Checo Pérez Survives the Chaos in Baku and Climbs Back to 14th Place; Russell Wins by Centimeters
Por Carlos Rodríguez ·
Mexican driver Checo Pérez once again faced an uphill battle with Cadillac, but managed to survive the accident-plagued 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and finished in 14th place, while George Russell claimed a spectacular victory over Max Verstappen by a margin of just 0.196 seconds.
Checo Pérez started from 20th position on the Baku street circuit. Pérez had received a three-position grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri during qualifying, although the penalty did not affect his final grid position because the Aston Martins driven by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll also received penalties.
Win a spot behind the checkered flag
Starting from the back of the grid, Checo managed to make his way up the field in a race marked by incidents, retirements, and two Safety Car periods.
Russell, who had secured pole position, managed to control much of the race before coming under intense pressure from Verstappen in the final laps.
The Brit crossed the finish line just 0.196 seconds ahead of the Dutchman.
Isack Hadjar rounded out the podium, giving Red Bull two spots in the top three.
Charles Leclerc finished fourth, and Kimi Antonelli staged a strong comeback to finish fifth after starting 16th.
For Checo Pérez, the race in Baku took a turn after the checkered flag.
The driver from Guadalajara had crossed the finish line in 15th place, 41.400 seconds behind Russell.
But he later moved up one position due to a penalty against Gabriel Bortoleto.
Penalty against Bortoleto moves Checo up to 14th place in Baku
The race officials determined that Bortoleto passed Pérez under a yellow flag.
Although they concluded that the Safety Car had not yet been deployed when the maneuver occurred, the Brazilian received a ten-second penalty for making the pass while the yellow flag was in effect.
The penalty caused Bortoleto to drop to 15th place and Checo to officially move up to 14th.
“It’s been one of my strongest weekends here in Baku in terms of performance,” Checo Pérez said after the race.
The Mexican also noted that Cadillac continues to lose ground due to a lack of pace and speed on the straights.
His teammate Valtteri Bottas wasn’t so lucky: he crashed in the final laps and was unable to finish the race.
Checo remains without points and is already looking ahead to the next challenge in Sepang
Despite his comeback, Pérez remains in 23rd place in the championship and has yet to score any points.
Meanwhile, Cadillac continues to look to take a step forward in its debut season.
The next opportunity will come very soon.
Formula 1 will travel to the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia from October 2–4 to compete in the officially named Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The event was moved to Malaysian territory following changes to the calendar.
Top finishers in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: George Russell finished first, followed by Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Charles Leclerc, and Kimi Antonelli.
Checo Pérez finished 14th in Baku after Bortoleto received a penalty.
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