Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022 result: Verstappen wins action-packed race in Baku as Leclerc retires

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated the latter stages of the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to take the race win and extend his world championship lead as Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both suffered engine problems and had to retire in Baku.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez eventually finished second after originally taking the lead from Leclerc on the opening lap of the race, whilst Mercedes' George Russell took the last spot on the podium after finishing P3.

Lewis Hamilton finished in P4 after battling through the pain barrier caused by his porpoising car with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finishing in a season best result of fifth.

Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10 to all score crucial points.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix results

Verstappen proves simply unstoppable

Despite qualifying in third spot for the race, Red Bull’s Verstappen put in a mature performance to claim 25 all-important points in Baku and steal a march on Leclerc in the drivers' championship.

The win was his 66th appearance on the podium in F1, a record amongst Red Bull drivers as the Dutchman overtook Vettel in that regard.

Sergio Perez the fastest man on track

Even though Verstappen proved the pick of the bunch on the day in terms of race result, Mexican driver Perez once again impressed after winning in Monaco last time out.

Despite finishing well off the pace of his teammate in the end, Perez stole the crucial extra point for fastest lap around the Azerbaijan circuit as he edged out Verstappen by just four hundredths of a second.

The result also means that Perez moves up to second spot in the drivers world championship at the expense of Leclerc who had another race day to forget.

Double disaster for Ferrari

Despite taking an impressive pole position in Baku on Saturday, much of the pre-race chatter was still focused around Leclerc’s disheartening result last time out in Monaco when his team’s decision to double-stack him proved costly.

The Italian manufacturer were hoping for the spotlight to be shifted with another race win here as a result, though they ended up on the end of a bitterly disappointing double DNF instead.

Sainz had to retire early on in the race with an engine malfunction before Leclerc’s engine went up in smoke on the long straight after rounding the final corner.

Formula 1 Drivers' Championship standings after Azerbaijan

2022 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix as it happened: commentary and highlights

RACE FINISHES: Max Verstappen wins the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix!!! The Dutch driver makes the podium for the first time in Baku and with Leclerc’s earlier retirement, builds a sizeable gap to the Ferrari driver at the top of the current world championship standings.

In the process, Verstappen has also recorded his 66th podium for Red Bull, a team record.

Teammate Perez finishes P2 with Russell taking another podium spot in P3. Hamilton, Gasly, Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Norris and Ocon round out the top ten on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Lap 48: Aston Martin retire Lance Stroll with three laps to go. A very tough weekend for the Canadian who also crashed in qualifying yesterday.

Lap 47: With the top order seemingly set for this race, let’s turn our attention to the battle for P7, P8 and P9.

Alonso currently heads that battle but McLaren pair Ricciardo and Norris are closing the gap to the Spanish driver. A P7 finish would be huge for Ricciardo given the pressure he’s under at the moment.

Lap 45: Hamilton finally passes Gasly down the back straight for P4 as the Mercedes duo move into a P3 and P4 respectively. It was a strange decision at the time from AlphaTauri to not pit Gasly during that second virtual safety car and it’s proved the French drivers downfall in the battle for fourth spot here.

Lap 43: So out front, Verstappen is in commanding control of this race with less than ten laps to go. He’s been advised not to use his DRS to overtake lapped cars which is interesting, though with a 15 second lead, it’s hardly needed.

Perez is still in P2, 20 seconds ahead of Russell in P3. Hamilton continues to close to Gasly in the battle for P4.

Lap 40: Well, I have seen it all now. Instead of retiring from the race, AlphaTauri bring in Tsunoda and literally tape together his rear wing. I don’t think that’s going to go down well with the FIA.

Lap 39: It’s a rarely seen black and orange flag for Tsunoda as the DRS on his rear wing appears to snap in half under pressure. He’ll have to retire as a result as the stewards deem it unsafe for the Japanese driver to continue in this race.

Lap 37: We’re back under green flag conditions and Hamilton wastes absolutely no time in overtaking Yuki Tsunoda for P5 after the British driver made a second pit stop a few laps prior.

Lap 34: There’s yellow flags in sector 2 and this time it’s Haas' Kevin Magnussen who is forced to retire. The virtual safety car is again deployed as a fourth Ferrari powered engine fails to finish this race.

At the front, Verstappen, Perez and Russell all take the free pit stop as a result.

Lap 32: Hamilton is on the team radio complaining of severe back pain as his Mercedes porpoises continually down the two long straights. In the very hot conditions as well, that can’t be much fun for the seven time world champion who currently sits in P5.

Lap 28: So to recap all the action so far at just over the half way point of this race in Baku.

Verstappen leads from team mate Perez as Ferrari suffer a double DNF with both Leclerc and Sainz suffering with serious engine problems.

Russell rounds out the top three whilst Gasly sits P4 and Hamilton P5. Alonso is absolutely flying in P9 as he looks towards a top-five finish this afternoon.

Lap 26: Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu is our third retirement of this race. That’s three Ferrari powered engines that have suffered failures in the sweltering Azerbaijan conditions.

Lap 24: The battle for third spot on the podium is wide open now. Russell currently occupies P3 but behind the Mercedes driver, Gasly passes Ricciardo down the straight with DRS to move up into P4 after the two Ferrari retirements.

Lap 21: LECLERC IS OUT! As the Ferrari man comes down the straight his engine goes up in smoke. What a nightmare of a race this is for the Scuderia.

Lap 20: Race leader Verstappen finally comes in to the pits and Leclerc once again leads the 2022 Azerbaijan GP.

There’s plenty left to play for however as it’s almost certain that Leclerc will need to pit again this race whilst the Red Bull’s may not need to.

Lap 17: Perez pits and it takes 5.7 seconds to change his tyres. That’s now dropped him straight into Russell’s wheelhouse with the Briton looking to snatch third spot as a result.

