Ferrari have been mounting a comeback in Azerbaijan, as the team looks to rebound from a series of disappointing results.
The Italian team has had a slow start to the season, reflected in their pointless finish in Australia after Charles Leclerc suffered a DNF and Carlos Sainz was stripped of points by a last lap penalty.
The early exit in Australia marked the second time this season that Leclerc suffered a DNF, leaving him languishing far behind in the Drivers’ Championship.
However, Azerbaijan has seen a reverse in fortune, as Ferrari secured pole in both the sprint race and Grand Prix with Leclerc beating both Red Bulls for the P1 spot.
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The success for Ferrari surprised many but Red Bull’s Helmut Marko claimed it was inevitable, as the Italian team has the most powerful engine on the grid, giving them strong one lap pace.
“We knew Ferrari would be fast on one lap,” the Red Bull adviser said.
“Everything needed to work for us to stay ahead, but we didn’t manage the tyre pressure optimally.
“We lost a lot to Leclerc on the second part of the track.
“Ferrari can turn up the power for one lap – they have the most powerful engine,” he explained.
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However, Red Bull’s prediction that Ferrari wouldn’t be able to provide that performance throughout the race proved accurate, as Sergio Perez took the Sprint race victory on Saturday.
Perez capitalised on the Ferrari’s tyre degradation issues to speed past Leclerc, holding the lead for the remainder of the race.
Unfortunately for Perez’s teammate, damage incurred from a collision with George Russell forced Max Verstappen to have to settle for P3.