Sergio Perez, Esteban Ocon, Baku, 2017

Perez: I should have three Baku podiums

2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Sergio Perez is the only driver in the Formula 1 field to have reached the podium more than once in Baku, but he believes he should have one more.

Perez finished third in the 2016 European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit and the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the same venue. “It’s a crazy number to believe I’ve got more podiums than any other driver here,” he said.

However he believes he could have had had another podium in 2017, when he tangled with team mate Esteban Ocon early in the race.

“We’ve been perfect for two years,” said Perez. “We should have three podiums here, unfortunately we had a little contact between team mates and that ruined the the chances for the team.

“But apart from that it’s been a fantastic venue and it’s always good racing here. It’s so important to stay out of trouble. I think it’s the hardest thing around here, not to make any mistakes.”

Following Friday’s practice sessions Perez said the team has more work to do to get the car in its usual Baku sweet spot.

“I was not as confident as other years straight away. I think the car is not giving me that confidence. We saw what happened to Lance. The car, it’s difficult to put it on the edge. So we have to try to come up with something and hopefully we can improve a lot.”

“I think other cars are very competitive around here,” he added, “We see Toro Rosso, the McLarens, it’s not going to be easy to be in Q3 but we will try our best.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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22 comments on “Perez: I should have three Baku podiums”

  1. And so should Nico Hulkenberg have been on the podium at least in 2017 had it not been for his error of judgment at T7.

    1. Ocon as well, but “unfortunately we had a little contact between team mates and that ruined the chances for the team.” And why not two then, he was knocked out last year by a Ferrari….

      1. @hunocsi Well, he turned in on a Ferrari and knocked himself out, and the year before that put Perez in the wall.

  2. Perez might be a decent driver, but his ability to self praise is next level.

    1. @todfod It’s funny isn’t it? Finally Alonso has some competition in self-praise World Championships!

      1. @huhhii

        Alonso is way better at self praise than Perez . Alonso’s self praise was so legendary, and so convincing, that team principals used to vote him as the best driver in the paddock year after year. Perez still has a lot to learn from the master.

        1. @todfod
          Indeed. The fact that such an average driver like Alonso managed to pull that off goes to show his crazy skills at self-praise. Maybe the Samurai references made the difference? Perez should try similar approach.

          1. @huhii

            Maybe Perez should win a couple of WDCs first.. The samurai approach works only if you’ve achieved something noteworthy in the sport

          2. @huhhii
            Maybe Perez should win a couple of WDCs first.. The samurai approach works only if you’ve achieved something noteworthy in the sport

          3. @todfod Nah. All of Alonso’s WDC’s were based on pure luck, not on driver skills. Perez could pull off similar stunt easily as Perez and Alonso as a drivers are on similar level. Decent, but not amongst true greats like Kimi.

        2. @todfod You must be new to F1? Oh well, I’m happy to guide you through it:
          First we have Kimi. He is the best driver by far. After him comes
          Hamilton
          Bottas
          Leclerc
          Now here comes the next group:
          Hulk
          Vettel
          Perez
          Ricciardo
          Norris
          Russell
          Alonso
          And the rest are there for the money. Happy to help you!

          1. @huhhii

            Man.. You’ve got a weird sense of humour.

          2. @todfod Seeing the massive improvement McLaren made immediately after Alonso left with sub-par drivers this list is oh so current.

          3. @huhhii

            It’s cute how you waited for McLaren to finally put in a good performance to get back to reply.

            Well.. They still haven’t finished higher than P6. Maybe reach a P5 before you can post in hour next reply?

          4. @todfod But were they ever this close to finish 4th with Alonso on board? That is the question. Although it isn’t even a question as his first championship belongs to Kimi and second to Schumi. He is very lucky his car didn’t break down like it did to his rivals, who were way faster than him.

          5. @huhhii

            Alonso was in the top 5 or 6 in the WDC last year after Spain. The only reason Mclaren wasn’t 4th in the WCC was because Stoffel didn’t contribute anything.

            Also, I don’t see the point in arguing Kimi was the true champ in 2005 and Schumi was in 2006. Just really immature comments.

            Kimi was good but unlucky in 2005, but he wasn’t as good in 2007 but a heck of a lot luckier. And why are we even comparing them in different cars and making our assumptions of ‘true’ champions.. Etc? Kimi was paired alongside Alonso at Ferrari in 2014. Needless to say Kimi was smashed to bits. He probably still wakes up in the middle of the night thinking of the beating Alonso gave him. Even a novice F1 fan knows you can’t compare Kimi to Alonso.

            Regarding Schumacher… Ferrari tried every bit of cheating and political manipulation to beat Alonso and Renault. They magically banned the mass damper after 2 seasons.. They pulled an atrocity at Monza qualfying etc. But Alonso was just so much better than Schumacher.. That he still got the job done.

            Schumacher got put in to retirement because of Alonso. As long as Fernando was on the grid, Schumi would always be 2nd best.

    2. @todfod Yeah not going to byuy that at all.
      “Kimi was good but unlucky in 2005, but he wasn’t as good in 2007” yet despite all the bad luck Kimi would’ve won more races than Hamilton or Alonso that year… Spain 2007? Nürburgring 2007? Do they ring a bell to you? Kimi deserved that one. Despite misfortunes Kimi still won more races than others so it’s silly to call that a lucky championship.

      Kimi likes a car that understeers and Alonso likes a car that oversteers. On YouTube there’s a clip that explains the difference. Of course Ferrari concencrated their minds on Alonso’s wishes in 2013 regarding 2014, but that tells nothing about Kimi v Alonso, as reading every other stats Kimi is helluva better than Alonso. It’s hard to drive an oversteering car, which was visible in every onboard cam from that year.

      Also if you like stats Fisichella managed to challenge Alonso from time to time. That never happened when he was at Ferrari partnering Kimi.

      So all in all Kimi>Hamilton>Vettel>>>Alonso

      1. @huhii

        Sure man. Whatever you say… Let’s add a Karthikeyan in there as well. Karthikeyan > kimi > Hamilton Etc

  3. Well, he is right

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