F1 LIVE: Ferrari mistakes are costing Charles Leclerc the world championship, warns Martin Brundle

Max Verstappen extended his F1 Drivers’ Championship lead by racing to a convincing victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez took second to complete a commanding one-two finish for Red Bull after both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to make it to the chequered flag with mechanical gremlins on a desperate afternoon for Ferrari in Baku.

Verstappen’s title advantage over Leclerc has increased from nine points to 34 following what could prove a pivotal race in this season’s championship battle.

Sebastian Vettel has proposed Formula One scraps budget and salary caps and instead implements a profit cap on each team, which once exceeded would generate money for good causes.

The biggest teams on the grid – Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari – have called for F1’s budget cap to be raised at a time when the cost of travel is rising significantly and squeezing their costs, while the smaller teams have urged the cap, which is meant to help level the playing field, to be retained.

There has also been debate around introducing a salary cap for drivers, but Vettel, who campaigns for environmental causes, believes that the system should be shaped so that F1 can “do great things” with the money the sport generates.

A wounded Charles Leclerc has demanded Ferrari eliminate their reliability woes to prevent this season’s Formula One battle from becoming a one-horse race.

Max Verstappen extended his championship lead by driving unopposed to victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz failed to finish on a desperate afternoon for Ferrari in Baku.

Leclerc was bidding to avenge Ferrari’s flat-footed strategy in Monaco a fortnight ago which cost him victory at his home event.

But on lap 20 of 51, Leclerc’s engine expired and he retired from the lead. A power unit failure at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya last month means the Monegasque has now failed to finish in two of his last three appearances.

Red Bull have extended their lead over Ferrari with a perfect weekend in Azerbaijan, as Verstappen and Perez collected a one-two and Ferrari recorded a double retirement. The gap between the two teams is now 80 points, and Red Bull are putting themselves in an excellent position to finally win the manufacturers’ prize after so much Mercedes domination.

1. Red Bull Racing, 279. 2. Ferrari, 199. 3. Mercedes, 161. 4. McLaren, 65. 5. Alpine, 47. 6. Alfa Romeo Racing, 41. 7. Alphatauri, 27. 8. Haas F1 Team, 15. 9. Aston Martin, 15. 10. Williams, 3.

Max Verstappen spared no sympathy for Charles Leclerc after the Dutchman took advantage of a race-ending engine failure for his Ferrari Formula One rival to cruise to an unchallenged win in Azerbaijan on Sunday.

“I would say s**t happens, that’s racing, you know?” Verstappen, who experienced the heartbreak of crashing out of the lead in Baku last year, told reporters.

“It happened to me, it happened to many people in the past and unfortunately it’s happening to Charles.

“If I would be in the same situation, I would also be disappointed, I think that’s very normal, but it’s about how you come out of it.”

Max Verstappen has extended his lead at the top of the drivers’ championship, and right now his closest rival is his teammate Sergio Perez. That will change, you suspect, if Ferrari can get on top of their reliability issues because clearly Charles Leclerc has the pace in qualifying, but with only a few days until the Canadian Grand Prix gets under way, Ferrari do not have much time to get their car right. 1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing, 150 points.

2. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Red Bull Racing, 129.

3. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 116.

4. George Russell, Great Britain, Mercedes, 99.

5. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, Ferrari, 83.

6. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 62.

7. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren, 50.

8. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing, 40.

9. Esteban Ocon, France, Alpine, 31.

10. Pierre Gasly, France, Alphatauri, 16.

11. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Alpine, 16.

12. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas F1 Team, 15.

13. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, McLaren, 15.

14. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Aston Martin, 13.

15. Yuki Tsunoda, Japan, Alphatauri, 11.

16. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Williams, 3.

17. Lance Stroll, Canada, Aston Martin, 2.

18. Guanyu Zhou, China, Alfa Romeo Racing, 1.

“Let’s definitely make some changes.”

Toto Wolff to Lewis Hamilton after his Mercedes car dealt him back pain with severe porpoising during a brutal Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen on Charles Leclerc’s troubles: “That’s racing. It happened to me, it happened to many people in the past. Unfortunately, it’s happening to Charles,” Verstappen said when asked if he had any sympathy for his rival’s difficulties. “If I would be in the same situation, I would also be disappointed. I think that’s very normal. But it’s about how you come out of it, you always look at how to improve things. That’s what we did as well in the beginning of the season. And you learn from it. You don’t like it, you’re angry, but we turn it around.”

More on Hamilton:

Lewis Hamilton has vowed to race at the Canadian Grand Prix despite injuring his back in Azerbaijan. Hamilton said he just wanted the race to end after being in so much pain due to the bouncing of his Mercedes car on the Baku street circuit. Afterwards Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said Hamilton was a “doubt” for Canada this weekend but, writing on Instagram on Monday morning, Hamilton insisted he will be in Montreal for the race.

“Yesterday was tough and had some troubles sleeping but have woke up feeling positive today! Back is a little sore and bruised but nothing serious thankfully. I’ve had acupuncture and physio and am on the way to work with the them on improving. We have to keep fighting. No time like the present to pull together and we will. I’ll be there this weekend, wouldn’t miss it for the world. Wishing everybody and amazing day and week.”