In the first sprint of the season, which included a new qualifying format (see below), Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led from pole ahead of Perez, as Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and George Russell (Mercedes) clashed over third. After a safety car interruption, Verstappen retook third from Russell.
Perez DRS-ed past Leclerc on lap 8 and pulled clear to take victory, while Leclerc clung to second ahead of Verstappen, whose car’s floor and sidepod were damaged during his clash with Russell.
2023 F1 Azerbaijan sprint results
| Pos | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Laps | Gap |
| 1 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 17 | - |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 17 | -4.463 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 17 | -5.065 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 17 | -8.532 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 17 | -10.388 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 17 | -11.613 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 17 | -16.503 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 17 | -18.417 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 17 | -21.757 |
| 10 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 17 | -22.851 |
| 11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 17 | -27.990 |
| 12 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 17 | -34.602 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 17 | -36.918 |
| 14 | 21 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 17 | -41.626 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 17 | -48.587 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 17 | -49.917 |
| 17 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 17 | -51.104 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 17 | -1'00.621 |
| - | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 2 | - |
| - | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 0 | - |
How the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan sprint unfolded
Leclerc held his pole position advantage on the run to Turn 1, ahead of Perez. Verstappen and Russell banged wheels through the opening corners, with Russell getting into third at Turn 3 as Verstappen clipped the wall on exit.
Further around the opening lap, Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri hit the wall at Turn 14, causing a safety car to clear the debris, and his right-rear tyre, off the track.
At the restart on lap 6, Leclerc led Perez, as Verstappen passed Russell for third at Turn 1. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) overtook Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) to run fifth and sixth.
Perez DRS-ed past Leclerc with ease at the start of on lap 8, and sprinted away to win by over 4s.
Leclerc tried to remain in the Mexican’s DRS range to help keep Verstappen, who had suffered floor and sidepod damage in his opening-lap contact with Russell, at bay.
Despite losing DRS from lap 11, Leclerc held off Verstappen in the closing stages to finish second.
Russell finished a distant fourth, ahead of Alonso and Hamilton. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) passed Alex Albon’s Williams to claim eighth, with Oscar Piastri finishing 10th.
2023 F1 Azerbaijan sprint fastest laps
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Gap | Kph |
| 1 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'43.616 | 208.566 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'43.646 | 0.030 | 208.505 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'43.723 | 0.107 | 208.351 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'44.398 | 0.782 | 207.003 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'44.409 | 0.793 | 206.982 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'44.484 | 0.868 | 206.833 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'44.544 | 0.928 | 206.714 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'44.601 | 0.985 | 206.602 |
| 9 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'44.776 | 1.160 | 206.257 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'44.855 | 1.239 | 206.101 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'44.915 | 1.299 | 205.983 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'45.090 | 1.474 | 205.640 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'45.349 | 1.733 | 205.135 |
| 14 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'45.766 | 2.150 | 204.326 |
| 15 | 21 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'45.768 | 2.152 | 204.322 |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'45.883 | 2.267 | 204.100 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'45.971 | 2.355 | 203.931 |
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'46.277 | 2.661 | 203.344 |
What happened in sprint shootout qualifying?
This was the first weekend run to the latest sprint race weekend format, featuring the first-ever sprint shootout qualifying sessions.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix sprint shootout results: Leclerc on pole from Perez
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay [s] |
Delay [%] |
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'41.697 | - | - |
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'41.844 | 0.147 | 0.145 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'41.987 | 0.290 | 0.285 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'42.252 | 0.555 | 0.546 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'42.287 | 0.590 | 0.580 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'42.502 | 0.805 | 0.792 |
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'42.846 | 1.149 | 1.130 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.010 | 1.313 | 1.291 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.064 | 1.367 | 1.344 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | - | - | - |
| 11 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'43.427 | 1.730 | 1.701 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'43.806 | 2.109 | 2.074 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'44.332 | 2.635 | 2.591 |
| 14 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'45.177 | 3.480 | 3.422 |
| 15 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'45.352 | 3.655 | 3.594 |
| 16 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'45.436 | 3.739 | 3.677 |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'46.951 | 5.254 | 5.166 |
| 18 | 21 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'48.180 | 6.483 | 6.375 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'44.088 | 2.391 | 2.351 |
What happened in Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ1?
With cars running the medium tyres in the 12-minute session, it was essentially a long run to set the quickest time. Leclerc did just that with 1m42.820s, almost half a second clear of Verstappen when the red flag halted the session for Logan Sargeant shunting his Williams late on.
