Safety car not the only reason for Perez’s win: 'That was the key'

Sergio Perez won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix just as he did in 2021. It is common knowledge that the Mexican is very good on the streets of Baku, but in 2023 Perez was helped to victory partly by the safety car. According to the Mexican, that was not the only reason he won the race.

Perez started the race in Baku from third position. Max Verstappen started from P2 with Charles Leclerc on pole. In the sprint on Saturday, it was already clear that Ferrari did not have the racing speed of Red Bull Racing. This was confirmed again on Sunday, with Verstappen and Perez passing the Ferrari driver after only five laps. After that, the battle for victory went between the two teammates, which Perez managed to win.

Not only safety car important

Verstappen was called in by his team just before the safety car and thus lost first position to Perez, who did stop during the safety car. Still, according to the Mexican, the timing of the safety car was not the key to his victory. The two-time winner in Baku says overtaking Leclerc quickly was also important.

"That was key, you know, because once Max got by I knew that it was really important not to lose too much time with Charles, because if I were to lose too much time with Max then it will be really difficult to catch him. Luckily, I managed to spend just a lap behind Charles," Perez said at the post-race press conference where GPblog was also present.