so I forget this weekend as soon as possible.

Yuki Tsunoda

It was a tough race today, but the team, especially the mechanics, did a great job repairing the car after yesterday. The engineers found a strong set-up, even if we lost some time in sector two. We didn’t get many chances to do long runs this weekend, but demonstrating a strong pace and building on this performance throughout the race was remarkable for the team. I am also happy with my performance. I was consistent, and being sandwiched between the two McLarens meant any mistake would cost us the point. It took a lot of concentration, but we achieved another top-10 finish in the end. There is still room for development and improvement to fight for points consistently, but I have confidence in my team to race stronger in the future.

FRANZ TOST – Team Principal

Firstly, congratulations to Red Bull Racing for another front-row finish. As for our weekend, we came to this race with some aero updates, and I’m pleased to say they seem to work very well. The team in Bicester did a fantastic job because we have been competitive from the beginning of the weekend. The highlight was, of course, Friday’s qualifying, where Yuki finished in eighth position. As for today’s race, he was overtaken by Stroll and Russell on the first lap, but this is what I expected as their cars are simply faster than ours. Nevertheless, Yuki did a fantastic job. He split the McLarens, staying relatively close to Norris and keeping Piastri behind. Overall, a big congratulations to Yuki for another strong performance, which shows how much he is improving race by race. Unfortunately, Nyck had an accident; he touched the wall in turn 5, breaking the front left track rod, which was the end of his race. Generally speaking, we have improved the car performance dramatically since the start of the season, so now I am even more looking forward to the next race in Miami.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 29: Nyck de Vries of Netherlands and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive on the grid during the Sprint ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 29, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri looks on on the grid prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Scuderia AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost looks on, on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: Scuderia AlphaTauri team members talk on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: 10th placed Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri walks in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN – APRIL 30: <> during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on April 30, 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Williams Racing

 

By Baku’s standards, the 2023 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was relatively incident-free, meaning we will depart the banks of the Caspian Sea empty-handed. Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant maintained their starting positions on the opening laps. Still, our number 23 was pinched inside the second corner, subsequently losing his front wing endplate.
Alex Albon

It was really tough out there today. I had some damage on my front wing for most of the race following contact with the McLaren, so there was a lot of management to do. It was tricky trying to keep the Haas behind me whilst staying close to Oscar, and there was not a lot of room for overtaking with the shortened DRS zones. We did maximise this weekend, and I think it was one of my strongest, especially coming off Australia. I think we definitely have more to find with the car, but I think I’m becoming at one with it, so hopefully, we can keep this going.

Logan Sargeant

All things considered, I learned a lot this weekend. In today’s race, we got a bit unlucky with the safety car timing at the start and fell into a bit of a lonely, frustrating race. I was stuck behind Zhou [Guanyu] for most of it. By the time he pitted, it was too late, and I was too far disconnected from the pack ahead. However, when I got in front, the car felt good, I was driving well, and the pace was not too bad. I brought a set of hard tyres a long way, and that’s all positive. Our one-lap pace this weekend was good, and I was happy, considering we only had one free practice session to go into qualifying and have a pretty good one. It would be an even better Sprint Shootout until the crash, so I’ll learn from that and move forward. The race wasn’t bad. It just fell out of our hands and was lonely and boring for most people.

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance

Alex suffered front wing damage on the opening lap, which hurt the car balance and cost him downforce. Despite this, he was able to put together another very strong race; he dealt with the pressure from Gasly and Magnussen brilliantly whilst also staying close to Piastri ahead. The timing of the early safety car was unfortunate for our strategy, but that is the nature of racing at Baku. Having missed the sprint race yesterday, Logan started the Grand Prix somewhat on the back foot but still put together a solid drive to fight with Zhou and Gasly. His pace and car management were competitive and gave him valuable learning for the future. We arrived in Baku for this new style sprint event expecting it to be challenging. Although we rose to that challenge well and were able to put together a strong performance overall, it is frustrating not to get some points for our effort. Nonetheless, we head to Miami with positive momentum and another excellent opportunity to challenge the top 10.

Williams F1 Team best pictures:

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Friday 28th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Friday 28th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing FW45.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Saturday 29th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Friday 28th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Friday 28th April 2023. Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan.

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