Perez moves into F1’s top 50 winners, Sainz continues to be out-qualified by team-mates in Baku and Sargeant reaches Q2 for the first time in his career. Here’s a statistic from each driver’s 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend!
🇳🇱 Max VERSTAPPEN
Qualifying in second place for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Max Verstappen recorded his first front row start at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Verstappen finished the race where he started and recorded his 81st podium finish, overtaking Ayrton Senna for seventh in the list of most podium finishes in Formula 1.
Verstappen’s second place finish made the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix the 23rd consecutive race in which he finished in the points-paying positions, equalling Fernando Alonso for the fifth longest points-scoring streak in Formula 1 history.
🇲🇽 Sergio PEREZ
Sergio Perez took two wins in one weekend as he won both the Sprint and the Grand Prix. His Sunday victory made him the first driver to have won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix twice. It was the sixth victory of Perez’s career, seeing him move into the top 50 of drivers who’ve won the most races in Formula 1 history. His sixth win saw him equal the career win tallies of Tony Brooks, John Surtees, Jochen Rindt, Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Laffite, Riccardo Patrese and Ralf Schumacher.
Perez’s win at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix makes him the first driver to record five podium finishes at Baku City Circuit. No other driver has finished on the podium in Azerbaijan more than three times. Mexico is also the nation with the most podiums in Baku, with Perez being the country’s only podium finisher at the track.
Already the driver to have scored the most points in Baku, his points scored in the Sprint and the Grand Prix made Sergio Perez the first driver to have scored 100 points in Azerbaijan. His total of points scored at the track now stands at 115 – 30 more than Lewis Hamilton, who sits second on the list.
🇲🇨 Charles LECLERC
Charles Leclerc secured his first pole position of the season at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This marked his 19th pole position, putting him 17th in the all-time list of most Formula 1 poles. He also set the fastest qualifying time for the F1 Sprint but failed to win either Saturday or Sunday’s race.
Baku City Circuit is the first circuit at which Leclerc has recorded three pole positions and remains the only driver to record multiple pole positions at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Leclerc finished the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in third place, recording the 25th podium finish of his career. He equalled Jacky Ickx for 42nd in the all-time list of most podiums in F1. This was Leclerc’s first podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It’s the 17th circuit at which he has recorded a top three result.
🇪🇸 Carlos SAINZ
For the seventh time in seven visits to Baku City Circuit, Carlos Sainz failed to out-qualify his team-mate at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Sainz also failed to out-qualify Charles Leclerc in the Sprint Shootout.
🇬🇧 Lewis HAMILTON
After maintaining his record of reaching Q3 in every F1 race at Baku City Circuit to date, Lewis Hamilton became the outright record holder as the driver to have completed every racing lap ever held at Baku City Circuit. Along with Sergio Perez, Hamilton equalled Sebastian Vettel as the driver to have scored in Baku on the most occasions.
🇬🇧 George RUSSELL
George Russell failed to reach Q3 for the first time since the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix. He was out-qualified by his team-mate for the first time in 2023, missing out on Q3 by just 0.004 seconds. Russell’s Q2 exit marked the first time that a Mercedes driver failed to reach Q3 in Azerbaijan.
George Russell recorded the fastest lap of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the 51st and final lap. It was the 200th fastest lap for a Mercedes-powered car in Formula 1. Mercedes are the second engine manufacturer to reach the milestone. Ferrari did so at the 2007 European Grand Prix.
🇫🇷 Esteban OCON
Esteban Ocon was eliminated in Q2 for the third time at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, equalling Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo as the joint record-holder for most Q2 exits in Baku.
🇫🇷 Pierre GASLY
Pierre Gasly crashed out in Q1 at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, recording his first Q1 exit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix since 2018. He finished the race in 14th place, failing to score in Baku for the first time since 2019.
