(Motorsport-Total.com) – Sergio Perez once again confirmed his reputation as a specialist in Baku on Saturday. The most statistically successful driver in Azerbaijan won the first sprint race of the 2023 Formula 1 season and didn’t even have to show it all: “I think I had more speed than I showed today,” says the Red Bull driver. The pilot then NFL.
Sergio Perez (Red Bull) celebrates winning the Formula 1 Sprint in Baku 2023
“But it’s hard to tell because when you give 100 percent, the tires become an issue, so I’ve basically been driving with the maximum tire capacity,” he says. “I think all the cars are noticeably better, but it’s all about looking after the tires and getting to the finish.”
Perez had started the race on Saturday from second on the grid and had to overtake Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who, according to Perez, had a “very strong pace” in the early stages.
After the safety car broke out, the Mexican’s main concern was staying close to Ferrari to look for opportunities later on. Since the DRS area was shortened by 100 meters from start to finish, he wanted to stay close to Monegasque within a few tenths of a second and overtake him.
He finally managed to do it halfway through the race when he overtook Leclerc with DRS before turn 1 and then didn’t relinquish the lead, even though Leclerc himself was still in the DRS window. But Red Bull’s good pace made life a little easier for Perez. “I kept a close eye on him and then I was able to slowly walk away.”
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In the end, Perez crossed the finish line 4.5 seconds ahead and took a quick eight-point win. “It gives me a lot of satisfaction,” Perez says, “but not just because I win the sprint.”
“The whole weekend puts the drivers, engineers and mechanics under pressure. Now we’ve managed it and we can focus on the main race without any problems,” said the Mexican. “Things can easily go wrong and you lose a lot of points. I just made sure you get the most out of it.”
At the very least, Red Bull has shown that it is probably the better car over a longer distance, even if Perez doesn’t want to draw too many conclusions from the race: “Tomorrow there will be different conditions and we have a different fuel board at the start. So I don’t think we can read too much.” in it “.
“But tomorrow is a new day and a new challenge.”
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