Gunning for the win: Why Sergio Perez has the momentum to claim F1 victory in Baku

Sergio Perez is the man of the moment in Formula 1. Just ahead of his first win in Monaco, the Mexican signed a new deal with Red Bull F1 that will see him in the team until the end of the 2024 season. The signing surely invigorated the driver throughout the race weekend in the Principality, which showed in his performances from the first practice session.

The win was Perez's third in F1 - making him the most successful Mexican driver in the sport's history - and puts him just 15 points behind teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen in this year's title race. Heading to this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, run through the streets of Baku, Perez has all the momentum on his side to possibly register the fourth win of his career.

But the Monaco win is not the only momentum on Perez's side. Azerbaijan 2021 would still be fresh in his mind.

Picking up the pieces

2021 was Perez's first season as a Red Bull driver. Hot off his win at the 2020 Sakhir GP, the driver entered into talks with Red Bull, and soon an agreement was struck. A few months into his Red Bull deal, he won the Azerbaijan GP after bad luck befell several drivers, including Verstappen and Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton.

Perez did not have the greatest of qualifying sessions. Starting in seventh place, he had his work cut out if he was to have any say in the race's outcome. Red Bull didn't have much hope of seeing their new recruit on the podium, either, let alone him winning the race. But Perez had a brilliant start and found himself in fourth place behind Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Hamilton, and Verstappen after just a couple of corners.

READ: Sergio Perez's new Red Bull deal is a no-brainer as team ensures future successes

By Lap 14/51, the leading drivers