Max Verstappen took a shock, dominant win at the Italian Grand Prix last time out, beating both McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who are fighting for the 2025 Formula 1 title.
But will Red Bull’s world champion carry that form into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, or will the championship-leading McLaren outfit return to the top in Baku?
There are storylines throughout the grid, whether it is the debate over who to place alongside Verstappen in 2026, the hopes at Ferrari, or the struggles of Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
So here are five things to look out for at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Is Red Bull’s Monza rebirth real?
Verstappen surprised friend, foe, and even himself with his dominant victory in Monza. Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the main question is: how much of that performance was circuit-specific, and how much points to a structural improvement at Red Bull, or even a “rebirth” as Helmut Marko optimistically called it?
On Sunday evening in Italy, Laurent Mekies was quick to stress that much of the team’s performance was indeed Monza-specific – such as the well-working low-downforce package and the lessons learned from an abysmal 2024 race. That said, Marko, Verstappen, and technical director Pierre Wache all pointed to a new approach going into race weekends: relying less on the simulator and data, and more on driver feedback.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Thompson – Getty Images
The real test will come in Singapore, a street circuit that at least on paper doesn’t particularly suit Red Bull. Azerbaijan offers a street track as well, but with its long straights it should fit the RB21 somewhat better. For that reason, you can’t rule out another standout Verstappen performance this weekend. It must be said that the Dutchman – with just one win there in 2022 – does not have the strongest track record in Baku, although he was on course for another victory in 2021 if it hadn’t been for a tyre failure to ruin his chances.
– Ronald Vording
The next episode of The Papaya Family
How is McLaren going to respond to the criticism it received in Monza for its controversial driver swap? From what we know about team principal Andrea Stella, the papaya squad will simply stick to its principles of fairness, more concerned about its own compass than that of the outside world.
Piastri took the request to let Norris by after a botched pitstop extremely well given what is at stake in their intra-team title fight, saying he and his team-mate intend to remain at McLaren for the long haul, so it’s a no-brainer to put the squad’s interests first.
But the championship leader’s initial bewilderment upon hearing the request, given Norris mainly lost out due to a slow tyre change which is part of racing, suggested Stella and CEO Zak Brown will have had to at least review exactly how delicate their touch will be as McLaren balances letting its drivers free to race versus protecting the team’s culture and harmony.
Perhaps nothing will happen in Baku and one of the two drivers will simply have the upper hand and canter off into the sunset. But given how finely poised their fight is, with Norris slightly quicker in Monza after a strong spell for Piastri, maybe this weekend we’ll see a pure head-to-head given the slipstreaming nature of Baku. Last year Piastri defeated Charles Leclerc after a gripping street brawl. What will happen if Norris manages to play the role of the Ferrari man this time?
– Filip Cleeren
Tsunoda running out of time to save his F1 career
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Pirelli
The writing appears to be on the wall at Red Bull for 2026. Isack Hadjar is set to become Verstappen’s team-mate, just read what Marko said after his Zandvoort podium, while Arvid Lindblad will join junior squad Racing Bulls.
This should leave a straight-up shootout between Verstappen’s current team-mate Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson for that seat alongside Lindblad. But, given Tsunoda spent four seasons at the Faenza outfit before being promoted to Red Bull this year, it wouldn’t serve any party well for him to head back to Racing Bulls as he approaches his late 20s.
So, Tsunoda’s last hope is turning around his situation at Red Bull, which might seem miraculous given he’s only scored nine points across 14 grands prix weekends and has shown little signs of improvement. But he needs to find something, and quickly – like, this weekend – otherwise Tsunoda is out of F1.
To do so, he needs to complete a clean grand prix weekend. In Monza, for example, the 25-year-old showed pace by being within two tenths of Verstappen in Q1 and Q2, but failure to put together an optimal lap in the final session left him 10th on the grid. Tsunoda was then caught up in the midfield battle, left with floor damage, and couldn’t find clean air during the grand prix as he eventually finished outside of the points.
It’s just little things like that which are holding him back. Red Bull has said it will aim to announce its 2026 line-up around the end of October and Hadjar has already proven his worth, so it is now up to Tsunoda to show his.
– Ed Hardy
Antonelli out of Europe – but out of trouble?
Fun stat: across nine European races, Antonelli scored only three points. His only summer highlight was his first F1 podium, which, curiously, came in Canada. But geography wasn’t the root cause; as the Italian himself suggested, Mercedes’ rear-suspension update introduced in May changed the car’s characteristics. Not only Antonelli, but George Russell also struggled with the revised spec, with Canada proving the lone outlier.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Since reverting to the previous version in Hungary, Antonelli says his confidence has improved, yet the results haven’t shifted dramatically: ninth in Budapest and 10th at Monza. His race pace was good at Zandvoort, but a clash with Leclerc ended his points bid. The improvement is there, but so is the pressure. In Monza, Toto Wolff called his driver’s performance “underwhelming”, the first time the Mercedes chief has publicly put the Italian on the spot after previously shielding his protege.
With Verstappen staying at Red Bull and his 2026 seat seemingly being secure, Antonelli still has plenty to prove over the rest of the season. Can he reset as the championship leaves Europe for Baku?
– Oleg Karpov
Is Baku Leclerc’s and Ferrari’s best chance to win?
The only way to get the tifosi on your side is winning, and that’s exactly what Ferrari hasn’t managed to do yet this year. At this stage last season Carlos Sainz had gotten off the mark early in Australia to relieve some Italian pressure, with Leclerc earning emotional wins at both his and Ferrari’s homes: Monaco and Monza.
Ferrari isn’t a total flop this year; it still holds second in the championship, helped by underperforming second drivers at Red Bull and Mercedes. But it still has a gaping hole in the 2025 section of its trophy cabinet. The squad’s best chance to win came at Monaco, where qualifying specialist Leclerc just missed out on pole – and therefore victory, given Monaco’s characteristics.
But a less expected pole in Hungary has given the Scuderia renewed belief that it won’t have to end the current era with the ignominy of a winless season, even if Leclerc eventually lost ground to the McLarens in the race.
Leclerc was on pole in Baku last year, too, and fought eventual winner Piastri until the bitter end. And team boss Fred Vasseur seems upbeat about his squad’s chances in Azerbaijan: “I think we have a couple of tracks where we are supposed to be also in good shape. Starting with the next one. We are historically always in good shape in Baku…”
The races are ticking away fast, there are some strong McLaren circuits coming up and Red Bull also seems to have caught a second wind, so if Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton are presented with half a chance on Baku’s fast streets, they’d do well to snatch it with both hands.
– Filip Cleeren