🇬🇧 Lando NORRIS
Lando Norris qualified in seventh place for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ending the longest Q3-less streak of his Formula 1 career to date. Finishing the Grand Prix in ninth place, Norris maintained his record of scoring points in every Azerbaijan Grand Prix appearance to date.
🇦🇺 Oscar PIASTRI
Qualifying tenth for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri joined a group of six other drivers who’ve reached Q3 on every appearance at Baku City Circuit. With Piastri just missing out on points in 11th place, this was the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix in which only one McLaren driver scored since 2017.
🇫🇮 Valtteri BOTTAS
Valtteri Bottas lost five positions from his starting place to finish 18th in the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It wass the most positions he has lost in a Grand Prix since the 2021 Mexico City Grand Prix.
🇨🇳 ZHOU Guanyu
Zhou Guanyu was eliminated in Q1 for a second consecutive race. This was the first time that Zhou recorded Q1 exits at successive races since the 2022 Austrian and French Grands Prix. In the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Zhou recorded his first retirement since the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix.
This was his second consecutive retirement at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, meaning he is yet to reach the chequered flag at Baku City Circuit. Daniil Kvyat is the only other driver to have made multiple appearances in Azerbaijan without ever crossing the finish line.
🇪🇸 Fernando ALONSO
Qualifying sixth for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso became the third driver to record 200 Q3 appearances, after Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. While Alonso recorded his worst qualifying result of the year to date, he also recorded his best Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying result to date.
Alonso failed to finish on the podium for the first time in 2023. Finishing in fourth place, Alonso recorded his best-ever result in Azerbaijan, bettering his previous top result of sixth at the circuit, recorded with Alpine in 2021.
🇨🇦 Lance STROLL
Lance Stroll reached Q3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time since his rookie season in 2017. Stroll finished the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in seventh place. It was his second-best result in Baku and marks the first time he has scored at the track since 2019.
🇩🇰 Kevin MAGNUSSEN
Kevin Magnussen was eliminated in Q1 at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, equalling Lance Stroll, Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean as the driver with the most Q1 exits in Baku. This was his 3rd Q1 exit at the track. For the third time in his last four appearances at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Magnussen finished the race in 13th place.
🇩🇪 Nico HULKENBERG
Nico Hulkenberg qualified in 17th place for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, qualifying outside of the top 11 for the first time this year. Hulkenberg started the race from the pit lane, marking his first pit lane start since the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix. Hulkenberg finished 17th in the race – his worst result of the 2023 season to date.
🇯🇵 Yuki TSUNODA
Yuki Tsunoda recorded AlphaTauri’s first Q3 appearance of the 2023 season at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Tsunoda maintained his 100% Q3 record at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having qualified eighth on all three appearances. This was the first time he out-qualified his team-mate at the track.
Tsunoda finished in tenth place at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, picking up a single point for a second consecutive race. This was the second time that Tsunoda has picked up points at Baku City Circuit. It was the first time he recorded points at consecutive races since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix.
🇳🇱 Nyck DE VRIES
It may have been only his fourth start, but at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Nyck de Vries moved into the top ten of Dutch drivers who’ve made the most Formula 1 starts. It was a weekend to forget for the Dutchman. After crashing out in qualifying, De Vries crashed out of the Grand Prix too.
Having also retired from the Australian Grand Prix, this was De Vries’ second consecutive retirement. De Vries is now in an unlucky group of four drivers who’ve retired on every appearance at Baku City Circuit.
🇹🇭 Alex ALBON
With 13th place, Alex Albon equalled his best Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying result to date. He also qualified 13th in 2019. Albon finished 12th for the second consecutive year at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Though he’s yet to score in Baku, Albon maintained his 100% finishing record at the circuit.
🇺🇸 Logan SARGEANT
On Friday at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Logan Sargeant made it out of Q1 for the first time in his Formula 1 career. The 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the first time since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix that both Williams drivers reached Q2. It was s the first time since 2018 that both Williams drivers have reached Q2 in Azerbaijan.