F1 QATAR AIRWAYS AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX 2025 Pre Race Thread

Another very fast race comes soon!

Certainly the big question is this: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/what-does-the-surprising-speed-of-max-verstappen-and-red-bull-mean-for-baku/10759323/
After Verstappen's Monza win: Can Red Bull carry its surprise pace into Baku?
Max Verstappen took a surprise win in Monza, but what does Red Bull’s dominant showing in Italy mean for the upcoming F1 races – starting with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku?

--Mekies immediately touched on two important points. Regarding the car itself, part of the standout performance was indeed track-specific. Not only did Red Bull have a much-improved low-downforce package – unlike last year – but the RB21 generally performs better on tracks like Monza. It’s a view Verstappen shares: “I think it's still a bit track dependent. In Monza you drive low downforce. It seems like our car is a bit more competitive when it’s low-downforce to medium-downforce. It's not that suddenly we are back, and it's not like we can fight every single weekend now.”

That said, it should be noted that Baku, with its long straights, might suit Red Bull fairly well. The street circuit in Azerbaijan is a bit of a mixed bag for the team. The long full-throttle sections should play to the RB21’s strengths, but Verstappen has repeatedly stated that street circuits and bumps remain two major weaknesses. Baku has both positives and negatives for Red Bull – though overall, it should still be a reasonable fit. So it is no coincidence that Helmut Marko, even before the Italian GP, named Baku as a potential chance to win. The real test will follow afterwards in Singapore, a track that theoretically suits the RB21 much less.--

 

Weather is good overall. 40% chance of rain Friday afternoon
Saturday is 22C sunny and windy with gust to 50kmph
Sunday is 22C sunny and less wind.