That is a wild margin for 51 laps of racing. As Motorsport.com Italia reports, Red Bull walked away from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a double podium and genuine competitiveness, yet left behind a regret measuring precisely one tenth of a second—the gap that separated Max Verstappen from George Russell at the checkered flag.
On paper, Baku was supposed to be the RB22's best remaining hunting ground. Laurent Mekies admitted as much, noting it was the most favorable circuit for their machine's characteristics. The real damage, however, happened during Friday qualifying. Power unit troubles forced Verstappen to start all the way back in eighth, robbing him of a clean run at the front. Max himself downplayed the grid penalty, claiming overtaking the Mercedes would have been a massive challenge even from second.
His charge through the field was stunning to watch. After a tricky opening stint on medium tyres, Verstappen caught a break with the Safety Car and bolted on a set of softs. The chase was on. In the closing laps, the deficit hovered consistently around a second before they crossed the line separated by a mere 0.1 seconds. Mekies pointed out that they had their chance and missed it by that single tenth after 53 laps (yes, the source lists both 51 and 53 laps for the distance).
There is no denying the machine is improving. The upgrades brought to Baku clearly worked, helping deliver a more balanced car even if certain structural limitations cannot be fixed until 2027. Mekies highlighted that the team had already been chipping away at the gap before the new parts arrived by squeezing more performance from both chassis and power unit.
The other massive headline of the weekend came from Isack Hadjar. Returning after a six-week absence and three missed grands prix due to a hand injury sustained during the summer break, the Frenchman did it on a unforgiving street circuit and immediately claimed third place.
Working through the weekend with total control and zero pain, Hadjar qualified fourth before displaying a race pace that left Mekies stunned, stating he showed something they had never seen from him before on both mediums and softs. When he ran on softs early in the race with superior pace to Verstappen on mediums, there was a chance for internal friction. Instead, Isack kept his cool, listened to the pit wall, saved his tyres, and managed his race without demanding a radio switch.
Mekies praised his intelligence and emotional control inside the cockpit. Red Bull leaves Azerbaijan with real momentum, and while upcoming tracks present different challenges and Mercedes is bringing a major upgrade to Sepang, Mekies remains optimistic that they will have another couple of chances before the season ends.
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