Moments after crossing the finishing line at the end of a long and challenging Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Sergio Perez gave a frank assessment of his race weekend, in which he had recovered from a pit lane start to take fifth.
“Nothing worked really this weekend,” Perez admitted over team radio. “Let’s turn the page, understand the problems we had and come back strong.”
In reply, he received a vote of confidence from race engineer Hugh Bird looking ahead to the next round in Azerbaijan. “King of Baku,” Bird told his driver. “Bring it on.”
High praise indeed. But Perez has an impressive record at the unusual Baku City Circuit which blends some of the quickest straights on the calendar with sharp, narrow turns.
The Red Bull driver and veteran of over 230 grands prix has raced at 34 separate circuits in that time – but Baku stands out as the venue where he has enjoyed the most success. Across six races in Azerbaijan, Perez has scored 82 points – more than any other driver bar Sebastian Vettel – and never failed to reach Q3 in all six attempts in qualifying there.
Perhaps most notably, Perez has stood on the Baku podium four times in six races. That’s not only more times than he has appeared on any other podium in his Formula 1 career, he holds the record for having the most podium appearances in Azerbaijan of any driver.
But is Perez truly an Azerbaijan specialist, or have circumstances simply fallen his way around the super-fast street circuit? And is this strength something he can capitalise on in his championship fight with team mate Max Verstappen?
2016
Grid: 7th – Finished: 3rd
Perez was fast from the moment he stepped off the plane in Baku seven years ago for the circuit’s debut on the F1 calendar, known for this first race only as the European Grand Prix.
He was third-fastest on Friday and qualified his Force India a stunning second on the grid the day after. But he didn’t get to start there: A crash at the tricky turn 15 at the end of final practice left him with a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, and he lined up seventh.
From there Perez passed Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat, then opted to extend his opening stint before pitting and moving up to fourth. He caught up to Kimi Raikkonen towards the end of the race and despite not needing to overtake the Ferrari driver, who had a five-second time penalty, Perez still muscled by on the last lap to take third place in style. It was his second podium finish in…
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