Sergio Perez is the only F1 driver with multiple Azerbaijan Grand Prix wins to their name, yet the Mexican may have taken another win in Baku but for Esteban Ocon.
Ahead of the 2025 Azerbaijan GP this weekend, six different drivers have won in Baku during the previous seven runnings of the race under its current name. The number of F1 drivers to win races in Baku also rises to seven with Nico Rosberg’s 2016 European Grand Prix triumph.
Daniel Ricciardo won the maiden running of F1’s Baku round under the Azerbaijan GP name in 2017. Lewis Hamilton in 2018, Valtteri Bottas in 2019, Max Verstappen in 2022 and Oscar Piastri in 2024 have also won in Baku, while Perez won the Azerbaijan GP in 2021 and 2023.
But an incident between Perez and Ocon during the 2017 Azerbaijan GP likely denied them both the chance to win around Baku while teammates for Force India. The pair would have secured what would have been Force India’s only win through 203 races, had they done so.
Sergio Perez slammed Esteban Ocon for their ‘unacceptable’ Baku crash in the 2017 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash
Force India found Perez and Ocon running in third and fifth place as the 2017 Azerbaijan GP resumed on Lap 20 of 51 following a safety car interruption. Yet their hopes of climbing into the podium positions, and potentially competing for a win, came to an abrupt end at Turn 2.
Perez had to compromise his line leaving Turn 1 after failing to overtake Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel for P2, while Williams’ Felipe Massa also snuck up his inside for P3. It opened a door for Ocon to eye a move into T2, but the Force India drivers touched and sustained damage.
Ocon’s line squeezed Perez into the wall, snapping the Mexican’s front-right suspension and destroying his front wing, while leaving the Frenchman with a puncture. Force India initially retired Perez, before trying to repair his car under a red flag, but retired him for good on L39.
Neither driver was penalised for the Force India drivers’ crash in the 2017 Azerbaijan GP, but Perez firmly put the blame in Baku on Ocon. The Frenchman fell to the back of the field after his puncture, but he worked his way back up the order to earn P6 in the 2017 Azerbaijan GP.
Perez said after the 2017 Azerbaijan GP, via quotes by Autosport: “Between us, we ruined a great opportunity for the team. Actually, I feel that I couldn’t have done anything to avoid the accident. I was next to the wall, and there was no room for me to go.
“It’s a big shame, the way everything turned out. It was just over-aggressive. In all my career, I’ve had teammates who have been hard but given enough room.
“What happened today is totally unacceptable for the team. I think the way he raced today wasn’t right. I think he didn’t have any logic.”
Sergio Perez got a slice of luck as he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2021 and in 2023
Perez and Ocon’s crash in the 2017 Azerbaijan GP possibly cost Force India a chance to win in Baku that year, with both sustaining race-altering damage. Had only one Force India driver suffered damage, then the other may have profited from the red flag that their crash caused.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen sustained a puncture from the debris from Perez’s front wing, which left even more debris around Baku and meant the race was halted. When the race resumed, Mercedes did not correctly insert Hamilton’s headrest, which forced him to make a pit stop.
Vettel also received a 10-second stop/go penalty for dangerous driving after the German hit Hamilton during the restart phase right before Perez and Ocon’s crash. Those incidents even saw Ocon run as high as P3 on L39 of 51, before Vettel and Hamilton charged back through.
Both of Perez’s Azerbaijan GP wins were with Red Bull, although both also involved a slice of fortune. The Guadalajara native won the Azerbaijan GP in 2021 after his Red Bull teammate, Verstappen, suffered a tyre blowout and crashed out from a comfortable lead around Baku.
Perez also profited as Mercedes rival Hamilton locked up at Turn 1 as the 2021 Azerbaijan GP restarted from a standing start following Verstappen’s crash. Hamilton blew a chance to win in Baku by pressing his brake magic button used to warm his brakes amid the formation lap.
Fortune also somewhat favoured Perez as he won the 2023 Azerbaijan GP ahead of his Red Bull teammate, Verstappen, to do the Baku double after winning the F1 Sprint that year, as well. Red Bull pitted Verstappen right before a safety car period, which let Perez get ahead.