BAKU: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took full advantage of an engine failure for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to win the Azerbaijan GP on Sunday and open up a commanding lead in the Formula One championship.
The Dutchman (1:34:05.941) crossed the line 20.823 seconds clear of Sergio Perez, who was ordered not to battle with Verstappen and completed a one-two for Red Bull. This was after race leader Leclerc pulled into the pits with a smoking engine on the 20th lap.
George Russell (+45.995 seconds) took third for Mercedes while his teammate Lewis Hamilton (+71.679 seconds), voted the ‘Driver of the Day’, fought through back pain to finish fourth. Pole-sitter Leclerc’s retirement was his second in three races and was part of a double DNF (Did Not Finish) for Ferrari, with his teammate Carlos Sainz having already stopped with a hydraulic failure.
Leclerc dropped to third in the overall standings, 34 points behind leader Verstappen (150 points). Meanwhile, Perez, who scored a point for the fastest lap, is second with 129 points.
Are you in Chennai? Then click here to get our newspaper at your doorstep!
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android