Max Verstappen has signaled that he still intends to fight for the 2024 Formula 1 championship despite trailing significantly behind leader Oscar Piastri. After securing a dominant win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen narrowed the points gap to 69 with seven races remaining. Meanwhile, Lando Norris, the other key McLaren driver, was unable to capitalize fully on Piastri’s early exit and sits 25 points adrift of his teammate.
Verstappen’s Momentum Grows with Consecutive Wins
Verstappen’s victory in Baku marked his first back-to-back race wins in more than a year, following a second-place finish at Zandvoort and a win in Monza. These results have propelled him to score the most points since the summer break, contrasting with a period earlier this season when the Dutchman failed to reach the podium in four consecutive races—a rare streak not seen since 2018. Key upgrades to Red Bull’s car, especially to the floor introduced in Monza, have notably enhanced his performance.
On this improvement, Verstappen said,
“The last two race weekends have been amazing. It’s just a lot of combination of a lot of things that are going better in the last few weeks,”
highlighting a better understanding of the car’s behavior. He added,
“Of course, it’s two low-downforce tracks, so we have to wait to see how we are going to perform again on a high-downforce track. But, for now, we are just very happy with what we are doing and will now find out in the upcoming races how that will go on other kinds of layouts.”
Verstappen Acknowledges the Challenge Ahead
Despite the recent success, Verstappen remains realistic about his chances to overcome the 69-point deficit to Piastri. Addressing the monumental task, he told Sky Sports F1,
“Seven races to go and it’s still 69 points, it’s a lot,”
and further reflected,
“Basically, everything needs to go perfect from my side and then a bit of luck from their side I need as well. So it’s still very tough.”
During a later press conference, Verstappen emphasized his methodical approach rather than placing reliance on hope:
“I don’t rely on hope, so I personally don’t think about it. I just go race by race, what I have been doing basically the whole season – just trying to do the best we can, try to score the most points that we can. Then after Abu Dhabi, we’ll know.”
Qualifying Brilliance Sets Stage for Baku Triumph
Red Bull faced struggles during Friday’s practice sessions in Baku, but Verstappen’s qualifying performance reversed the situation dramatically. He produced a remarkable lap in challenging conditions marked by strong winds and multiple crashes, including that of championship leader Piastri. Starting from pole position, Verstappen controlled the race flawlessly, leading every lap and securing the fastest lap, thus achieving the sixth Grand Slam of his career.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies praised the driver’s skill, stating,
“What to say [about Verstappen]? Such a masterclass in qualifying, a huge gap in super difficult conditions with the wind blowing at 60kph.”
Mekies also noted the uncertainty in race pace early in the weekend due to a lack of long runs on Friday but affirmed the evident performance gains:
“Today it was difficult to estimate what would be the race pace, nobody really did some long runs on Friday, and he just pulled away lap after lap.”
Engineering Progress from Milton Keynes Strengthens Performance
Mekies emphasized that improvements to the car developed at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes facility have paid off, especially given the specific demands of circuits like Monza and Baku. He explained,
“We knew after Monza that Monza is so specific that it was not so clear how much of the progress we could bring on a track like here, so it’s a good feedback for everyone that has been pushing so hard in Milton Keynes to get the car faster.”
He added,
“We know Baku is also very specific with only slow-speed corners but certainly it’s two tracks in a row where we at least had the pace to fight.”
Lando Norris Struggles to Narrow Gap in Title Fight
While Verstappen’s form improved, McLaren’s Lando Norris has found it difficult to make significant dents in Piastri’s lead. Despite his teammate’s crash opening a potential opportunity at Baku, Norris was unable to mount a serious challenge and remains 25 points behind Piastri. This position maintains Norris as an important contender but highlights the uphill battle he faces in sustaining a credible championship challenge.
Title Battle Shifts Focus to Upcoming Races
With only a handful of rounds left in the 2024 season, the fight for the championship continues to intensify. Verstappen’s recent performances have made a late-season charge possible, though he still requires near-perfect results and some misfortune for Piastri and McLaren. Meanwhile, Norris will aim to close the gap and keep McLaren competitive in the title chase. Attention now turns to the Singapore Grand Prix on October 3-5, where teams will test their form on a high-downforce street circuit under floodlights, a venue that could prove pivotal for the championship standings.
