2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

## Lap Leaders

The **2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix** (officially known as the **Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2023**) was the fourth race of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at Baku City Circuit on the weekend of April 28 to April 30, 2023.

## Background

### Weekend format

The event was the first in the season to feature a new format specifically adopted for those Grands Prix which include the additional sprint race. The format will consist of a single practice session on Friday, followed by the qualifying session which will determine the grid for the Sunday's Grand Prix. On Saturday, a new qualifying session called "sprint shootout", in place of the old second practice session, will be run, determining the grid for the sprint. The Grand Prix is taken place on Sunday. The new sprint shootout qualifying is run shorter than the traditional qualifying: Q1 will be 12 minutes, Q2 10 minutes and Q3 8 minutes. In addition, new tyres are mandatory for each phase, with mediums for Q1 and Q2, and softs for Q3.

### Championship standings before the race

Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen leads the World Drivers' Championship with 69 points, 15 points from his teammate Sergio Pérez, second, and 24 from Fernando Alonso in third. Red Bull Racing, with 123 points, lead the Constructors' Championship from Aston Martin by 58 points and Mercedes by 67 points.

### Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.

### Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively) for teams to use at the event.

### Track changes

The second DRS activation point was moved 100 metres (330 ft) farther ahead, being positioned 447 metres (1,467 ft) after turn 20.

## Qualifying

### Qualifying Report

Qualifying will be held on 28 April 2023 at 17:00 local time (UTC+4).

## Sprint Shootout

### Sprint Shootout Report

The sprint shootout was held on 29 April 2023 at 12:30 local time (UTC+4).

The first segment saw Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda, Gasly and de Vries knocked out. Twenty-five seconds before the session was to finish, Logan Sargeant, who was seventh, hit the wall with the rear of his car at turn 15, damaging the suspension and read wing. Due to damage to his car, Sargeant could not continue the session, which would disallow him from setting a time for the second segment. Sargeant would be withdrawn from the sprint altogether due to car damage. The session was red-flagged and ended prematurely. Following the first segment, Gasly's car was reported to suffer from an exhaust leak.

The second segment saw Piastri, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Magnussen and Sargeant knocked out. Two yellow flags were waved during the session; Hülkenberg locked up at turn 7 and nearly touched the wall. Sainz would also lock up, at turn 15. Towards the end of the session, Alonso gave his teammate Stroll a tow down the pit straight, greatly assisting his lap. Due to a lack of new soft tyres, Norris could not participate in the third session.
Leclerc managed pole for the sprint ahead of Pérez and Verstappen despite locking up and crashing out on turn 5.

## Sprint

### Sprint Report

The sprint was held on 29 April 2023 at 17:30 local time (UTC+4).

Sprint polesitter Charles Leclerc got a good start off the line to take the lead of the race. Max Verstappen and George Russell made contact going into turn 2, the latter inflicting damage to the Red Bull Racing driver's car and passing him for third place. Behind him, Fernando Alonso passed Alexander Albon for seventh place. As he went into turn 13, Yuki Tsunoda hit the wall, stripping the rear-left tyre off his AlphaTauri; the stricken tyre rolled down the track and debris was strewn around that corner, causing a virtual safety car to be called out. Tsunoda limped back into the pits to replace the tyre, though his damaged car was released in an unsafe condition; he would retire the following lap. Soon, the virtual safety car period transitioned to a full safety car period to clear the debris left by Tsunoda's car. During this period, Esteban Ocon went into the pits to switch to soft tyres.
On lap five, the safety car perio8d would end; as the cars went into turn 1, Verstappen passed Russell for third, and Lewis Hamilton would drop two places behind Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alonso. The DRS was enabled on lap seven, giving Sergio Pérez the opportunity to pass Leclerc; he would do so as he went into turn 1, where he would keep the lead until the end of the race. Lando Norris boxed after lap 10, switching to the medium compound; soon afterward Ocon would switch to new softs. Pérez pulled away from second-placed Leclerc, who was now being pressured by Verstappen in third; by lap 17, Pérez had a 4.7 second gap ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen finished in third; Russell went home in fourth.

## Race

### Race Report

The race was held on 30 April 2023 at 15:00 local time (UTC+4).

Polesitter Charles Leclerc led the race until lap four; Alexander Albon and Oscar Piastri made contact coming into turn 2, inflicting damage to the Williams' wing. The contact was investigated and no further action was taken. The DRS was enabled on lap four, with Max Verstappen utilising it to pass Leclerc into the first corner. Sergio Pérez would repeat the same move on lap six to take second place. Pierre Gasly entered the pit lane on lap six to switch to the hard compound.

As lap ten concluded, Verstappen went into the pit lane to switch tyres, exiting in third position, but he would be inconvenienced as Nyck de Vries would cause a yellow flag and subsequent safety car; he had locked up and ran wide into the barrier at turn 6. The Dutchman was unable to recover the car and subsequently retired. During the safety car period, Pérez changed into a fresh hard compound and subsequently took the lead of the race, with Leclerc also switching to the hards. George Russell also benefited from the safety car, jumping Lance Stroll and taking sixth place. Russell's entry into pit lane was deemed by the stewards to be dangerous and was investigated by race control, with no further investigation required. Zhou Guanyu retired on lap 38 following mechanical problems.
Pérez, Verstappen and Leclerc would be the top three drivers for the rest of the race as Pérez took his second Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri set identical lap times in Q3. Stroll was classified ahead as he set his time earlier.
2. ↑ Esteban Ocon qualified 12th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as the setup of the suspension was changed while the car was under parc fermé.
3. ↑ Nico Hülkenberg qualified 17th, but he was required to start the race from the pit lane as the setup of the suspension was changed while the car was under parc fermé.
4. ↑ Nyck de Vries failed to set a time within the 107% requirement. He was permitted to race at the stewards' discretion.
5. ↑ Lando Norris could not set a time during Q3 as he did not have new soft tyres which are mandatory for the segment.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Esteban Ocon qualified 13th, but he was required to start the sprint from the pit lane as the setup of the suspension was changed while the car was under parc fermé.
7. ↑ Logan Sargeant qualified 15th, but he did not take part in the sprint following a request made by the team to withdraw the car due to a crash. Drivers who qualified behind him gained a grid position.
8. ↑ Includes one point for fastest lap.