Sergio Perez has won the F1 Sprint from Baku, overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for the victory.
Perez started from second on the grid with Leclerc managing to hold onto the lead on the run to the opening corner.
Behind, Max Verstappen found himself in a battle with Mercedes’ George Russell through the opening turns, with contact made between the duo.
READ MORE: F1 2023 Azerbaijan GP – F1 Sprint Results
Russell consolidated the position into Turn 3, with Verstappen voicing his disapproval over team radio, claiming the Briton only moved ahead after tipping the rear of the Red Bull.
Further behind, the two AlphaTauri drivers came together with Yuki Tsunoda losing his front wing in the contact.
Later in the lap, Tsunoda hit the wall after the castle section and returned to the pit lane on three wheels.
A Virtual Safety Car, which then transitioned into a full Safety Car, was deployed with Tsunoda returning to the track before being called back with terminal damage.
Shortly after the restart, Perez made his move on Leclerc and although the Monegasque driver held on to the rear of the Mexican for a handful of laps, he was unable to mount an attack.
Leclerc held onto second place with Verstappen following in third place.
The Dutchman moved ahead of Russell at the Safety Car restart, perfecting his move into the first corner.
Russell had to settle for fourth, crossing the line almost three and a half seconds down on Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz was fifth, with himself and compatriot Fernando Alonso moving ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Safety Car restart.
Hamilton followed the Spaniard duo home in seventh, while Lance Stroll took the final point on offer in eighth.
Alexander Albon was ninth, having held the point-paying position for a number of laps before being dropped by Stroll.
Oscar Piastri rounded out the top 10 for McLaren, finishing ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu.
The action from Baku will continue on Sunday with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix getting underway at 15:00 local time.
