In the first sprint race of the season, using the new qualifying format (see below), Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leads Perez, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and George Russell from pole position (Mercedes) fight for third place. After the safety car was interrupted, Verstappen regained third from Russell.

Perez used DRS to pass Leclerc on the eighth of 17 laps and took the win, while Leclerc finished second just ahead of Verstappen, whose car’s floor and side pods were damaged in a clash with Russell.

2023 F1 Azerbaijan Sprint Results

How the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan sprint is unfolding

Leclerc maintained his pole position lead into Turn 1, ahead of Perez. Verstappen and Russell hit wheels at the opening corner, Russell went into third at Turn 3 and Verstappen hit the wall on the exit.

On the opening lap, Kakuda’s AlphaTauri crashed into a wall at Turn 14, causing the safety car to clear debris and his right rear tire to leave the track.

At the restart on lap six, Leclerc led Perez, with Verstappen overtaking Russell for third at Turn 1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) passed Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) for fifth and sixth.

Perez used DRS to easily beat Leclerc at the start of lap eight and sprinted to victory by more than four seconds.

Leclerc tried to stay within the Mexican’s DRS range to help stop Verstappen, who damaged the floor and sidepods in contact with Russell on the opening lap.

Despite losing DRS on lap 11, Leclerc stopped Verstappen in the closing stages to finish second.

Russell finished fourth well behind Alonso and Hamilton. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) passed Alex Albon’s Williams for 8th and Oscar Piastri for 10th^day.

2023 F1 Azerbaijan sprints fastest lap

What happened in the qualifying sprint shootout?

This is the first time the latest sprint weekend format has been adopted, which includes the first sprint qualifying sessions.

Azerbaijan GP sprint shootout results: Leclerc takes pole from Perez

What Happened at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ1?

The cars run on medium-sized tires for the 12-minute race, and setting the fastest time is basically a long run. Leclerc did it in 1:42.820, almost half a second faster than Verstappen when Logan Sargent evaded his Williams late on when the red flag halted the race. .

Down at the first hurdle were Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo, Kadota Yuki (AlphaTauri), Pierre Gasly (Alpine, leaky exhaust) and Nick de Vauve Reese (AlphaTauri).

Azerbaijan GP SQ1 result: Leclerc fastest from Verstappen

What happened to SQ2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

With the field once again on neutral tyres, Verstappen topped the era leaderboard with a time of 1m 42.417s, 0.083s ahead of Leclerc.

Eliminated at this point were Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and the absent Sargeant – who withdrew from the race due to damage to his car.

Azerbaijan GP SQ2 result: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc

What happened in SQ3 of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

With just eight minutes to seal the top 10 and all cars now on soft tyres, Leclerc took pole with a time of 1m 41.697s before turning in Turn 5 on his final lap. Perez was second, 0.147 seconds behind, and Verstappen was third, 0.290 seconds behind.

Russell scored an impressive fourth for Mercedes ahead of Sainz’s Ferrari. Hamilton was sixth, ahead of Albon and Aston Martin’s Alonso and Stroll.

Norris did not race because he did not have the soft tyres, which he used in Friday’s proper qualifying session, available.

Azerbaijan GP SQ3 result: Leclerc takes sprint pole