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Verstappen wins in Baku as both Ferraris fail to finish

Max Verstappen led home a Red Bull one-two to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as both Ferraris suffered reliability issues which ended their race.

It was a miserable result for Ferrari, and in particular Charles Leclerc, as the form and optimism they showed at the start of the season has slowly diminished.

Leclerc was once again on top in qualifying, the sixth race that he has started from pole position. However, he saw his lead taken away at the first corner when second placed Sergio Perez moved ahead.

Leclerc was able to hold off Verstappen in the early stages and took advantage of a pitstop under a virtual safety car period, caused by a hydraulic issue for team-mate Carlos Sainz, to jump back into the lead. However, he wasn’t ahead for long, as his engine failed on the long straight on lap 21.

Verstappen had earlier caught and overtook Perez once Leclerc had pitted and was able to take a comfortable victory, his fifth of the season.

George Russell completed the podium after finishing ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Although best of the rest once more, the Mercedes cars were again heavily hampered by the ‘porpoising’ that has affected their car all season.

Verstappen extended his lead at the top of the championship to 21 points as Perez moved ahead of Leclerc and into second.

Simon is a keen writer who has always had a strong interest in sport. His particular passions are motorsport and soccer which he frequently writes about.

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