Sergio Perez secures Azerbaijan GP victory ahead of Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez secured victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of teammate Max Verstappen as Red Bull dominated the race in Baku on Sunday.

The Mexican took advantage of an early safety car to stop for new tyres and leapfrogged Verstappen, controlling the remainder of the race to take the chequered flag 2.1 seconds clear of the Dutchman, as Red Bull kept up its winning start to 2023.

Charles Leclerc, who started on pole position, finished third for Ferrari with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso fourth. Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, two places ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell, who claimed the fastest lap

Perez's win moves him to within six points of Verstappen in the drivers' standings.

Leclerc started from the front but despite executing a perfect getaway to beat Verstappen to the opening corner, his lead lasted just three laps.

With the Drag Reduction System open in the back of Verstappen's Red Bull, the Dutchman blasted by his Ferrari rival at 215mph on the main straight to take the lead.

Perez, third on the grid, followed his Red Bull teammate through two laps later with the double world champion leading a one-two for the grid's all-conquering team.

The pair fought a long, flat-out battle after the Perez leapfrogged Verstappen after being able to save time by making his pit stop under the safety car.

The Mexican had Verstappen's measure, maintaining a lead of a second before edging further ahead in the closing stages.

Perez, who won in Azerbaijan in 2021 and becomes the first two-time winner of the race, said: “It really worked out today for us we managed to keep the pressure on Max, which 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