Perez coronated ‘King of Baku’ as he puts Melbourne misery behind him · RaceFans

Over four agonising weeks, Sergio Perez could do little but sit and stew over his “really bad, very bad” Australian Grand Prix weekend.

The 11 points he salvaged from the pit lane in the preceding round were of little comfort when his team mate Max Verstappen – practically the only obstacle that sits between him and the chance of a Formula 1 world championship title in 2023 – gained 14 on him with his second win of the season.

But the fates could have offered Perez no better venue to make a statement of intent for the rest of the season than Baku. Of all the stops F1 makes on its annual world tour, nowhere else has Perez enjoyed as much success.

Dubbed “King of Baku” by race engineer Hugh Bird back at the end of that tough day in Melbourne, Perez had laid claim to his throne on Saturday, gliding past Charles Leclerc to win the sprint race. He would have more work to do in the main event, starting behind both pole winner Leclerc and Verstappen. But with Red Bull’s unparalleled race pace and extreme DRS advantage, it was a matter of when Verstappen and Perez would dispatch the Ferrari driver, not if.

For the second time in fewer than 24 hours, Leclerc held both Red Bulls behind him as the field launched off the line and around the left-hander of turn one for the first time. As the field snaked through the city streets for the first time that afternoon, Leclerc led the two Red Bulls with Carlos Sainz Jnr in fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth and the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

The first lap was an ominous one for Ferrari. Leclerc was simply unable to shake Verstappen from his tail, the world champion never more than eight tenths away from his gearbox over the first six kilometres. Verstappen could simply bide his time, knowing that the moment he crossed the DRS activation line on the pit straight and reached up with his left hand to flick the switch, he would be through.

It happened the first moment it realistically could, as the pair flew down the main straight on the first occasion the device was active on lap three. Verstappen has enjoyed many an easy pass for the lead over the last 18 months, but this had to have been one of the simplest he’d ever pulled off. With 20kph of extra speed for Verstappen, Leclerc just had no option but to surrender the lead to a Red Bull for a second successive day.

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Perez now…