Sergio Perez wins the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Baku, The Gulf Observer: Red Bull’s Sergio Perez cruised to victory and became the first-ever repeat winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday.

Charles Leclerc took pole position on Friday – and aced the Sprint Shootout on Saturday – but it was Perez who took the spoils in Saturday’s Sprint and also Sunday’s Grand Prix. Leclerc led the pair of Red Bulls off the line on Sunday afternoon and held the lead through the opening lap – while there were a couple of small collisions farther back, in the midfield.

But Verstappen managed to sweep past the Ferrari soon after and then it seemed that this would be a comfortable victory for the reigning champ. He took the opportunity to pit for tyres when Nyck de Vries’s AlphaTauri came to a stop – but that timing proved unfortunate as the Safety Car was deployed just after his change for tyres, handing Perez a chance to pit for tyres and take the lead.