Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Another street race win for Sergio Perez topped off an excellent week for Red Bull, who took their third 1-2 of the 2023 season in the streets of Baku.
The Mexican took advantage of some strategy luck, to jump teammate Max Verstappen during a safety car period, caused by Alpha Tauri’s Nyck De Vries.
Perez then blitzed the field for the remaining 30 laps, to win his second race of the season, and claw back some crucial ground in the championship fight.
Speaking about the challenges he faced after the race, Perez said:
“I think it was very close between us. We pushed to the maximum today, we both clipped the wall a few times we were pushing out there.
“The way Max pushed me throughout the race was really hard but we managed to keep him under control.”
The well timed safety car contributed to an easier than expected race for Red Bull’s street circuit specialist, who now trails Verstappen by just six points in the championship.
“It really worked out today for us. We managed to stay in the DRS train and we managed to keep the pressure on Max,” Perez said.
“I think we had a better deg on that first stint, it was looking good already from that side.
“Then the safety car came and bunched everyone up. So, it was again another race on the hard tyres,” he concluded.
With just a week before the Miami Grand Prix, Perez will look to achieve back to back victories for the first time in his career, and move ahead of Max Verstappen in the fight for the drivers’ championship.
