Victorious Perez cuts Verstappen standings lead to 6 points at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Sergio Perez took advantage of a fortunately timed safety car to beat his teammate Max Verstappen to the victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, adding it to the sprint he secured the day before, as Red Bull kept up its winning start to 2023.

Perez took the lead when he managed to save time pitting during a safety car period after Verstappen had come in a lap earlier.

"Well done guys, we dominated this weekend," Perez told his team over the radio in Baku. "We are in the fight, guys."

Verstappen started second behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc but swept past him on the long start-finish straight at the end of lap 3, the first lap on which drivers could use the DRS overtake assist system on the rear wing.

It was a copy of the pass Perez made on Leclerc on his way to winning the sprint race Saturday. After Verstappen took the lead Sunday, Perez needed only two more laps for his own similar pass on Leclerc to seize second, as Red Bull underlined its status as F1's dominant team.

Perez benefited when an accident by Nyck de Vries brought out the safety car after his AlphaTauri slid off the track with a broken suspension, just after Verstappen had pitted from the lead. The safety car meant Perez and Leclerc lost less time on their stops and came out ahead of Verstappen.

After that, the two Red Bull drivers pulled away from the pack and cruised to a straightforward win. Red Bull has won all four Grand Prix races this season and the sprint in Baku on Saturday. Leclerc was third to continue his recovery after a poor start to the year and said the Red Bulls had been "in another league" for race pace.

With the win Perez cut Verstappen's standings lead to six points. They each have two victories this season but Perez lost ground at the last race in Australia when he was fifth after sliding off the track in qualifying.

Perez is the only driver to win in Baku more than once and has four podium finishes in his last five races there. The Mexican driver joked he had won "two and a half" times in Azerbaijan, including Saturday's sprint.

"It is what it is," Verstappen said of his result, describing the safety car timing as "unlucky."

Fernando Alonso finished in fourth place, showing strong pace for Aston Martin after issues in qualifying on Friday, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Jr. for Ferrari and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who recovered after losing out in the safety car period like Verstappen.

The second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll took seventh ahead of Hamilton's teammate George Russell, with McLaren's Lando Norris and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda ninth and 10th, respectively.

The race stewards summoned FIA staff overseeing the pit lane over the incident involving Ocon. It appeared on TV broadcasts the staff was leading a group of photographers across the pit lane toward the pit wall ahead of the expected finish of the race and were surprised when Ocon drove into the pit lane.

"We considered that it was fortunate that there were no serious consequences on account of what happened today. We stressed that the requirements of ensuring a safe and orderly event are paramount. This was acknowledged by the FIA team," the stewards wrote, adding that the FIA pledged to review its procedures.

It was the second potentially dangerous incident in as many races after fans climbed security barriers at the Australian Grand Prix while cars were still on track.