Checo Pérez is the king of Baku and conquers the Azerbaijan GP 2023

The Baku circuit continues to be one of the favorites for the Mexican driver, after Checo Pérez took first place in the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After three weeks of inactivity, Formula 1 returned to action with a direct duel between the Red Bull drivers, who made it 1-2, but with a Pérez who achieved an almost perfect race, keeping Verstappen at bay for almost three seconds ahead.

With a brilliant weekend, where he won the sprint race, Checo Pérez showed that he is the king of Baku.

In the development of the race, Ferrari started with a good start by Charles Leclerc, but his position was threatened by the two Red Bulls.

And that aggressive pressure paid off, as Verstappen took the lead after just six laps, while Pérez took second after eight laps, with a big pass in sector 2.

The lead window opened for Checo after the tenth lap, following an incident by Nick de Vries that caused the safety car, which sent Max Verstappen to the pits to change tires, leaving the Mexican with first place.

But the Dutchman, not satisfied with second place, went all out for his teammate, who excelled on the track, taking care of the tires and signing a couple of fastest laps.

Even on lap 20, Pérez showed his patience by preventing his car from hitting the wall in a millimeter way and maintaining the advantage of more than a second over the Dutchman.

From then on, the Mexican kept his distance from the Dutchman, with an inch-by-inch battle for the fastest lap, opening the gap on his teammate and avoiding an incident that would take him away from first place.

In a race with few changes, and dominated by the Red Bulls, Pérez won a new psychological battle against the Dutchman, as well as closing the distance on the lead.

With the victory, Sergio Pérez emulates what was achieved in 2021, where he took the victory in Baku. In addition to being his second win of the season, after the one signed in Saudi Arabia.

Also, it is the fifth podium for the Mexican in Azerbaijan, after 2016 (third), 2018 (third), 2021 (First) and 2022 (second).