Red Bull lose championship lead after Azerbaijan disaster

It was a weekend to forget for Red Bull Racing as they had a poor Azerbaijan Grand Prix and lost the lead of the constructor’s championship in the process.

Victory for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and a brilliant recovery drive from Lando Norris to finish fourth saw the team from Woking take over at the top of the team standings, usurping Red Bull for the first time since early 2022 as the sport’s leading constructor.

The struggles the team from Tilbrook have faced for the majority of the season now came to the fore on the streets of Baku. Championship leader Max Verstappen was off the pace compared to his rivals, and indeed team-mate Sergio Perez, who thrives in Azerbaijan.

The Mexican was in contention for a podium finish, before a crash with two laps to go with Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari eliminated both, promoting Verstappen from seventh to fifth, though he lost further ground to Norris in the standings.

Perez said: “It is a shame for the team and the championship, after the race we had today and the work we have done all weekend it’s hard for everyone to take. I feel super sad for the team, but the positive thing is the pace is back, the changes to the car seem to have put us back in contention.

“We were fighting for the win and looking like we were going to have a strong result – that’s what we need to take out of today.”

While Verstappen saw his championship lead cut by another three points to Norris, it was as bad a weekend the Dutchman has had for a while as he struggled for pace compared to those at the head of the field.

He said: “Today ended up being a worse case scenario. We ultimately still had some issues with changes that we made before qualifying and we just paid the price today. Most of the time we make a change going into qualifying and it pays off, but sometimes it doesn’t and it is just a risk you have to make.

“For the championship, we are going to work together as a Team and the fight is not over. You win or lose as a team and we won’t give up. It is as simple as that."

Team boss Christian Horner added: “For the Constructors, it was obviously a big swing in the last three laps and we have lost out on some significant points in the Championship, however, we will brush ourselves down and fight back hard.”