F1: Max Verstappen wins Azerbaijan GP ahead of Sergio Pérez – live updates!

Here’s our snap report on the Azerbaijan GP.

Some dialogue between Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton is telling, with both aware the world is listening out. “This is a bit of a *** box to drive,” says Wolff, the Mercedes team principal. “And sorry for the back problems.”

“Well done guys,” says Hamilton. “And well done on the strategy. Thank you on continuing to push. Let’s make some changes.”

Final result

Lewis Hamilton gets out of the car, and he’s feeling his back, looks in real pain after a very good drive today.

“Was that a good race or was that a good race, an amazing result for the team,” Verstappen tells his team as Christian Horner congratulates Sergio Perez too. He also thanks Verstappen for “a very mature drive”.

Updated at 08.43 EDT

Max Verstappen wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix!

No fastest lap from the winner, but no disaster like last year. Perez follows him home with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton making it a Mercedes 3/4. It’s a big win for Red Bull on a day of disaster for Ferrari, counting the cost of those Sainz and Leclerc retirements. Gasly takes fifth, Vettel sixth, Alonso seventh, Ricciardo hold on to eighth, with Norris in ninth, and Ocon takes the final point in tenth.

Race winner Max Verstappen Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Updated at 08.45 EDT

50/51 Worry from Verstappen in the cockpit. Something wrong with the brake pedals, he tells the Red Bull team. “It doesn’t feel right,” he says but will probably soldier on. Norris is told to retain position behind Ricciardo and isn’t happy.

49/51 Norris and Ricciardo are chasing each other now, a battle of eighth chasing down seventh, two McLaren teammates. Ricciardo can’t get past Alonso who can’t get past Vettel, who span off and recovered before.

48/51 “The seats gone cold,” says Hamilton. What’s that about? Who knows. Something to do with his back pain? Lance Stroll, who was 15th, is called in to retire. His team don’t like what they see in the readouts. That’s six retirees today.

47/51 Ricciardo and Alonso is where the action is, as Verstappen cruises to a win.

Edwin gets in touch: “I think this season needs to get it’s drama, from somewhere else, since leclerc and Ferrari are fumbling. May be checo should grow some balls and challenge max. Let’s have another Hamilton/rosberg scenario.”

46/51 Alonso, in seventh, is trying his best to hold off Ricciardo, who is urged by his team to get stuck into the Spaniard.

45/51 Latifi has a second 15-second penalty for ignoring blue flags. He’s in last place anyway.

44/51 Verstappen leads Perez by 17 seconds, as Hamilton chases Gasly with DRS and gets up to fourth and opens up a gap in the braking zone. Third and fourth for Mercedes now.

43/51 Hamilton is on the tail of Gasly now, quicker than expected, and Latifi is lapped by Hamilton, as the Mercedes is forced the long way round. Gasly is told to take the points by his team, and not risk anything.

42/51 Lando Norris chases down his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, in the race for eighth.

41/51 Verstappen is asked to slow down and then tells his Red Bull team that he doesn’t want to cool the tyres down. Nice luxury to have for him. They tell him not to use DRS for the rest of the race, as they try to avoid a mishap like last year.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing in action Photograph: Ali Haider/EPA

Updated at 08.21 EDT

40/51 Tsunoda is told not to use DRS, as he drops to 13th after that Heath Robinson job. Seems like the FIA are not happy, and the Japanese driver is likely to be called back.

39/51 The prediction is that in five laps, Hamilton will be on Gasly’s tale. Tsunoda comes down the straight, and his team are bringing out tyres, and then they tape the wing back together with gaffer tape.

38/51 Perez eases off in his chase of Verstappen. Tsunoda is given a black and orange flag to come in, though the Japanese driver carries on regardless.

37/51 Perez sets a fastest lap, though he’s still some way behind Verstappen. Tsunoda’s car looks to be jiggered, the rear wing looking dangerous. That should be the end of his race soon enough. It’s in half.

36/51 Hamilton chases down Tsunoda, and the DRS gets the job done, if probably doesn’t help his bad back, as he bounces past. Gasly is next in sight.

35/51 Magnussen’s car is still by the track and so the virtual safety car is still in session. Tsunoda’s tyres making visible signs, and so Hamilton behind him and Gasly, the two pit refusals, should be able to make up ground

34/51 Magnussen’s woes open up a virtual safety car and both Red Bulls come in to change tyres. Russell goes in, and so does Hamilton, though Gasly does not. Hamilton drops to sixth. Red Bull’s pits were both done efficiently.

33/51 And that’s that for Magnussen, and a yellow flag. His Haas overheated in that overtaking of Haas.

32/51 A view from inside Kevin Magnussen’s car as he attempts to blam past Ocon shows how fast they are going through the streets of Baku. Awesome stuff. Magnussen takes tenth, the final point.

Updated at 08.04 EDT

31/51 Lando Norris overtakes Bottas to go 12th, it’s been quite a race down in the midfield if there’s a procession up front.

30/51 Verstappen’s gap on Perez is almost nine seconds. Too easy for him and Red Bull. His team tell him not to go too hard. “You know what it’s like to lose a race here.”

29/51 Lewis Hamilton squawking about his bad back in that Mercedes. Oh dear. The old porpoising is causing him and George Russell problems.

28/51 Ocon is one of the few not to have pitted. Charles Leclerc speaks: “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.” Four poles in a row, and no wins. Last driver to do that was Juan Paplo Montoya in 2001.

27/51 Fernando Alonso, whose Alpine is screaming along, goes up to ninth, passing Ocon, who is dropping back in the field.

26/51 Ricciardo, on the harder tyres, is hoping to hold on to fifth but has Hamilton for company, and is passed by the Mercedes.

25/51 George Russell is setting faster times and looks on course for third in his Merc. He’s three places ahead of Hamilton as Vettel at last overtakes Ocon, this time it’s a smooth job.

24/51 Guanyu Zhou in the Alfa Romeo is told he has to retire. “You’re joking, guys,” says the Chinese driver. The battle is on for eighth as Vettel chases down Ocon, who has been a problem for a few drivers today.

23/51 With Ferrari unreliable, and Mercedes in such a mess, the title is Verstappen and Red Bull’s to lose. The defending world champion is setting fastest laps.

22/51 Verstappen has the race in his hands, and with Russell sat up in third, we turn to the minor places, with Gasly overtaking Ricciardo for fourth. Celebrations in the Alpha Tauri garage.

Leclerc’s engine fails and he’s out!

21/51 Oh no, oh Ferrari, Charles Leclerc’s engine has gone, too, and that’s game over, into the pits he goes and retires. There’s smoke coming from the gearbox, and that looks to be that for the race, and probably the championship.

Out: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with engine problems. Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Updated at 08.11 EDT

20/51 Thomas Stratford gets in touch: “Hey John, happy Sunday. Do you remember that old cartoon Wacky Races? Every episode would involve Dick Dastardy and Muttley seemingly getting themselves into a promising position to finally claim victory before somehow screwing it up at the end. I doubt Ferrari would welcome the comparison but given their ongoing mishaps this season…”

Updated at 07.41 EDT