F1 standings: Intensely dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix sees Sergio Perez claim win

Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2021 featured a nailbiting contest as until the last lap fans were unaware as to who will come out on top. At the Baku City Circuit, fans got to witness some of the best overtaking moves at high speed and the close moments that can define a driver's race as teams utilised strategy to the best of their abilities to overtake their rivals in the pits. Here are the Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlights and the latest F1 standings after a dramatic and intense race at Baku.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlights: Sergio Perez wins as title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fail to finish race

While Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had a clean start from pole, he failed to maintain his lead even for two complete laps as he was overtaken by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton on the start-finish straight. The Monegasque saw himself slipping down the order as by the end of lap eight he was also overtaken by both Red Bulls. Hamilton dived into the pits at the end of lap 11 after Carlos Sainz's costly mistake in the Ferrari resulted in yellow flags.

However, a long 4.6-second pit stop meant that Red Bull could smell blood as Max Verstappen could overcut him. And that is exactly what happened as the Dutchman pitted two laps later and emerged ahead of the Mercedes driver. However, things got worse for Mercedes when Sergio Perez also managed to overtake Hamilton in the other Red Bull.

On lap 30, the safety car was deployed after Lance Stroll's Aston Martin suffered a left rear tyre blowout on the high-speed pit straight. 15 laps later race leader Verstappen suffered a similar issue as he saw his Red Bull slam the wall at a high speed, resulting in the race being red-flagged with just four laps remaining. The red flag meant that when racing resumed a standing start would take place with Perez leading the pack.

Hamilton seemed to have gotten off to an excellent restart as he launched an overtaking move on Perez only to run down the escape road at the opening corner. With the Mercedes driver rejoining the grid in 16th, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel was promoted to second followed by AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly in third. Hamilton's failure to grab any points meant that Verstappen and Red Bull continue to lead the F1 standings ahead of the next F1 race in France (18-20 June).

F1 standings: Drivers' Championship

F1 standings: Constructors' Championship