2J5M0KC Race winner Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium. 24.04.2022. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Imola, Italy, Race Day. Photo credit should read: XPB/Press Association Images.
As we head to this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP, let us take a look at how things turned out last year – who won the last edition?
F1 teams are all set to head out to Baku for the Azerbaijan GP, and it gives us an opportunity to take a look back at how the previous edition unfolded.
Max Verstappen is coming into this weekend’s race as the defending champion, having finished on top of the podium in 2022 ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ George Russell.
The 2023 Azerbaijan GP will be the sixth edition of this event and is scheduled to take place from April 28 to April 30 including the first Sprint race of the season.
The Azerbaijan GP hasn’t seen a repeat winner since its inaugural edition in 2017. It remains to be seen if Max Verstappen can break the trend this weekend. Sergio Perez (2021), Valtteri Bottas (2019), Lewis Hamilton (2018) and Daniel Ricciardo (2017) are the winners of the earlier editions. Charles Leclerc holds the record of driving the fastest lap when he registered a timing of 1:43.009 at the 2019 edition of this Grand Prix.
When it comes to the constructors’, Red Bull are the most successful team in Azerbaijan having won the GP there five times – 2017, 2021, 2022. Mercedes have won the remaining two times in 2018 and 2019.
Red Bull dominate the drivers’ championship standings after a fantastic start to the season with 1-2 finishes in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia followed by another top-of-the-podium finish in Australia.
Max Verstappen leads the standings with 69 points followed by his team-mate Sergio Perez, who occupies the second spot with 54 points while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso lies in the third spot with 45 points – ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll.
In the constructors’ championship, the picture is no different. Reigning champions Red Bull lead the table with 123 points. Aston Martin are significantly behind in second place, having earned 65 points from three races so far. Mercedes are placed third in the leaderboard with 56 points and have a lot of catch up to do.
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