Max Verstappen continues his resurgence with second Grand Prix win in a row in Baku
Max Verstappen continued his return to form on Sunday by winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. It is the second race in a row that Verstappen has won after winning the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago. This marks the first time that Verstappen has won two races in a row this season.
Most of Verstappen’s hard work was done on Saturday when he took pole position in qualifying. He was also aided by the fact that the top two in the championship rankings, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, had a poor qualifying session in their McLaren.
Verstappen got away well, keeping the first place ahead of Carlos Sainz, who started in second place for Williams. It was a good first lap for Verstappen, and a terrible first lap for the rankings leader, Piastri, who crashed out of the race.
Although it was clear that Red Bull’s plan was for Verstappen to conserve his tires and not push too hard to extend his lead, this ultimately happened anyway. The reigning champion was never in any trouble during the race, finishing 14 seconds ahead of George Russell. Third place went to Sainz.
It was also a successful race for Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who finished sixth in the other Red Bull car.
Verstappen now has 255 points this season, with a 44-point gap to Norris in second, who finished in 7th place. Piastri still leads the rankings with 324 points.
It is still a long shot for the Dutch driver to win the championship, but he will hope to continue this form in the Singapore Grand Prix on October 5.
