On the shores of the Caspian Sea, scene of the 4th round of the year, Leclerc had predicted: "it will be difficult to keep the reins" against the powerful Red Bull.

The Monegasque was not mistaken: despite a good start - then a good recovery after the intervention of the safety car at the beginning of the race, the Scuderia driver will not have resisted the RB19 of Pérez for long.

"The Red Bulls always have the advantage in the race, but we must not forget how far we were in the previous meetings," said Leclerc, who gives Ferrari its best race finish since Frédéric Vasseur took charge of the team in January.

Monegasque Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race on April 29, 2023 in Baku. © NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP

"We have to take the maximum points and today there was nothing more to do, I am happy with my 2nd place," he continued.

Verstappen annoyed

At the back, Verstappen, the two-time reigning world champion and third on the grid, had an eventful start to the sprint. In the fight to maintain his position against the British George Russell (Mercedes), the Dutchman was hit by the Mercedes of his opponent and his car was damaged at the pontoon.

"I just don't understand why I take so many risks in the first lap," he lashed out at Russell after the finish.

Russell finished 4th ahead of the other Ferrari, that of Carlos Sainz, 5th.

The Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), finished 6th at the end of the sprint, a format introduced in 2021 and that will be found on five other GPs this season.

Contrary to what was done until now, the sprint, which usually determined the GP grid the next day, now has no impact on Sunday. He also has his own qualifying session earlier in the day.

In order to determine the starting grid for Sunday's GP, the drivers held a first qualifying session on Friday, at the end of which Leclerc had already taken pole, ahead of Verstappen.

The opportunity for the Dutchman, winner last year in Baku and so dominant since the beginning of the season, to take his revenge on Sunday? In six races since 2016, never has a driver won twice in Azerbaijan.

Black weekend for Alpine

A little more than 100 km long swallowed in about thirty minutes (17 laps in Baku), the sprint race offers some points to the championship: from eight points for the first to one point for the 8th.

In the drivers' standings, Verstappen (75 points) remains in the lead and is still ahead of teammate Pérez (62 pts), Alonso (48) and seven-time British champion Lewis Hamilton (40).

On track, the image of the sprint will certainly remain that of Yuki Tsunoda's (Alpha Tauri) tyre making the trunk on the Baku track. The Japanese had to give up.

Formula 1 driver Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) stopped at the pit after a tyre problem on his car during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint race on April 29, 2023 in Baku. © LISI NIESNER / POOL/AFP

On the French side at Alpine, Pierre Gasly finished 13th, Esteban Ocon, 18th - far from the points.

In Azerbaijan, the French team is currently living a nightmarish weekend. On Friday, its drivers did not run much in the only free practice session of the weekend.

Gasly saw his engine go up in smoke, while Ocon returned to the garage to check a potential problem in the back of his car. Later in the day, Gasly qualified only 19th, Ocon 12th for Sunday's GP.

Things going from bad to worse, on Saturday, Ocon received a penalty for "taking [his car] out of the closed park regime" and therefore had to start from the pits for the sprint, despite his 13th place snatched earlier in the day. The Norman will again be forced to start from the pits on Sunday.

At Williams, Logan Sargeant, did not start the sprint. In qualifying on Saturday morning, the American hit a wall, heavily damaging the right rear of his car.

© 2023 AFP