Sergio Pérez won the Formula One sprint race in Azerbaijan on Saturday to extend Red Bull’s winning start to the season, as his teammate Max Verstappen settled for third in a damaged car behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen confronted Mercedes driver George Russell after the race, following contact on the first lap that left the Dutch driver’s car with a hole in the sidepod, something that later hampered his ability to challenge Leclerc for second.
“Mate, we all have no grip, we all need to leave a little bit of space,” Verstappen told Russell, who said his car lacked grip on cold tires on the first lap.
“Then expect next time the same, you know,” Verstappen added as Russell walked away.
Leclerc started on pole — as he will for the main Azerbaijan Grand Prix race on Sunday — but was overtaken by Pérez just before the halfway point of the 17-lap sprint on the long seafront straight. The Mexican driver cruised to the win, which cuts his deficit to leader Verstappen in the standings by two points to 13.
Leclerc held on to second as Verstappen closed in on the final lap to give Ferrari its first podium finish of 2023 following a dismal start to the season.
The Red Bull team told Verstappen over the radio he had damage to the car’s floor following contact with Russell early in the race. Verstappen lost third place in the incident, but recovered it easily at a safety car restart.
Russell told British broadcaster Sky Sports he believed he had the right to pressure Verstappen for the position because he was on the inside of the corner and said he was surprised the Red Bull driver had tried to hold on while on the outside.
Red Bull has won all three Grand Prix races this season, with Verstappen winning the opener in Bahrain and then in Australia, after Pérez came first in Saudi Arabia.
Leclerc more than doubled his points tally for the season to 13 after two retirements and a seventh-place finish from the first three race.
“One thing for sure, it shows how bad the first three races were,” he said. “We deserve much more points than what I have now in the championship.”
The safety car was called out because Yuki Tsunoda slid into the wall, leaving behind a tire and debris from his AlphaTauri.
American driver Logan Sargeant was withdrawn from the sprint by Williams after the team couldn’t repair crash damage in time. He had qualified 15th for the sprint after crashing into a barrier the first session of the shootout.
For the first time, there was a shortened “shootout” qualifying session for the sprint race, in addition to a standard qualifying session Friday for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Leclerc qualified on pole for both races despite hitting the wall late in the Saturday “shootout.”
It was the first time that an F1 sprint did not set the grid for the main race. F1 stopped doing that in an attempt to encourage drivers to take more risks for sprint points, something many drivers have welcomed.
Verstappen criticized the format, saying he was “bored” during the second qualifying session and disliked the “hectic” schedule.
“I think it’s just not proper racing. It’s more like gambling,” he said.
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