The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a stroke of luck for Sergio Pérez
Often comfortable on street circuits, the Mexican driver is returning to the Baku track this weekend. A circuit that he likes and where he seems to be the only one able to compete with Max Verstappen.
Solid second in the world championship with 54 points, Sergio Pérez is having the best start to his career this season. In three Grand Prix races, he has finished on the podium twice, including once in first place. It happened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is also a street circuit.
A craving for this type of design.
For several years, Pérez has built a reputation as a specialist in street circuits. His light touch on the accelerator proves effective when accelerating through the slow 90-degree turns that typically characterize these circuits. It was in Baku, moreover, two years ago, that he secured his first victory wearing the Red Bull colors. Since then, he has also triumphed in Monaco, Singapore, and now Jeddah, while also notching several pole positions along the way.
This year, in addition, among the first seven races of the season, five took place on city circuits (Jeddah, Melbourne, Baku, Miami, Monaco), which surely explains the impressive performance of the Mexican driver at the start of the 2023 season.
The only one who can challenge Verstappen this weekend?
Almost a whole month has passed since the last race, but it was difficult to ignore the feeling that the Australian GP, even though early in the new season, was a crucial moment in the internal battle at Red Bull. While Perez inexplicably dropped out in Q1, the momentum from his victory in Saudi Arabia instantly dissipated. Verstappen dominated from pole position to secure his second win in three races and establish an advantage in terms of points over his teammate.
Third in the standings after three consecutive podium finishes at the beginning of the season, Fernando Alonso scored the hardest points of his career in Baku in 2018 by guiding a severely damaged McLaren to seventh place. Straight-line performance being one of the few areas of improvement for Aston Martin in 2023, such a daring drive may be necessary this weekend if Alonso wants to hold onto his spot on the podium before more favorable circuits come up.
His teammate Lance Stroll is somewhat of a Baku specialist, as he secured his first Formula 1 podium for Williams there in 2017 and delivered an impressive stint on the hard tyres before his dramatic tyre failure in 2021.
Could a potentially difficult weekend for Aston Martin open the way for Mercedes or even Ferrari to become the biggest challengers to Red Bull in terms of race pace?
On the Mercedes side, the most memorable memory dates back to last year. Lewis Hamilton was walking away from his car dragging his feet, his hand clutching his back, after an extremely challenging race where the porpoising issue with the W13 was at its peak.
Red Bull, which has been more successful than its competitors in building its cars, seems to still have an edge.
