Which F1 drivers do well at Azerbaijan Grand Prix with Sergio Perez successful in Baku

Follow us on Google Discover

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix debuted on the Formula 1 calendar in 2017 and has so far seldom seen repeat winners, so F1 Oversteer looks at its most successful drivers yet.

Even including when Formula 1 first visited Baku in 2016 for the European Grand Prix before race officials changed its name for 2017, few drivers have stood atop the podium more than once in Azerbaijan. The fast and challenging nature of the city track has often yielded chaos.

One of the most unforgettable Azerbaijan Grand Prix to date even saw Daniel Ricciardo with Red Bull become the first driver to win the race named after the country. Nico Rosberg won with Mercedes when F1 visited Baku in 2016 before retiring after winning that season’s title.

Sergio Perez is the most successful F1 driver at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

It was not until 2023 that the Azerbaijan Grand Prix witnessed its first repeat winner as Red Bull saw Sergio Perez triumph in Baku again. The Mexican had also won with the team from Milton Keynes in 2021 as Formula 1 returned to the city circuit after its cancellation in 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant there was not an Azerbaijan GP as F1 held a heavily tweaked championship in 2020. Since then, Baku has become a playground for Red Bull as one of the most successful Formula 1 teams at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, surpassing Mercedes’ status.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Azerbaijan Grand Prix including Verstappen vs Ricciardo

Fortune played a key role in Perez winning his first Azerbaijan GP in 2021 and again in 2023, with both times seeing the sister Red Bull belonging to Max Verstappen hit trouble. If not for his tribulations, Verstappen might have won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix three times in a row.

The Azerbaijan GP has seen one repeat winner as a Formula 1 race

But while Verstappen contended for three Azerbaijan Grand Prix wins from 2021 to 2023, of which he won in just 2022, the Dutchman watched his Red Bull teammate Perez become the first and so far sole repeat winner – even including the 2016 European GP that Rosberg won.

Perez took his first win on the streets of Baku in 2021 after Verstappen suffered an apparent tyre failure whilst leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It pitched the Dutchman into a spin at almost 200 mph and Perez capitalised on Lewis Hamilton’s big lock-up at the restart to win.

Fortune also favoured Perez in 2023 as the Mexican held off Verstappen to claim his second Azerbaijan Grand Prix win in a Red Bull one-two finish. It further saw Perez do the double in Baku that weekend as it was a Sprint event that season, for which Charles Leclerc took pole.

Qualifying only saw Perez take third place for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix grid with a gap of 0.292 to Ferrari star Leclerc and 0.104s to Verstappen. But the Red Bull drivers made light work of passing the Monegasque on Laps 4 and 5 with simple moves under DRS into Turn 1.

Verstappen, struggling for grips on medium tyres, then pitted on Lap 11 after Nyck de Vries broke the suspension of his AlphaTauri at Turn 6. But the yellow flags were quickly upgraded to a virtual safety car, under which Perez stopped and stole the lead of the Azerbaijan GP.

The Azerbaijan GP has seen one F1 driver secure repeat pole positions in Charles Leclerc

As well as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix only seeing Perez secure repeat wins so far, the streets of Baku have also only seen Leclerc secure multiple pole positions to date. The Monegasque placed his Ferrari P1 on the grid for the first time in 2021 and again in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Leclerc could have another Azerbaijan GP pole in his account, too, but for his costly crash in qualifying in 2019 that led to the Scuderia star’s iconic ‘I’m so stupid’ radio message. He was in the mix for pole that year but put the nose of his SF90 in the barrier outside Turn 8 in Q3.