After the race on Sunday, which ended with Sergio Perez crashing into the wall and his teammate Max Verstappen being passed by Lando Norris, Red Bull is still looking on the bright side.
Norris gained ground on Verstappen in the Formula 1 standings, and McLaren moved ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. Verstappen hasn’t won a race in seven attempts. However, he seems happier with his car now, which he had called a “monster” and “undrivable” after the previous race in Italy.
Even though losing three points to Norris was not ideal, Verstappen still leads by 59 points with seven races left. He was hopeful that the car showed better performance after Friday practice but mentioned that the team made incorrect setup choices for him in Saturday’s qualifying and the race.
“We learnt a lot. We will try to do better,” Verstappen said. “If we do a better job ourselves, they (McLaren) need to do a perfect job to the end of the year.”
Perez also appears to be making a comeback. He was in third place for most of the race and was challenging the two Ferraris for second place when he collided with Sainz.
This showed he could be a strong competitor in the remaining races of the season, even though he hasn’t been on the podium since April—a period during which his position on the team was questioned.
“The positive thing is the pace is back, the changes to the car seem to have put us back in contention,” Perez said in a team statement on Sunday, suggesting he was a contender for the win in Baku. “We need to keep it up with the progress we have made.”
Perez usually performs well on street circuits, like the upcoming Singapore race, and he also has his home race in Mexico next month. When he is in good form, Perez has been important in helping Verstappen by keeping rivals at bay.
Red Bull brought a “subtly revised” floor to Baku, which may be the team’s only upgrade for the season. This change seems to have made the car more competitive.
