Max Verstappen says his Red Bull racing car is better than it was during the season after winning the back-to-background Prix for the first time since June last year.
Verstappen controlled the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and led all laps from the pole, setting the fastest lap in his sixth career grand slam. He is the second driver to win multiple Baku races, following his former teammate Sergio Perez.
The victory followed an equally dominant victory in Italy two weeks ago, claiming the victory at the biggest margin of the season. Asked if this was his RB21 the best of the year, Dutchman replied in affirming, claiming his sixth pole on the route to his fourth victory.
“With Monza, yes,” he said. “Monza wasn’t a particularly strong track for us, so to do that, it was already a huge plus.
“For me here in Baku, except for 2021 and 2022, that’s fine, but never surprising, but the rest is always a little difficult. So it was very important to have a weekend like this.”
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It wasn’t just the outcome of real-life champions. It was also about how he was able to build up until Sunday and then carry out what he described as a “very simple” race.
“Overall, it’s been a great weekend for us,” he said. “I’m very pleased with how the race progresses, meaning that I was able to go for a very long time with that first stint. The car was doing most of what I wanted.
“We basically went out until everyone pited, but then there was only a few laps left in the medium, but we cleared some back markers, but it took a bit of time.
“It’s another great result for us. It’s a bit unusual. It’s been really shaking from side to side this season, but at least for two weeks in a row, it’s been really good.”
For McLaren boss Andrea Stella, two races tend to be sufficient. Andrea Stella suspects that an upgrade brought to the Italian Red Bull racing car has reset the hierarchy and has once again made Verstappen a regular victory contender.
Baku and Monza are two of the most extreme circuits in the calendar. Both are dominated by long straights, but the corner profiles are different. Verstappen warned that a larger sample size was needed before coming to a conclusion about Red Bull Racing’s return.
“It’s hard to say at this point,” he said. “But the weekend of the last two races was amazing for us. Singapore (next race) is another completely different challenge.
However, the Dutch gave a shorter reduction to the idea that he reduced the deficit of title leader Oscar Piastri by 69 points, making him a championship competitor again.
“I don’t rely on hope,” he said. “But there are seven rounds left, and I have a lot of 69 points, so I’m not thinking about it personally.
“I go to race-by-race, I basically do the entire season, I just try to do everything I can and try to get as many points as I can.
