Formula 1 in Baku: who can stop Max Verstappen?

After a four-week break, Formula 1 returns – with five races within six weeks. The weekend with the race on the demanding city circuit in Baku (Sunday, 1 p.m., in the live ticker at sportschau.de) offers the competition opportunities to stop Red Bull.

Things are going well for Max Verstappen and Red Bull. So well that those Formula 1 fans who don’t like the team worry about the tension in the premier class of motorsport. 69 points from three races this season are the two-time world champion’s record so far. There was tension, if any, in the battle for the podium places.

Because while Verstappen dupes the competition, Aston Martin has moved into second place in the constructor teams. Most recently, Mercedes also filed claims again, Ferrari is still struggling with problems. Against this background, is there any driver who could seriously endanger Verstappen and Red Bull?

Hope rests on Formula 1 street circuit in Baku

In the first race after a four-week break, the hopes of the competition are not based on their own cars, but on the track and the mode of the race weekend in Baku. The capital of Azerbaijan has been part of the racing calendar since 2017 and has always been characterized by spectacle.

Sometimes at full speed, the cars race through the old town in Baku – with overtaking opportunities and the narrowest place to be driven at all in Formula 1. Verstappen won the Grand Prix for the first time last year – the fifth winner in the fifth year.

*No Grand Prix in 2020 due to the corona pandemic

With a new qualification format, another factor of uncertainty will be added this year. The teams only have one practice session on Friday before things get really serious.

After all, the sprint on Saturday (04/29/23) has eight world championship points in store for the winner. “For me, sprints are all about survival”Verstappen recently said: “It’s not in the DNA of Formula 1 to do these sprints. In Formula 1 it’s about a good qualifying and then a strong Sunday with a long race distance”, said Verstappen.

Is there a threat of Red Bull dominance like Mercedes once did?

For the world championship leader in the absolutely dominant car, any uncertainty is initially a problem. Because even though Mercedes, above all, announced that they would modify the car again during the break, the gap to Red Bull was almost one second per lap recently. These are worlds in Formula 1.

Fernando Alonso contradicted Lewis Hamilton’s statement that the current Red Bull was “the fastest car” that he had “ever seen”: “In Jeddah I finished 20 seconds behind Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were one minute ahead of us all in 2014 and 2015.”

Competition is working on that advancement

In the current development around Red Bull, fans and experts see similar conditions in Formula 1. The FIA ​​counteracts this with measures such as the qualification reform. The teams are working to close the current gap.

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur announced “tremendous progress” at the beginning of April. They are also necessary in view of the disastrous start to the season. Charles Leclerc (6 points) and Carlos Sainz (20) have 20 points together. Recently in Australia there was not a single World Cup counter.

Mercedes is getting closer and made progress, especially in Melbounre. “Australia has shown that we are making progress,” said Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff: “The car will continue to develop in the coming weeks.”

There is much to suggest that Aston Martin – with Mercedes – remains the number one Red Bull hunter. Alonso kept raving about a “great car” and seems stronger than it has been for years.

Five Formula 1 races in six weeks

With Baku (04/30/23), Miami (05/07/23), Imola (05/21/23), Monaco (05/28/23) and Barcelona (06/04/23), five races in six weeks are now on the program. So if you haven’t used the last four weeks of development time, you will inevitably be left behind by the summer.