Pérez Overtakes Leclerc to Win F1 Sprint in Azerbaijan

Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Pérez steers his car during the sprint race ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on April 29, 2023. (AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Pérez steers his car during the sprint race ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on April 29, 2023. (AFP)
TT

Pérez Overtakes Leclerc to Win F1 Sprint in Azerbaijan

Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Pérez steers his car during the sprint race ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on April 29, 2023. (AFP)
Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Pérez steers his car during the sprint race ahead of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on April 29, 2023. (AFP)

Sergio Pérez won the Formula One sprint race in Azerbaijan on Saturday to extend Red Bull's winning start to the season, as his teammate Max Verstappen settled for third in a damaged car behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc started on pole — as he will for the main Azerbaijan Grand Prix race on Sunday — but was overtaken by Pérez just before the halfway point of the 17-lap sprint on the long seafront straight. The Mexican driver cruised to the win, which cuts his deficit to leader Verstappen in the standings by two points to 13.

Leclerc held on to second as Verstappen closed in on the final lap to give Ferrari its first podium finish of 2023 following a dismal start to the season. The Red Bull team told Verstappen over the radio he had damage to the car's floor following contact with George Russell early in the race, and a hole was visible in his left sidepod. Verstappen lost third place in the incident, then recovered it at a safety car restart.

Red Bull has won all three Grand Prix races this season, with Verstappen winning the opener in Bahrain and then in Australia, after Pérez came first in Saudi Arabia.

The safety car was called out because Yuki Tsunoda slid into the wall, leaving behind a tire and debris from his AlphaTauri.

American driver Logan Sargeant was withdrawn from the sprint by Williams after the team couldn't repair crash damage in time. He had qualified 15th for the sprint after crashing into a barrier the first session of the shootout.

For the first time, there was a shortened “shootout” qualifying session for the sprint race, in addition to a standard qualifying session Friday for Sunday's Grand Prix. Leclerc qualified on pole for both races despite hitting the wall late in the Saturday “shootout.”

It was the first time that an F1 sprint did not set the grid for the main race. F1 stopped doing that in an attempt to encourage drivers to take more risks for sprint points.



McLaren Boss Calls for Permanent F1 Stewards after Herbert Axed

Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 21, 2024 McLaren chief executive Zak Brown before practice REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein a
Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 21, 2024 McLaren chief executive Zak Brown before practice REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein a
TT

McLaren Boss Calls for Permanent F1 Stewards after Herbert Axed

Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 21, 2024 McLaren chief executive Zak Brown before practice REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein a
Formula One F1 - Las Vegas Grand Prix - Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States - November 21, 2024 McLaren chief executive Zak Brown before practice REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein a

McLaren boss Zak Brown called for permanent stewards in Formula One after the governing FIA dropped former racer Johnny Herbert on Wednesday, arguing his work as a media pundit was incompatible with the role.

Brown, whose team won the constructors' title last season, told the Autosport Business Exchange conference in London that McLaren would happily pay their share of the cost of professional officials.

Stewards are largely unpaid volunteers, other than travel expenses, appointed by the FIA on race-by-race basis to ensure the rules are applied consistently and fairly during race weekends and handing out punishments as necessary.

"I don't think we're set up for success by not having full-time stewards," said Brown.

"As far as paying for stewards, this will probably be unpopular amongst my fellow teams (but) I'm happy if McLaren and all the racing teams contribute. I think it's so important for the sport.

"It can't be that expensive. If everyone contributes it's not going to break the bank."

Herbert, a three-times race winner from 160 starts who competed for an array of F1 teams in the 1980s and 1990s and won the Le Mans 24 Hours, had been scheduled to officiate at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16.

The 60-year-old former Sky Sports F1 pundit angered four-times world champion Max Verstappen and father Jos last season for media comments about the Red Bull driver's track behaviour, according to Reuters.

"It is with regret that we announce today that Johnny Herbert will no longer fulfil the position of F1 driver steward for the FIA," the governing body said in a statement.

"Johnny is widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role. However, after discussion, it was mutually agreed that his duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible.

"We thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavours."

There was no immediate comment from Herbert, one of the stewards in Mexico City last season who handed Verstappen two 10-second penalties for aggressive moves on his McLaren title rival Lando Norris.

"Those penalties in Mexico won’t stop Max Verstappen from pushing Lando Norris off the track in the future," the Briton commented afterwards, referring to the Dutch driver's driving style as "harsh".

"I am such a big fan of Verstappen and it frustrates me massively when he drives the way he did in Mexico," he added.

The Briton has continued to offer opinions, circulated in the media, for betting websites.