Coming to Baku, Red Bull was leading the Constructors’ Championship by 8 points. Until now, it was Max Verstappen scoring the majority of the points. However, this time around, Sergio Perez had the opportunity to bring home maximum points to help Red Bull keep their lead in the Championship but lost it all under the space of 3 corners.
Sergio Perez qualified 4th for the Azerbaijan GP while his teammate was not able to do better than 6th. As the race started, the Mexican driver was able to get past Sainz off the start and was constantly a threat to Leclerc and Piastri who were battling for the lead ahead.
With just 3 more laps to go, Perez had the opportunity to overtake Charles Leclerc who had fallen behind Piastri. However, Leclerc was able to defend well into the first corner. But this cost Perez momentum and lost position to Sainz who was right behind. Out of turn 2, Sainz and Perez were side-by-side. But as they exited the corner, the two tangled and crashed into the wall.
Sparks fly on the streets of Baku! 💥😱
This moment between Sainz and Perez effectively ended the race, and cost both the chance of a podium!#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/iR6UTynvpv
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024
There has been a lot of controversy as to who was at fault. But no matter who was at fault, the consequences are the same.
Red Bull trails McLaren by 20 points after costly crash for Sergio Perez
After the disastrous weekend for Red Bull, they trail McLaren by 20 points. But this not just because of Perez’s accident. The truth is that even if Perez had finished 2nd in the race, McLaren would still be leading by 2 points.
While Sergio Perez was actually competing for race wins, Max Verstappen was not able to do the same. After only qualifying as the 6th fastest on Saturday, he was unable to stay close to the leaders. He even got overtaken by Lando Norris who started 15th after a poor qualifying performance.
No credit can be taken away from McLaren after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Although their Saturday didn’t go as well as they would have liked, they could not have wished for better in the race. Piastri with the victory, and Norris with the spectacular comeback to finish 4th.
Now heading to the Singapore Grand Prix next weekend, McLaren clearly has the upper hand and could very well go on to win the Championship. Even Red Bull’s senior advisor, Helmut Marko stated that he has written off the Constructors’ Championship this year.
Helmut Marko on if he has written off the Constructor’s Championship:
“To be honest, yes.”
“[…] We believe from Austin onwards that we have a package which should make us more or even really competitive. But we have to wait until Austin.”#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/TQeFstA2sZ
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 15, 2024
Now Red Bull needs to help Max Verstappen retain the lead in the Drivers’ Championship. After Azerbaijan, Norris is 59 points behind Verstappen. Although this seems like a lot, there are still 7 Grand Prix races and 3 Sprint Races to go. If Verstappen has a DNF in any one of these races, Norris should be able to surpass the Dutch driver at the last race of the season.
So now, McLaren needs to focus on keeping this form going until the season concludes. But right now, the threat to the Papaya team is not coming from Red Bull, but instead from Ferrari. Red Bull will be hoping that these 2 teams get busy fighting each other, allowing Verstappen to retain the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
Do you think Lando Norris will be able to win the Drivers’ Championship this season? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
