After karting fun, Max Verstappen looks to keep winning feeling going at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

BAKU – Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, fresh from a last-to-first karting triumph, will be looking to keep that winning feeling going by chalking up a first Formula 1 victory of the season at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Dutchman took just 14 laps and 35 minutes to scythe through a field of 100 competitors at Red Bull’s “Max vs 100” karting challenge at Britain’s Silverstone circuit last week.

That may have been nothing more than a fun exhibition event for the 71-time grand prix winner, who jokingly pointed out that it was his first win of the season.

But after six podium appearances, four in the last five races, and a second-place finish in Madrid, Azerbaijan’s Baku street circuit could set the stage for Verstappen to break his victory duck for 2026 and become the venue’s first treble winner.

“Madrid was a good result for us and the team has been working hard on taking this positive momentum to make sure we maximise the performance of the car in Baku,” said the 28-year-old.

“We’ve made some good steps with the car over the last few races and we have some good memories here,” he added.

The Baku street track, a 6km-long mix of flat-out blasts and tight corners, has a reputation for unpredictable races.

Seven different drivers have won the nine races at the venue, with Verstappen and former Mexican teammate Sergio Perez the only two to have won there more than once.

With safety cars a regular feature of the race, Verstappen’s victory hopes may well rest on Red Bull’s ability to take on the might of Mercedes. The team’s runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli heads into the weekend gunning for a third straight win and ninth of the season.

The 20-year-old Italian, who won his home race at Monza from the back of the grid and followed that up with victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring, is 81 points clear of Briton George Russell (211 points), his teammate and closest title rival, after 14 rounds.

Russell and third-placed Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton (191 points) have both ruled themselves out of realistic title contention.

A win in Baku would only tighten Antonelli’s grip on the championship and move his prospect of becoming the first Italian to win a Formula 1 title since Alberto Ascari in 1953 further into the realm of when rather than if.

McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris, meanwhile, will be fired up to make up for the win that got away from him.

The Briton had been leading from pole in Madrid and seemed on course for his third win from four races when an ill-timed virtual safety car went against him. He eventually had to settle for third and is fourth overall on 186 points.

Isack Hadjar will return to action alongside Verstappen after recovering from a wrist injury that sidelined him for the last three races. Yuki Tsunoda is set to step back into his reserve role.

The Azerbaijan GP, the first of a “triple header” of races on consecutive weekends, is being run on a Saturday, Sept 26, this time with the country marking its Remembrance Day on Sept 27.

The organisers are also celebrating a “Decade of Racin” in Baku, with the race joining the Formula 1 calendar in 2016 as the European Grand Prix. This year’s race will be the 10th around the Baku street track, with the event left off the calendar during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. REUTERS