Sergio Pérez’s Baku record started before Red Bull
Pérez has more Grand Prix podiums at Baku than any other driver—and his first two came with Force India.
Results through the 2025 Azerbaijan GP. Includes the 2016 European GP at Baku. Excludes Sprints.
Sergio Pérez didn’t need a Red Bull to find his way onto the podium in Baku.
When Formula 1 first raced on these streets in 2016, he finished third for Force India. He did it again in 2018. By the time he arrived with Red Bull in 2021, Baku was already a place where he had delivered something special.
Three more podiums followed, including two victories. Through 2025, his total of five stands alone.
It began with Force India
Pérez’s first Baku weekend deserves more than a passing mention.
He qualified second for the 2016 European Grand Prix, behind Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes. A five-place gearbox penalty sent him back to seventh on the grid, but he still finished third, behind Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.
That was qualifying speed backed up by a race result—even after losing five starting positions.
Two years later, Pérez put Force India on the Baku podium again, this time behind Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen. His first two appearances in the top three came with a team outside the championship fight.
Those results matter to the record. Red Bull gave Pérez a car capable of winning here, but his success at Baku was already established.
A strong record became the benchmark
Pérez added three consecutive Grand Prix podiums with Red Bull from 2021 through 2023.
His first victory came in 2021, when Max Verstappen’s late tire failure took the lead away from his teammate. Pérez then held on through the restart that decided the race.
Second place behind Verstappen followed in 2022. In 2023, Pérez reversed that order, leading home another Red Bull one-two.
2016 European GP: 3rd, Force India
2018 Azerbaijan GP: 3rd, Force India
2021 Azerbaijan GP: 1st, Red Bull
2022 Azerbaijan GP: 2nd, Red Bull
2023 Azerbaijan GP: 1st, Red Bull
His separate 2023 Sprint victory is not part of this count.
A lead that will survive the next race
Across Baku’s nine Grands Prix through 2025, Pérez reached the podium five times. Nobody else managed more than three.
Vettel, George Russell, and Verstappen share that nearest-challenger total. Even a podium in the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix would leave any of them one short.
Pérez’s record will therefore survive another edition. What makes it interesting is how he built it: two third places with Force India, then victories and a second place with Red Bull. His Baku story began well before he had a race-winning car.
