Verstappen reflects on detrimental car issues in Baku

Despite securing a top-five finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the last minute, Max Verstappen endured a tough race in Baku as traffic and an “uncontrollable” car significantly affected his performance.

Thanks in part to a dramatic penultimate lap collision between his team mate Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, the Dutchman crossed the line in P5, one position above where he qualified in Baku.

He battled intermittently with Alex Albon and podium finisher George Russell, but his championship rival Lando Norris also got the better of him, finishing in P4 to cut his lead to 59 points in the drivers' standings.

Verstappen may have started the season strongly, but he now has just one podium finish from the last five races with Red Bull's RB20 proving to be a more problematic customer to set up.

Verstappen explains car issues after tough run to P5 in Azerbaijan

The issues that Verstappen faced in a tough qualifying session on Saturday seemed to carry over into the Grand Prix, as the Dutch driver explained after the race that his car “was jumping around a lot in all the low-speed corners”.

“My wheels were literally coming off the ground,” he added. “Then of course you lose contact patch with the tarmac which you don’t want. That then caused me to slide a lot more, overheat the tyres more and there was no way to drive around it so the pace was just a bit all over the place.

“I had to box and then it was just a bit unfortunate I got stuck behind Alex and Lando. I was in that fight, George passed me, and then we actually had good pace, the two of us. We were catching the leaders but then as soon as I got close to George again within that window where you have the dirty air, because of the jumping that I’m dealing with I’m sliding already quite a bit.

“And then when I get close to him I’m sliding even more and that just tipped it over the edge where it becomes quite uncontrollable towards the end of the race, which was very difficult again.”

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - SEPTEMBER 15: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing look on from the drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) — Perez showed better pace in Baku ahead of his race-ending incident

Verstappen’s fifth place finish coupled with Perez’s DNF meant that McLaren outscored Red Bull this weekend, claiming 38 points to the Milton Keynes outfit’s 10. The result has swung the constructors’ title in McLaren’s favour as they now lead the standings by 20 points.

Nevertheless, the three-time world champion still appeared optimistic that his team could make amends, especially as they did show signs of success in Baku – before Perez’s crash, the Mexican was on for his best race finish since April.

MUST-SEE: Watch as Perez and Sainz end frenzied race in the barrier whilst battling for podium in Baku

Asked whether he was concerned that the car adjustments favoured his team mate’s driving style, Verstappen said: “No, no, no. I think the changes we did to the car were positive, but then you still need of course to do the set-up on the car.

“I think we were heading in the right direction but then the changes that we made before qualifying tipped it over the edge and we paid the price for that in the race unfortunately.”