George Russell managed to salvage the extra point for fastest lap at the Azerbaijan GP after the Mercedes driver finished eighth in Baku.
Russell just missed out on getting into Q3 during qualifying and started from further back on the grid, and was unable to make his way through to teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton in turn struggled to get past the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez managed to fend off a challenge from Max Verstappen to take the win in Baku, following his victory in the Sprint Shootout on Saturday.
Perez dominant in Baku
Perez was able to sweep past polesitter Charles Leclerc early in the race with the vastly superior top speed of the Red Bull on the long straights in Baku, and the Mexican then pulled out a comfortable gap to teammate Verstappen.
Verstappen had surrendered the lead ahead of a safety car due to a crash by AlphaTauri’s Nyck De Vries, when he pitted before Perez. Once the Safety car did come out, Perez took advantage of a free stop to take the lead, and the champion couldn’t find a way back into the race.
