F1 Daily round-up: Dramatic race, Pirelli under pressure & Wolff defends Hamilton

The 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend has been phenomenal. Sergio Perez won the race in Baku, but not without plenty of drama. Max Verstappen had a tyre blowout whilst in the lead with five laps remaining, adding to Lance Stroll's tyre failure earlier in the race. Despite all this drama, the Drivers Championship remains the same as Lewis Hamilton failed to score points! Here are all the biggest stories of the day. 

Perez wins, as Verstappen crashes and Hamilton makes a crucial mistake

Sergio Perez has won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, due to Max Verstappen having a left rear tyre failure with four laps to go in the race. Verstappen led the race for the majority of the 51 laps and an accident on the final straight cost the Dutchman the victory. A Red Flag was shown on Lap 48. At the restart, Lewis Hamilton made a mistake at turn one and ran into the run-off. 

The Red Bull driver started from sixth on the grid. Sebastian Vettel finished second and Pierre Gasly rounded off the podium places. Click here to read the full report. 

Pirelli under pressure after tyre failures

The cause of the two tyre failures is yet to be confirmed. But Red Bull Racing reported that there wasn't a warning or any sign of a problem with the tyre. Red flags were waved allowing all cars to put fresh tyres on for the last three laps of the race. 

A number of former drivers and pundits have posted criticism at Pirelli on Twitter. The Italian tyre supplier states that Lewis Hamilton's left rear tyre was almost destroyed as well. Click here for the full story. 

Wolff denies Hamilton mistake

Mercedes' Team Principal Toto Wolff could be the most stressed person on the grid this evening after Lewis Hamilton fell from P2 to last place at the restart due to a brake balance incident. In addition to this, Valtteri Bottas struggled all race and finished in P12, resulting in zero points scored for Mercedes this weekend in Baku.

Speaking to Sky Sports he explained that the issue was caused by a switch on the steering wheel. However, Wolff insisted that it was just a piece of bad luck more than anything, exclaiming that: "It can't be called a mistake." Click here for the full story. 

Bottas disappoints in Baku

Valtteri Bottas has had a disappointing race. The Finnish driver was hoping to end a difficult weekend on a good note at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon but finished outside the points.

Again the driver of Mercedes did not manage to keep up with the pace of the front runners. The German team fears that there is a structural problem with the car. For Bottas it was a weekend to forget quickly. " I think that's it", Bottas agreed afterwards in front of the cameras of Ziggo Sports. "It was in the race like yesterday. It's a race to learn from, but also to forget quickly afterwards." Click here for the full story. 

Winners and losers

The Baku City Circuit brought drama and danger galore, and it was quite simply a race for the ages. At a track that typically bursts into flames with action, think back to Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen's crash in 2018 and Charles Leclerc's "I am stupid moment" in 2019 qualifying, it delivered once more. After a qualifying session that brought out four red flags, the joint most in F1 history, the race had all the hallmarks of an absolute classic, with drivers daring to the very edge to extract every last millisecond of speed out of their respective cars.

Click here to see our winners and losers from the race in Baku.