(Baku) As Charles Leclerc’s championship chances dwindle, Max Verstappen is there to take advantage.
Posted at 8:59
Max Verstappen increased his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship by winning the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, where the Red Bull team earned a one-two finish, while Leclerc and his Ferrari did not finish the race due to an engine problem.
Leclerc started from the lead on Sunday but immediately lost the race lead to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez on the first corner. The Ferrari driver reclaimed the lead with the help of a good pit stop strategy as the cars were subject to a speed limit, while the two Red Bulls remained on track.
Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA, Agence France-Presse
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen
The Monegasque seemed to have reached his cruising speed towards victory when his vehicle began to spit smoke, on the 20the Grand Prix lap scheduled for 51. He had to return to the pits, where he was forced to retire for the second time in three races.
Verstappen had passed Perez a few laps before Leclerc’s problems and the defending champion raced to a fifth victory this season, more than 20 seconds ahead of his team-mate.
George Russell, on Mercedes, completed the podium, ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari had a terrible day, as Carlos Sainz Jr. was also unable to cross the finish line, as were Zhou Guanyu’s Alpha Romeo and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas, both cars powered by Ferrari engines.
Quebecer Lance Stroll was unable to take his Aston Martin to the finish line, but his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, finished sixth, behind the Alphatauri of Pierre Gasly.
Verstappen now has a 21-point lead at the top of the standings ahead of Perez, while Leclerc has slipped to third, 34 points behind the Dutchman.