When Leclerc retired with a broken engine, the Monegask had just taken over the lead from Verstappen, who made a pit stop just before. ,,Of course we were a bit lucky with his retirement”, admitted Verstappen. ,,But our car was so good that we could have closed the gap ourselves. I am very happy with the balance in the car today.”
For the Red Bull driver it is his first victory in Baku. In his previous four participations, he even made it to the finish line only once (fourth in 2019). Last year it went wrong – with the victory up for grabs – due to a blowout in the final phase.
“You can never make up for what you lost last year, but luckily today it went well and we were able to be careful with the tires.” Sergio Pérez completed the celebration for Red Bull by finishing second. ,,This was a very good race for us, but it doesn’t say anything about the rest of the season,’ said Verstappen. “Every weekend is different.”