Verstappen finished third there, also ended up with Charles Leclerc in the World Cup, but the other extreme is that there is suddenly talk of teammate Perez’s title chances.
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“I’m not worried about anything and certainly not about what other people think, write or think,” says Verstappen in Baku. “There is nothing wrong and I am always keen to get the best out of it. I don’t need to hear from the team that I’m the number one driver.”
Max Verstappen arrives at the Baku circuit.
ANP/HH
Inside, Verstappen probably also knows that this is the case, although he will of course not express it himself. His father Jos wrote a critical column about Red Bull’s strategy the day after the Monaco Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen about this: “As my father wrote, he is not completely objective. He just wants to see me win. And in the end I also have a very good chance in the championship. It’s his opinion. I also told my father that the events on Sunday were a result of Saturday when that red flag ruined my qualifying. That was the biggest problem, because in Monaco you can’t overtake. Fine, that was one game, we will now continue.”
With Red Bull’s top speed, Verstappen seems to have a good chance of winning in Baku in advance. “But Ferrari has the fastest car at the moment,” says the reigning world champion. “We have mainly benefited from the mistakes they made in the last races.”