F1 News

Verstappen hits back with win in Baku: 'You can never make that up'

12 June 2022 at 13:55
  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen has taken a fantastic hit in Azerbaijan. The Dutchman went from P3 to P1 and saw his biggest rival Charles Leclerc drop out with an engine problem. After the race, the Red Bull driver was therefore very enthusiastic about his team.

For Red Bull Racing, the GP in Baku went perfectly. Sergio Perez took the lead at the start and Carlos Sainz quickly crashed out with a hydraulic problem. When Verstappen passed his teammate and Leclerc also crashed out, the race was as good as over. Yet Verstappen still had to stay focused throughout the race.

Profit for Verstappen

''You can never make up for what you lost last year, but today we had an incredible pace on the car and we could really look after the tyres and chip away at it. Maybe a bit tiny unlucky with the retirements (Ferrari) but our car was really good today," Verstappen said after the race.

Asked what exactly went better, Verstappen is not quite sure himself. "Overall, really happy with the balance of the car today. Tyre behaviour and just general grip of the car and that is what you need around here. Every weekend is a bit different. You need to be so precise. All the little things for race management also counts as it can swing around," concludes the reigning world champion.