00:01And Formula One is underway on the streets of Baku. Good reaction time for Verstappen, but it's Charles Leclerc
00:07who maintains the lead into Turn 1. The top three are as they were going through. Sainz is in fourth.
00:13Hamilton is vulnerable to Fernando Alonso, diving to the inside, but Hamilton chops across.
00:18Lost momentum for Alonso means he's vulnerable now, and there's a tap there between a Williams.
00:22I think that was Oscar Piastri getting hit as he went through.
00:25He was side by side dropping back, losing positions at the start. He's lost one.
00:28It's as you were in the top five though.
00:30I think it was Alvin nibbling a bit of Piastri further down on the edge of the top ten.
00:35Is there going to be any opportunity for Charles Leclerc, who's checking the mirrors early?
00:39He knows the threat is close. Will he be able to offer a defense?
00:42Is it the moment for Max Verstappen to use the slipstream to power alongside and take the lead?
00:47It looks like it might be, and say goodbye to Max Verstappen in second place,
00:51because that's the race lead for the world champion, breezing on by, and Verstappen takes first place in the race.
00:59And we are waiting to see Perez use the efficiency.
01:03The barn door opens, and Perez takes a dart to the inside.
01:07Charles Leclerc knows he can't fight it with defense on the way in.
01:11It's a Red Bull 1-2 as Perez takes second.
01:15And Hamilton pits. He doesn't fancy a wheel-to-wheel with Fernando Alonso, and he pits to get rid of
01:20the tires.
01:21Yeah, and they are all going to have to start pitting as well with others that have jumped in early.
01:26Albon, now Norris is covering off his teammate, Anuki Tsunoda, so it's going to trigger this round of pit stops.
01:30Maybe put us towards a two-stop Grand Prix as well, depending on how this hard holds out.
01:36Baseline is...
01:37Yeah, but I'm sliding.
01:41Now this could bring out the virtual safety car.
01:43Nick De Vries has gone deep, and that is why we have the yellow flag.
01:48Verstappen being told to come into the pits, and Perez will assume the lead at a circuit.
01:53He adores.
01:54De Vries is off at turn six.
01:57He sounded like he had the engine going, but if there's suddenly a safety car or a VSE,
02:01Max has pitted at a very bad moment here because everyone else will save nine seconds on a pit stop.
02:07Early stop for Verstappen, who was getting through his tires just too quickly. Safety car's called.
02:12Full safety car is out, and that is a massive advantage then.
02:17They'll have to respect the delta that they now get.
02:20That is Nick De Vries clipping the apex wall and damaging the front left.
02:24Yeah, so it is just a bit greedy on the apex of the left-hander, and it is a driver
02:29error then for De Vries.
02:30I was wondering how on earth you end up in this position, but he couldn't turn the car to the
02:33right.
02:34It's Perez and Leclerc getting the benefit of pitting under the safety car, and they find themselves ahead of Max
02:41Verstappen.
02:44Leclerc looking racing behind him. Now Perez goes.
02:46And we are back racing in Azerbaijan. Charles Leclerc, does he get a run to the inside?
02:51Will he take the opportunity? Perez feeling the need to defend. He's on cold tires, remember.
02:56There's an opportunity for Max Verstappen as they make their way through.
02:58Will they all make the corner? Cold tires, cold brakes, they will.
03:01And it's the top three as they were. That's a late lunge to the inside for the Aston Martin of
03:06Lance Stroll,
03:06who gets the place back that he lost in the pit stop. But this is Max Verstappen darting out of
03:11the slipstream,
03:12trying to immediately take the Ferrari back. Can he do it? This time he does it without DRS.
03:17Big move for Max Verstappen's Grand Prix.
03:19Yeah, he needed that. Needed to clear the Ferrari, and now he can go and chase after Perez.
03:24Alonso on the inside of Sainz. That's opportunistic. Brilliant from Alonso.
03:28Phenomenal move for fourth position for Fernando Alonso.
03:32On board, here we go with Fernando Alonso. So Sainz is looking good, gets a little bit boxed in behind
03:37his teammate.
03:38Alonso just says, wow, if you don't want the inside, I'll take it.
03:40And sticks it in there, laid on the brakes, committed. Brilliant from Alonso.
03:46Sainz trying to respond, and further back, that's a dive to the inside,
03:50and a tidy move for Lewis Hamilton, who gets past his teammate.
03:55This is Lance Stroll, and he is getting tight to the wall, very tight to the wall.
04:01The wall took fire.
04:03I'm sure you'll all notice that's the same part as Nick De Vries here,
04:06and ended up parked on those skid marks there, down towards Turn 6, which is why we had the safety
04:11car.
04:12This is on board with Kevin Magnussen, trying to fight his way through.
04:16Great driver's eye view of a move that takes him of the order, and he just tags onto it for
04:21a second,
04:22before losing the place again.
04:23Art in mouth for K-Mac.
04:271.5 seconds, oh, very nearly over the road, all over the road for Stroll, who's checking the mirrors.
04:33He very nearly clipped the barrier, he did clip the barrier a few moments ago,
04:37and he's invited Lewis Hamilton to tuck up in the slipstream, and to shake for the pass.
04:42Stroll, who put a good move on earlier on, one Mercedes is about to be passed by the other,
04:48as the similar power unit for the two of them, but it's TRS for Hamilton,
04:51and the mistake at 16 opens the door.
04:53Hamilton feeling the need to jump across and defend the place.
04:56He's up to 6th.
05:00This is turn 15, he turns in, and he would have been heart in mouth for a second there.
05:06Does he brush it? Does he brush it?
05:09He does indeed.
05:10He does, he does with the right rear.
05:11A little bit of give in the tech pro, and he needed it.
05:18Further back down the order, selling the dummy and making his way through,
05:22that is a fine move on the attack for Pierre Gasly, and it's only for 18th,
05:26but it's the best moment of his weekend so far.
05:32What happened at 15?
05:35Copy.
05:36Oh my days, that's your race leader, and he's hit the wall at 15, he is pushing.
05:45He's got him, Lando Norris finally fights away by.
05:49Here we go on board then.
05:51He's not having to defend, he's made a mistake on the braking here.
05:54There's a bit of a lockup, now he's wide, and yeah,
05:56he's just tightened.
05:57The second part of it, you're absolutely right, and then can't get out the corner.
06:01The man in the McLaren comes straight through on the inside.
06:05It has been a phenomenal performance from Sergio Perez.
06:09The street fight has done it again.
06:11Sergio Perez wins in Azerbaijan to take his sixth career victory, to beat his teammate.
06:19Max Verstappen takes the fastest lap on the last tour, but it's Perez's day in Baku.
06:24He's the first repeat winner at this venue, and despite all of Fernando Alonso's efforts, it's Charles Leclerc
06:32who's going to beat him to the rostrum for the first time this season.
06:36Ferrari on the podium with Charles Leclerc.
06:39George Russell put the soft tyres on, completes all three sectors at the end, takes the chequered flag,
06:44and looks for the fastest lap.
06:47He comes across the line, and he's got it.
06:49King of the streets.
06:51Well done, guys.
06:52We dominated this weekend.
06:54Well done, guys.
06:55Well done.
06:56It's another glorious day in the motor racing history of Red Bull.
07:01They are sweeping the races.
07:03Two wins so far for Verstappen.
07:05Two wins now for Perez.
07:07And just six points in the World Championship battle.
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