The Red Bull team had a terrific past record on the Baku track. With Sergio Perez being the most successful driver on a tricky track, RBR was confident of a solid comeback. However, the dream was ruined by a troublesome RB20, combined with an unfortunate crash. Checo’s race ended prematurely after a collision with Carlos Sainz. The team also had to bear a massive monetary loss, as it was the third time Perez crashed this season.
On the other hand, his teammate was struggling with the Red Bull F1 car. Max Verstappen failed to win yet another race, extending his winless streak to seven. This has put immense pressure on the Dutchman, as McLaren is now the rising force. However, the 26-year-old champion racer is confident of retaining his WDC title.
“The Gap Is Still Decent,” Max Verstappen Confident Of Winning The WDC
Max Verstappen remains confident that Red Bull has made progress despite a challenging weekend in Azerbaijan. Although Oscar Piastri, not Lando Norris, was the standout performer for McLaren in Baku, the RBR triple champion still views Norris as his primary competitor. He acknowledged that while the gap with Piastri is significant, Norris remains his main rival for the title.
Despite not extending his lead, Verstappen stayed optimistic about the weekend’s outcome. He expressed contentment that the situation was not worse and emphasized that if Red Bull performed better, McLaren would need a flawless season-end to close the gap. Overall, the Dutchman believes that maintaining focus and improving their own performance will be crucial as the title race continues.
Moreover, the RBR starlet expressed frustration with using the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) towards the end of the race. He questioned why a full safety car was not deployed immediately, given that two cars were heavily damaged and blocking the track. Verstappen struggled to understand the delay and the decision to only use double yellow flags instead of a safety car. He pointed out that the track was blocked entirely, covered in debris, and in poor condition, making a full safety car deployment the more appropriate choice to ensure safety.
Verstappen “Paid the Price” Of Red Bull’s Experimentation
Max Verstappen summed up his difficulties by noting that the changes made to the car’s setup for qualifying ultimately had a negative impact. He explained that these adjustments made the car difficult to handle, causing it to bounce excessively and have wheels lifting off the ground in low-speed corners. This lack of contact with the tarmac made driving challenging. Verstappen acknowledged that while the goal was to improve the car, the modifications worsened the situation instead.
