What happened to Max Verstappen at Azerbaijan GP 2021? Why did he kick his car?
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Max Verstappen was left frustrated in last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen will feel as if he has unfinished business in next week’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Last year’s Baku weekend was certainly a chaotic one. Charles Leclerc started on pole position during the race, due in part to a late red flag. Late in qualifying, Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz were involved in separate lock-ups while going into Turn 3, which brought the session to an abrupt end.
Charles Leclerc was soon passed for the lead by Lewis Hamilton on lap 2, and soon enough he was passed by Max Verstappen on lap 7. On lap 31, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had a left-rear tire failure on the main straight and crashed, bringing out the safety car. 15 or so laps later, Verstappen would fall prey to a similar fate.
On lap 46, Verstappen also suffered a left-rear tire failure on the main straight. This marked the end of his Grand Prix, where he had looked destined for victory. The ‘kicking’ resulted from frustration over this, which cost him a fairly assured victory and 25 points. Of course, this was not Max Verstappen’s only incident in Baku. In 2018, he and Daniel Ricciardo collided on the main straight on lap 40, which ended their races. They were running fourth and fifth, respectively.
Happy Memories for Sergio Perez
While his teammate Max Verstappen’s race went as bad as it may be possible, it was not the case for Sergio Perez. The Mexican started 7th but eventually took his maiden victory for Red Bull, his first since Sakhir in 2020. After Verstappen’s crash, the race was red-flagged. On the restart on lap 50, Sergio Perez took the lead after Lewis Hamilton locked up going into Turn 1. Hamilton eventually finished outside of the points, in sixteenth place.
Until the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend, this was Perez’s only victory for Red Bull. The Mexican would once again hope to recreate his result from last year (perhaps along with a better one for his teammate). After a strong Monaco weekend, he is only 15 points from the championship lead. It’s a long season, and anything can happen.
Max Verstappen certainly has unfinished business in Baku. The Dutchman has NEVER finished on the podium in Baku. In Monaco, Perez generally seemed to have the edge over Verstappen, but this is not necessarily true for the rest of the season or an indicator of what’s to come. Verstappen has the championship lead and will want a strong Baku weekend.
Verstappen will hope he can extend his lead over the second-placed Charles Leclerc, even though the Ferrari has seemed the better car in the last two race weekends.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)