--- title: "Max Verstappen Wins 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Leclerc’s Engine Fails" description: "After both Ferrari drivers exited the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP before the halfway mark, Red Bull's Max Verstappen took an easy win." date: "2022-06-12" modified: "2022-06-12" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/max-verstappen-wins-2022-f1-azerbaijan-gp-leclercs-engine-fails" categories: - "F1" - "News" - "Racing" tags: - "Charles Leclerc" - "max verstappen" --- # Max Verstappen Wins 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Leclerc’s Engine Fails ![]() *BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 12: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on June 12, 2022 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)* Max Verstappen just won the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, following both Ferrari drivers exiting the race before the halfway point, increasing his lead of Ferrari's[ Charles Leclerc]() in the driver's championship. The Azerbaijan GP got off to an exciting start, with [Red Bull's Sergio Perez]() jumping ahead of Leclerc, who started from P1, after he suffered an early lockup. However, Leclerc was able to not only hold off Red Bull's Verstappen but continue to create distance. Behind [Verstappen](), was Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. In lap nine, Carlos Sainz went off and crashed, suffering some sort of hydraulics failure. "Something has failed," said Sainz over the radio, as his day ended early in Azerbaijan. Sainz's crash caused a virtual safety car, which allowed Leclerc to pit for hard tires, dropping him to P3, leaving Max Verstappen in P2, who followed his teammate Sergio Perez in P1. However, team Red Bull told Perez to let Verstappen by and he did, giving Verstappen the lead. ![]() *BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 12: Charles Leclerc of Ferrari drives on track of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on June 12, 2022. (Photo by Resul Rehimov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)* By lap 17, Perez hit the pits, which allowed Leclerc to head into P2, behind Verstappen and gaining. Just two laps later, Verstappen headed into the pits, giving Leclerc the lead and some hope to break his several-week streak of bad luck. However, just another two laps after that, tragedy struck Leclerc yet again, as he suffered engine failure, ending his day in Azerbaijan in lap 21. “It hurts, we really want to look into it to see it doesn’t happen again. It’s really disappointing. We didn’t change too much, if anything to make it better. I have no news, I don’t know what’s going to happen.” said Leclerc after his exit. With team Ferrari entirely out of the race, only team Mercedes posed a real threat to Red Bull, as George Russell in P3 threatened Perez in P2. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton took P4 after passing AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly. However, Mercedes' car troubles continued, as the cars' bouncing issues were causing Hamilton serious back pain, which gave team Red Bull a comfortable lead. In the end, Verstappen and Perez would cruise to an easy one-two victory for team Red Bull, with team Mercedes' Russell and Hamilton taking positions three and four, respectively. Today's win in Azerbaijan puts Max Verstappen comfortably in the lead for the 2022 F1 driver's championship, with 150 points. After Leclerc's engine failure, causing not only another DNF but his fourth race in a row without a podium finish, he drops to third place in the driver's championship, with 116 points. Leclerc's drop allowed Sergio Perez to jump in to second place, with 129 points. ![]() *BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 12: Sergio Perez of Red Bull Racing drives on track of the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on June 12, 2022. (Photo by Resul Rehimov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)* Next up is the 2022 F1 Canadian GP, next Sunday July 19, where Verstappen will look to increase his lead in the driver's championship, as Leclerc and team Ferrari look to break their streak of bad luck and finally get back on the podium. *Have any tips? Send them to nico.demattia*@thedrive.com ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()