Azerbaijan GP: Post-race comments from Perez and Red Bull

Sergio Perez took his first victory as a Red Bull Racing Honda driver, surviving a late-race battle with Lewis Hamilton that saw the Mercedes driver lock up and finish in P15 after a red flag restart brought about by a disastrous puncture that robbed Max of an almost certain victory just five laps from the chequered flag.

Though race ended with mixed feelings for Red Bull, they have managed to increase the lead in Constructors championship fight over rivals Mercedes. Red Bull holds onto first place with 174 points, while Mercedes failed to add a point to their previous total of 148 points.

Max made a solid start to hold his P3 starting place but behind, teammate Checo made a superb start and halfway through the opening lap he was past Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly slotting into P4.

After a slick 1.9s stop, the Dutch driver emerged from the pit lane ahead of Hamilton. With Checo right on the pace, the team then told the Mexican to box at the end of the next lap. Sergio posted a rapid sequence of purple sectors and even though he had a slow 4.3s stop due to a wheel gun issue, he was able to re-join ahead of Hamilton.

In the end Max’s tyre failure didn’t cost them dearly in the drivers championship battle, as his main rival Hamilton’s uncharacteristic mistake neutralized the points tally .

Sergio Perez (P1) :

“We love Baku! It feels amazing to get my first win with Red Bull. The Team did a tremendous job and I want to thank Mr Mateschitz for this great opportunity and giving me the seat. I feel very sorry for Max because he deserved the win and a 1-2 for the Team would’ve been very enjoyable.

It was a crazy rollercoaster of a race, we were basically flat out from the very first lap and I had Lewis behind pushing me so I couldn’t breathe, it was very challenging but we kept our focus.

“Everything worked perfectly today apart from the restart at the end where I just had no grip. I thought I cannot lose this race two laps from the flag so I broke as late as I could into Turn 1 and then I saw Lewis locking up and go straight on into the run off. It just shows how on the limit we are, the speeds we are doing are tremendous and I am sorry for Lewis because it’s very painful when these things happen but we are all vulnerable to mistakes.

We have to enjoy today, our pace was great and we have a very good race car. We are working flat out and giving our best every week, it’s only race six and there’s more to come from me, the relationship with Max and the Team is great and there’s still a long way to go in this championship.”

Max Verstappen(DNF):

“To retire from the lead of the race so close to the finish is pretty frustrating. I didn’t feel anything strange with the car and then suddenly the left rear went and I was in the wall quite hard. It’s not a nice place to crash and we don’t know the exact cause yet, I’m sure it will be fully investigated. Up until that point it was a great day, the car felt perfect and I was comfortable in the lead so it felt like it would be an easy 1-2 but there are no guarantees in this sport.

“Of course I am frustrated from my side not to win but I was very happy to see Checo up there. He did everything that the Team could have wanted today. He had a great start and then we both got past Lewis in the pits. I heard he had to defend for most of the race, so if I couldn’t win, I’m glad he could.

He’s a great guy and a great teammate so it was good to see him smiling on the podium and having his first win for Red Bull. It’s a shame that we missed out on the opportunity to make the gap bigger to Lewis today in the championship as we know when we get back to the normal tracks Mercedes will be very strong again but it just goes to show anything can happen and it’s still a good result for the Team!”

Christian Horner, Team Principal

“What a rollercoaster! I think we have been through every single emotion today. To be within five laps of achieving our first 1-2 since 2016 to then lose Max from the lead of the race with a puncture that is so far unexplained was pretty heart breaking.

The race was then red flagged and we had serious concerns that Sergio was losing hydraulic pressure and there were no guarantees he would make it to the finish. Thankfully Sergio got the job done and Lewis’ mistake into Turn 1 at the restart means we come out of the weekend having extended our lead in the Constructors’ Championship with Max maintaining his lead in the Drivers’ and Checo now moving into third place.

“Although it was frustrating for Max, we are delighted for Checo to take his first win for the Team today. He has been extremely fast all weekend and it was a great boost for the Team to see him on the top step of the podium.

It was also great to see Pierre on up there on the podium after a strong weekend but today we would like to dedicate this win to Mansour Ojjeh who was unfortunately lost from the McLaren family and our sport, he was inspirational and someone I was fortunate enough to call a friend.

Congratulations and a big thank you must also go to all our partners, especially Mobil 1 who provided us with an upgraded engine oil for this weekend which just shows how hard all areas of our Team are pushing in this championship fight.”