Sergio Perez showed his street circuit prowess to get the better of pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and win the Sprint in Baku.
The race pace of the Red Bull proved too much for the Ferrari star to handle as the Mexican moved past with ease. But that was after the main action of the short-form race, which came on the first lap as Max Verstappen and George Russell went toe-to-toe.
Verstappen had started ahead of the Brit, but the Mercedes racer had the better launch off the line and was alongside heading into the first corner. The defending champion resisted and so the battle went on for several corners with neither of them willing to give an inch to the other.
They made contact at Turn 2 and Verstappen was forced into the wall on the exit of the next corner, leaving him furious. He swore loudly over the radio and demanded his Red Bull team "f***ing report it" to the FIA.
The stewards were not interested but, in any case, Verstappen had the last laugh. After a safety car period caused by Yuki Tsunoda losing a tyre, the Dutchman got the jump on his Mercedes rival and moved back past to reclaim third place.
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To make matters worse for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton got caught in the wrong position on the track and had to brake sharply, allowing Carlos Sainz to pull away from him and the lurking Fernando Alonso to fly past his old rival.
Max Verstappen and George Russell made contact as the Mercedes racer overtook in Baku (Sky Sports)A couple of laps later, Perez completed the move on Leclerc which gave him the lead. And he never looked back as he nursed his tyres nicely, while the Ferrari was struggling with degradation – as has often been the case in these early weeks of the 2023 season.
Verstappen got closer to Leclerc but could not get past and had to settle for third. Russell finished fourth with Sainz also finishing in the same position he started. Hamilton had begun in sixth, but Alonso moved past and sped away from his old McLaren team-mate to secure that spot.
Lance Stroll crossed the line behind the seven-time world champion to take the final point on offer. Alex Albon had qualified so well, but ended up with nothing to show for it as he finished one place outside the points.
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