Max Verstappen won Sunday's Azerbaijan GP to extend his world championship lead; Sergio Perez came second after Charles Leclerc retired with an engine failure; watch the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend live on Sky Sports - practice starts at 6:30pm on Friday
Monday 13 June 2022 15:07, UK
Charles Leclerc remains a bigger threat than Sergio Perez to Max Verstappen's world championship title defence, despite Ferrari's reliability woes, according to Sky Sports F1's Naomi Schiff.
Verstappen struggled to match the pace of Leclerc and his Red Bull team-mate Perez in practice and qualifying at the Azerbaijan GP, but was in a league of his own on Sunday as he sealed a fourth win in five races.
While a Ferrari double DNF caused by engine failures prevented a full-race comparison of Verstappen and Leclerc's speed, the Dutchman appeared to have the edge in the early stages, before charging clear of Perez to seal a comfortable one-two.
The victory extended Verstappen's world championship lead to 21 points, while Perez leapfrogged Leclerc for second, with a 13-point gap separating them ahead of the Canadian GP, which begins on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
"I think it's probably still Charles [who is the biggest threat]," Schiff said after the Ferrari driver failed to convert pole to victory for a fourth successive race.
"Clearly he's really quick, he's been outqualifying them quite a lot.
"It's just a question of whether Ferrari can sort out their technical issues. I think he's going to be really disappointed with what's gone on. We don't want to see a championship being decided by that.
"But then the other question is whether Red Bull will let their drivers race?"
Perez arrived in Baku full of confidence after outpacing Verstappen to win in Monaco and sealing a two-year contract extension with the team.
The Mexican's speed - and the narrow 15-point gap that separated him and his team-mate going into the weekend - led to plenty of speculation as to who the team would favour in terms of strategy, but Verstappen's clear pace advantage made their decision easy.
With Verstappen closing on Perez, he was warned there should be "no fighting" and promptly let the world champion through without any trouble.
Sky Sports F1's Paul Di Resta was impressed by Verstappen's performance, which saw him claim a 66th podium for Red Bull, breaking Sebastian Vettel's team record.
"Nobody has been able to match him today," Di Resta said.
"When you see 'Checo' Perez, who obviously beat him in every session this weekend when the official results were given, he's 20 seconds off.
"That's the difference. That's why he gets paid the big bucks and that's why he was world champion last year and that's why people fear racing him."
Despite Verstappen's dominance over Perez on Sunday in Baku, Di Resta believes the Mexican is still very much in the title race.
"Checo is a different person this year," Di Resta added. "He's absolutely up for the fight and he should go away very satisfied.
"When you think he's finished first and second in the last two GPs, and he's now second in the championship, he's Max's biggest challenger at the moment.
"It's a headache for Red Bull at some point, but at the same time, he's in this."
