sport news F1: Perez and Leclerc bid to prove title credentials in Azerbaijan with ... trends now
The Formula One circus rolls into Azerbaijan as the eighth race of the season sees drivers take to the streets of Baku.
After Red Bull's Sergio Perez won in Monaco, there has been talk of a potential three-man battle for the drivers' championship with just 15 points separating Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and the Mexican.
Red Bull have taken the top step of the podium in each of the last four races - something Leclerc will look to rectify after seeing two likely victories slip through his fingers in Barcelona and Monaco.
Mercedes meanwhile will be hoping to take a step closer to the two leading teams, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton already a massive 75 points off his rival from last year, Verstappen.
Drama is never too far away on the tight and twisty streets of Baku. Last year's race saw Verstappen crash out of the lead with a puncture, while Hamilton's 'magic button' mishap allowed Perez to take victory from Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly.
Sportsmail analyses seven things to look out for at Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Formula One circus rolls into Azerbaijan for the eighth round of the world championship
Ferrari will hope to bounce back on the streets of Baku after four straight wins for Red Bull
Is Sergio Perez's title challenge legit?
Not many seem to have benefitted more from the new regulations than Monaco GP winner Perez.
The Mexican was comfortably beaten by Verstappen throughout the 2021 season, and though the Dutchman still has the edge after 2022's first seven races, Perez is much closer to his team-mate.
He took his first win of the season last time around and it could so easily have been his second if it wasn't for the unfortunate timing of the safety car which cost him a strong chance of victory in Bahrain.
The Baku street circuit is somewhere Perez has always fared well, winning the race last season and also scoring two podiums when he was driving for Force India.
Sergio Perez is looking to follow up on his impressive victory around the streets of Monaco
There has been a lot of talk over whether he can mount a title challenge and whether he would be allowed to do so against the reigning world champion Verstappen.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has come out and said he would be happy for either Verstappen or Perez to be champion this year.
He was convincingly faster than the Dutchman in the streets of Monte Carlo, but doing so on a consistent basis will be a tremendous challenge for Perez, who is now a veteran of the F1 circus having debuted back in 2011.
Making it back-to-back wins this weekend would give him supreme confidence that he could become Mexico's first F1 champion and give Verstappen an extra headache in his bid to retain his championship.
Perez has always fared well in Azerbaijan and claimed his first Red Bull win there in 2021
Can Charles Leclerc get his title challenge back on track?
The Monegasque driver has not had much luck in the last two rounds, in which he has only picked up 13 points when it looked like it could have been 50.
He retired from a comfortable lead in Spain with a turbo failure before a strategic error to bring him into the pits in Monaco meant he only finished fourth instead of taking what would have been his first victory at home.
Leclerc held a comfortable 34 point lead after the opening three races, but now he finds himself on the backfoot with momentum clearly on the side of Red Bull.
Leclerc has lost out on two possible wins in the last two races through no fault of his own
The Monegasque has only picked up 13 points when it looked like it could have been 50
The 24-year-old will be eager to avoid losing further ground this weekend at a circuit which on paper seems to favour the Red Bulls.
Similar to Miami, Baku has lots of powerful straights and Red Bull have held an advantage in terms of their top speed over Ferrari so far this season.
Leclerc has been the star of Saturdays so far this season, securing five pole positions, and if he makes that six this weekend he will put himself in a great position to break Red Bull's streak of wins.
He looked good to take pole in his first season at Ferrari back in 2019, only to crash out at the castle section. Given the form of Red Bull's drivers, Leclerc has no room for error this weekend.
Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will be looking to turn the tide after Red Bull's impressive run of wins
Chances running out for Mercedes
There was genuine optimism for Mercedes after the Spanish Grand Prix in which George Russell finished third and Lewis Hamilton showed excellent pace to fight back from a first-lap puncture to finish fifth.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff claimed afterwards that Hamilton could have competed for victory if he hadn't have been hit early on, while he also stated that the Silver Arrows were still capable of competing for the championship.
However, it was clear from very early on during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend that Mercedes, again, did not have the pace to challenge Ferrari or Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are running out of races for Mercedes to close the gap
Hamilton already finds himself 75 points off last season's rival Max Verstappen at the top
There is still hope within the Mercedes camp that they can mount a title challenge but time is running out and they mustn't be too far away from already focusing on next year's challenger.
Hamilton is already 75 points