Falling at the first hurdle were the Alfa Romeos of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), Pierre Gasly (Alpine, who suffered an exhaust leak) and Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri).
Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ1 results: Leclerc fastest from Verstappen
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Delay % | Laps | km/h |
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'42.820 | 5 | 210.180 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'43.288 | 0.468 | 0.455 | 5 | 209.228 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'43.561 | 0.741 | 0.721 | 6 | 208.677 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'43.622 | 0.802 | 0.780 | 5 | 208.554 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'43.763 | 0.943 | 0.917 | 6 | 208.270 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.789 | 0.969 | 0.942 | 6 | 208.218 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'43.858 | 1.038 | 1.010 | 6 | 208.080 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.879 | 1.059 | 1.030 | 6 | 208.038 |
| 9 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'43.938 | 1.118 | 1.087 | 6 | 207.920 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'43.987 | 1.167 | 1.135 | 6 | 207.822 |
| 11 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams/Mercedes | 1'44.042 | 1.222 | 1.188 | 6 | 207.712 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'44.101 | 1.281 | 1.246 | 6 | 207.594 |
| 13 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'44.179 | 1.359 | 1.322 | 6 | 207.439 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'44.433 | 1.613 | 1.569 | 6 | 206.934 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'44.843 | 2.023 | 1.968 | 6 | 206.125 |
| 16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'45.177 | 2.357 | 2.292 | 6 | 205.470 |
| 17 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo/Ferrari | 1'45.352 | 2.532 | 2.463 | 6 | 205.129 |
| 18 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'45.436 | 2.616 | 2.544 | 6 | 204.966 |
| 19 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine/Renault | 1'46.951 | 4.131 | 4.018 | 3 | 202.062 |
| 20 | 21 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT | 1'48.180 | 5.360 | 5.213 | 6 | 199.767 |
What happened in Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ2?
With the field again running medium tyres, Verstappen topped the times this time with 1m42.417s, 0.083s ahead of Leclerc.
Knocked out at this point were Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and the absent Sargeant – who was withdrawn from the event due to damage to his car.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ2 results: Verstappen fastest from Leclerc
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Delay % | Laps | km/h |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'42.417 | 3 | 211.007 | ||
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'42.500 | 0.083 | 0.081 | 5 | 210.837 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'42.909 | 0.492 | 0.480 | 6 | 209.999 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'42.925 | 0.508 | 0.496 | 4 | 209.966 |
| 5 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'42.976 | 0.559 | 0.546 | 5 | 209.862 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'43.061 | 0.644 | 0.629 | 6 | 209.689 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'43.112 | 0.695 | 0.679 | 7 | 209.585 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.375 | 0.958 | 0.935 | 6 | 209.052 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'43.376 | 0.959 | 0.936 | 6 | 209.050 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'43.395 | 0.978 | 0.955 | 6 | 209.012 |
| 11 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'43.427 | 1.010 | 0.986 | 6 | 208.947 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas/Ferrari | 1'43.806 | 1.389 | 1.356 | 6 | 208.184 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine/Renault | 1'44.088 | 1.671 | 1.632 | 5 | 207.620 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 1'44.332 | 1.915 | 1.870 | 5 | 207.134 |
What happened in Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ3?
Just eight minutes settled the top 10 spots, with all cars now on soft tyres, and Leclerc set pole with 1m41.697s before shunting at Turn 5 on his last lap. Perez was second, 0.147s down, with Verstappen third, 0.290s off the pace.
Russell qualified an impressive fourth for Mercedes, ahead of Sainz’s Ferrari. Hamilton was sixth, ahead of Alex Albon (Williams) and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Lando Norris (McLaren) didn’t run as he had no soft tyres available having used them in proper qualifying on Friday.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix SQ3 results: Leclerc takes sprint pole
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Delay % | Laps | km/h |
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1'41.697 | 4 | 212.501 | ||
| 2 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'41.844 | 0.147 | 0.145 | 5 | 212.195 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Honda RBPT | 1'41.987 | 0.290 | 0.285 | 5 | 211.897 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1'42.252 | 0.555 | 0.546 | 5 | 211.348 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1'42.287 | 0.590 | 0.580 | 4 | 211.276 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'42.502 | 0.805 | 0.792 | 5 | 210.832 |
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams/Mercedes | 1'42.846 | 1.149 | 1.130 | 5 | 210.127 |
| 8 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.010 | 1.313 | 1.291 | 5 | 209.793 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin/Mercedes | 1'43.064 | 1.367 | 1.344 | 5 | 209.683 |
