There were only five laps to go when the yellow flags arrived in zone 2 of the Baku circuit. Max Verstappen was leading into the street of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with fast turn. Suddenly, however, he began to lose positions and the cameras showed a Red Bull bouncing at 200 km / h against one of the walls of the main straight. It was that of the Dutchman, who thus lost the lead and the race.

The competition stopped, in the relaunch Checo Pérez – who was his escort – took first place (against a Lewis Hamilton who could not turn at the first corner and was out of the race) and a few laps later he won his first GP with Toro Rosso .

Last year, Baku represented one of the most exciting races of a vibrant season that culminated in a head-to-head battle between Hamilton, the seven-time champion who wanted to make history, and Verstappen, who was champion for the first time. .

Now the story is not the same. Mercedes appears demoted, who keeps the English out of the fight, while the Dutchman’s new contender is Charles Leclerc, not long ago leader of the drivers’ championship and now to nine points with a Ferrari that has already shown what it is capable of with the changes to the regulations and these new single-seaters.

However, both Verstappen and Leclerc have pending business in the back streets of the country that was once part of the Soviet Republic.

On the shores of the Caspian Sea, no one could win. And that Leclerc was the poleman in 2021, but he finished fourth in the race. But the bottom line is that it is a difficult circuit to tame, with a combination of a first sector with long straights and hard braking and a narrow, winding second that winds through a 7.6m wide strip in a 6.5km track. curves.

Verstappen, nine points ahead of his rival Ferrari, missed an almost certain victory last year when he crashed. It was three years after his collision with the then Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. In conclusion, the champion only finished this race once in four, when he finished fourth in 2019.

“I really want to go back to Baku, we have some unfinished business after last year“He said.” It’s a tough track with big braking zones and a tight exit, finding the best setup for the car will be difficult in terms of making sure you get the right wing level. It will also be interesting to see if we can improve our performance in a qualifying lap as we missed him a bit, “he added ahead of Round 8.

Leclerc’s record is slightly better, like he finished the three he played. However, as previously mentioned, he failed to convert last year’s pole position into a win and dropped to fourth. In 2019, meanwhile, he was ready for pole but crashed at turn 8 and only managed to save fifth place. And his third score was a sixth place in 2018.

Therefore, both the Monegasque and the Dutch arrive in Baku eager to recover from their respective disappointing performances and leave behind Monaco, where they saw Checo Pérez climb the top step of the podium, as he did in Baku in 2021when he took his first win as a Red Bull driver.

The activity in Baku will start this Friday, with training (at 8 and 11 in Argentina of Star +), but the interesting thing will arrive on Saturday at 11 with the expected ranking, scenario in which Leclerc is exploiting Verstappen this season, with three consecutive polesin addition to having started every race this year from the front row of the grid.

But Verstappen did not give up and neither did Red Bull. Both the driver and the team were stronger in the distribution of points, win the Dutchman three of the last four races and adding the podium (3rd) in Monaco, where the Austrian brand won with Checo, winner also a year ago in Azerbaijan.

“It was very special to win my first game with the team in Baku last season, it gave me great joy,” confessed Pérez. “I like street circuits because that’s where the rider can really make a difference.Sure it’s easier to go wrong when you’re trying to go to the limit, but in the end that’s what gives you the tenths you need to be competitive, “added the recent winner in the Principality.

This Thursday, upon arrival in Baku, there was talk in the paddock of the close fight between Red Bull and Ferrari, which on a closed circuit like the city of Azerbaijan will be able to demonstrate whether maximum speed or cornering ability will be the decisive factor for the victory.

Without forgetting, of course, that there are other opponents, such as Lando Norris, sick in the last two races (he had tonsillitis) and fought closely, or Lewis Hamilton, always an optional and even more so after the improvements that Mercedes brought to Catalonia and which they saw in the Spanish GP even if not so much in Montecarlo.

Always used to putting on a show, when the Grand Prix kicks off on Sunday at 8, doubts will be revealed and it will be known, around 10, who came out victorious from the demanding road race.