Superpowered Verstappen strikes blow in Azerbaijan and declines Perez

Ferrari strong in qualifying

The weekend did not start optimally for Verstappen. Indeed, Charles Leclerc was too fast on one lap in qualifying with his Ferrari. The Monegasque's 1.41.359 was too powerful for both Red Bull drivers. Ferrari was very fast over one lap at the start of 2022 and it showed at the Baku City Circuit.

Surprisingly, though, Perez managed to grab the spot next to Leclerc on the front row of the grid. The Mexican already won the race at the street circuit in 2021 and drove around with a lot of confidence. He was just under a tenth faster than Verstappen, who had to start the race from P3. Carlos Sainz closed the row in fourth place.

Where qualifying was still going so well for Ferrari, it went all wrong during the first ten laps. At the first corner, things already went wrong for Leclerc, who braked and thus saw Perez pass him. Verstappen attempted to pass Leclerc, but the Monegasque was able to recover just in time.

Verstappen puts his house in order

Things went all wrong for Ferrari on lap nine when Carlos Sainz had to pull over with a hydraulic problem. While the Red Bull drivers stayed outside during the virtual safety car that followed, Leclerc dived into the pits. He put on hard tyres to chase Verstappen and Perez from P3.

With Leclerc out between the two Red Bulls, it soon became clear that there were no team orders at the Austrian racing stable. Where Perez had destroyed his medium tyres, Verstappen whistlingly closed the gap on his teammate. On the straight, where things once went wrong with Daniel Ricciardo, Verstappen passed his colleague with playful ease on lap number 15.

Shortly after each other, first Perez and Verstappen also went in for a new hard tyre, to start the hunt for leader Leclerc. That chase did not last long, as on lap 20 Leclerc's Ferrari came into view with smoke coming from the engine. The young driver pulled his car over and so the race weekend in Baku ended without points for Ferrari.

The fight for victory was thus done, as Verstappen drove further and further away from his teammate to eventually cross the finish line more than 20 seconds ahead of the Mexican. As a consolation, Perez did take the point for the fastest lap. George Russell drove handsomely to third place, ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton who struggled to get out of his W13 with back problems. Pierre Gasly, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon completed the top ten.