Verstappen doesn’t rule out F1 title after dominant victory in Azerbaijan

The driver Max Verstappen does not rule out the possibility of obtaining his fifth world title in Formula 1, after reducing the gap with the leader Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ championship with his outstanding victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.After his triumph in Monza and with seven races remaining, Verstappen’s victory in Baku puts him 69 points ahead of Piastri, who, in a weekend marked by errors, suffered an accident in qualifying and another on the first lap of Sunday’s race.Amidst the chaos in Baku on Saturday, with the classification suspended on several occasions, Verstappen secured pole position, while Lando Norris placed in seventh position.In Sunday’s race, with Piastri out of the competition on the first lap, Norris was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to score points, finishing in the position in which he started and seeing how the advantage over Verstappen was reduced to 44 points.The perfect weekend for the Dutch driver earned him his sixth Grand Slam in his career (pole position, fastest lap, victory, leading all laps), tying Lewis Hamilton for second place in F1 history.

This weekend has been incredible for us. Of course, last weekend was already great. But yes, for us to win here again is simply fantastic.

Max Verstappen

Verstappen commented that this season has had many changes, but at least now, for two consecutive weekends, things have gone very well.

When asked about his chances in the drivers’ championship, Verstappen replied that he doesn’t rely on hope.

There are seven races left and there’s still a 69-point difference. It’s a lot. Basically, everything has to be perfect on my part. And I also need a bit of luck on his side, so it’s still very difficult.

Max Verstappen

Verstappen added that he focuses on each race, trying to get as many points as possible, and that the final results will be known after Abu Dhabi.McLaren team boss Andrea Stella highlighted Verstappen’s consecutive victories. According to Stella, Red Bull has shown significant improvements, with updates in Monza that seem to have allowed them to optimize the configuration.

Max and Red Bull will be regular contenders for victories, and Max is definitely a contender for the drivers’ championship. So we have a lot of work ahead. We need to stay focused, improve, and we will try again.

Andrea Stella