Lap 15: VERSTAPPEN LEADS! The Dutch driver puts in a mega lap and makes up over a second on his team mate. The pair head into the first corner side by side but the current world champion masterfully pulls into the lead on the inside.

Lap 13: Vettel is now off the track as he looks to overtake Alonso down the back straight. He only loses one spot in the end but that’s a big error from the former world champion who should have kept patience in truth as he was so close to the Spaniard.

Lap 9: SAINZ IS OUT! Yellow flags in sector one and the virtual safety car is deployed. Replays show that Sainz suffers a big engine problem and has to park up.

There’s a huge flurry of action in the pit stop now as most cars come in. Leclerc takes longer than he should due to a pit stop error whilst Sebastian Vettel jumps Hamilton. Perez and Verstappen opt to stay out.

Lap 8: Elsewhere then, Sainz remains P4 ahead of George Russell in P5. Pierre Gasly sits in P6 for AlphaTauri as he pulls more and more of a gap from Mercedes Lewis Hamilton who’s in P7 and seems to be struggling big time with his tyres.

Lap 5: Verstappen is getting closer and closer to Leclerc every lap with DRS whilst Carlos Sainz in P4 continues to fall further away from the Dutch driver as a result. There’s still plenty of time left in this race and drama will ensue at some point but Perez, Leclerc and Verstappen seem substantially ahead of the rest of the pack pace wise.

Lap 3: Perez has absolutely bolted away from Leclerc and already holds a 2.4 second lead over the Ferrari driver. DRS is now activated as Verstappen looks to make it a Red Bull one two down the straight.

RACE START: And we’re off in Baku! It’s an amazing start from Perez as he snatches the lead away from Leclerc into the first corner. The Ferrari man struggled to get off the line before locking up as he attempted to stay in front. The rest of the grid basically remains as you were on the opening lap.

2 mins to lights out: The cars are all out on track to begin their formation lap ahead of the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

15 mins to lights out: The other key area of this race as we all know is that phenomenally long straight where drivers can make up so much time.

As such, breaking that one second gap to shut off DRS for your opponents could be absolutely crucial in determining who will come out on top.

Back on the track, all the drivers are now out of their cars as last minute preparations continue. Quite a few are wearing their cooling vests as Baku swelters in the sun.

30 mins to lights out: Lets talk strategy as the Azerbaijan GP is normally a one-stop race though the teams still have to decide what tyres will last best around this circuit.

It looks like most teams will opt for the soft compound tyres to start with a switch to hards after around 8 to 10 laps, however it looks like Ferrari could opt for a bold strategy of using a set of softs and then move onto the mediums.

Given the track temperature is very high in Baku today and that we saw Verstappen, amongst others, suffer a huge tyre blowout last time out here, it’s definitely something to keep an eye on.

45 mins to lights out: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc provided the entertainment for fans yesterday as he put his car P1 for today’s race. He saved his best until the last lap as he crossed the line nearly three tenths faster than Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in P2.

Current world champion Max Verstappen put his car into P3, though it extended the Dutch drivers recent underwhelming form as Leclerc continues to get the business done when it matters in qualifying this season.

1 hour to lights out: Welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the eighth race of the 2022 Formula 1 calendar.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took the race win in an action-packed Monaco Grand Prix last time out, his first victory of the season, which lifted the Mexican driver up to third place in the current drivers' world championship standings, behind teammate Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Perez will be hoping for more of the same this year in Baku - especially as he won the 2021 race here - though it was Leclerc who proved fastest in qualifying yesterday, becoming the first driver to secure more than one pole position at this event as he starts today’s race at the front of the pack.

With all five of the previously held Azerbaijan Grand Prix’s witnessing five different race winners and five different fastest lap setters, expect plenty of drama down the high speed straights and through the circuit’s tight corners.

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Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022 starting grid

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc put in a blistering lap in the final phase of qualifying yesterday to hold off Sergio Perez as the Monaco-born driver took his sixth pole position of the 2022 F1 campaign.

He’s now started from the front in six of the eight races this season, though with his team’s calamitous mess up in Monaco likely still fresh in the memory, there’s still plenty of work to be done here in Baku for Leclerc if he’s going to get back to winning ways for the first time in five races.

Red Bull teammates Perez and Max Verstappen start P2 and P3 respectively with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P4, the three drivers all separated by less than two tenths yesterday in qualifying.

Elsewhere, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly secured his best qualifying result of the season by putting his car P6 on the grid, whilst it proved to be an afternoon to forget for Lance Stroll who’s Aston Martin car collided with the barrier in qualifying, leaving him towards the back of the grid as the pressure continues to build on the Canadian driver.

Upon completing qualifying for Alpine on Saturday, former world champion Fernando Alonso also passed Michael Schumacher’s record of driving in the sport for the longest period.

The full line up for the race:

What time does the Azerbaijan Grand Prix race start today?

• Date: Sunday, June 12
• Start time: 3 p.m. local time / 12 p.m. BST / 7 a.m. ET / 9 p.m. AEST
  
  

How to watch the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

USA: The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all 2022 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports' feed, with select races airing on ABC later in the season. You can also stream Formula 1 races live in the U.S. with fuboTV, which offers a free trial.

ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2022 F1 races in the U.S.

UK: Sky Sports F1, or online through Sky Go, is the place to catch all the F1 action in the UK.

Canada: In Canada, you can watch F1 via the English-language TSN or French-language RDS.

Australia: Fox Sports are the carriers of live F1 coverage in Australia.

Source: https://www.sportingnews.com/us/formula-1/news/azerbaijan-grand-prix-2022-results/sebrmbndkyz4x8sbp3wjktbh