Conclusions from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Max Verstappen extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 standings with his fifth victory of the 2022 season in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Ferrari and Charles Leclerc suffered yet another disastrous day.

Here are our conclusions from Baku…

There was much excitement surrounding Sergio Perez’s potential role in the title fight after his victory in Monaco put him within 15 points of World Championship leader Verstappen.

More comfortable with the slow rotation of the RB18 car, he had been the faster of the Red Bull drivers in Monte Carlo and was perceived by some to be the pre-race favourite in Baku where he won last season and twice drove a Force India to the podium.

Such is Verstappen’s natural touch and feel for a racing car that it will never cease to be a surprise when he is beaten by Perez in qualifying, yet for the second race in succession it was Sergio ahead on the grid after a fine final Q3 lap.

Encouraged by his race engineer to get his “elbows out” just before the formation lap – a message with good intentions but potentially counterproductive at that point – Perez nipped past Leclerc at the first corner.

We were not perfect today, there’s so many things to improve and to understand.

But at the end of the day was a great result for the team. Congratulations to @Max33Verstappen who had an excellent race and to the whole team.

Now on to Canada! #azerbaijangp pic.twitter.com/pv2nq9Tedg

— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) June 12, 2022

And with clean air ahead of him and Red Bull’s superior straight-line speed shielding him from retaliation, this would normally have been a golden opportunity for Perez to claim a second straight win.

But, strangely, it was at this point where his race began to fall apart.

Potentiall