BAKU — World champion
Max Verstappen led a
Red Bull 1-2 in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a potentially key moment of
the title race after Charles Leclerc and Ferrari endured another dose of race
day misery.
اضافة اعلان
Sergio Perez had jumped pole sitter Leclerc to the first
turn before Verstappen took control as first the
Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and
then Leclerc retired with engine problems.
George Russell took third with teammate Lewis
Hamilton fourth for Mercedes who suffered badly from bouncing on the streets of
Baku this weekend.
Verstappen’s fifth win of the season tightened his
grip on the drivers’ standings with Perez now moving into second, 21 points
behind, while the luckless Leclerc slipped to 34 points adrift.
“Was that a good drive or was that a good drive?” a
pleased Verstappen asked over the team radio, mindful that he had ended his
Baku jinx having never made the podium on any of his previous visits.
He hailed his car’s “incredible pace”, adding “we
were a tiny bit lucky because of the retirement but nevertheless our car was
really quick today, so I could have closed that gap, then you have a race on
your hands”.
It was a memorable day for
Red Bull who are now 80
points clear of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship ahead of round nine
of the season in Montreal next week.
As for Ferrari their habit of snatching defeat from
the jaws of victory through a combination of questionable strategy or
unreliability issues is beginning to look potentially fatal for their title
ambitions.
Leclerc for the fourth time was unable to convert
pole into a win, and he had his head in his hands in frustration.
“Better days will come” if the team just sticks
together, Sainz suggested.
That’s what
Mercedes have been saying all season as
they keep trying to unlock the full potential of their car which suffers more
than most of the grid on the so-called “porpoising” effect.
Hamilton had said before the race his back may not
withstand being jolted around for the full 51 laps and he had difficulty: the
Briton needed support to lift himself out of the cockpit after making it across
the line.
Mercedes team principal
Toto Wolff apologised to the
seven-time world champion, saying: “This is a bit of a box to drive. And sorry
for the back problems.”
“Well done guys,” Hamilton responded. “And well done
on the strategy. Thank you on continuing to push.”
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