Verstappen loses more World Championship points to Norris

After the Azerbaijan GP, ​​Max Verstappen didn't really know whether he should be happy or angry. His lead in the drivers' world championship had shrunk again, but this time only by three points. With seven races to go before the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the world champion is still 59 points ahead of Lando Norris.

But Norris had actually started the race nine places behind Verstappen – and yet he still managed to gain points in the end. “If you look at my race, it was the worst-case scenario,” Verstappen said angrily. “It's not surprising.”

The Dutchman's renewed suffering began in qualifying. After a new underbody seemed to solve the most serious balance problems on his RB20, he was unable to make any progress in qualifying. After the third free practice session, Verstappen and Red Bull wanted more and tried to perfect the setup. Verstappen quickly realized that the plan had backfired.

Since the setup of the cars cannot be changed after qualifying has started, Verstappen's hands were tied. He knew that he would have a difficult race ahead of him. He was able to overtake George Russell at the start and stay in fifth place.

However, it was clear early on that Verstappen could not keep up with the pace of the leaders. Teammate Sergio Perez was also able to move forward much faster and used his tires less. “We paid the price for the setup change after the third practice session. The car was difficult to drive, the car jumped and the wheels were in the air in the slow corners,” said Verstappen.

Albon and Norris ruin Verstappen’s race once and for all

After his early pit stop, the world champion came out behind Alexander Albon and Lando Norris – both were driving on the alternative strategy and had to drive a long first stint on the hard tires. Despite fresh tires, Verstappen was unable to get past Albon and Norris. That meant his race was finally over. “Everything was the worst case scenario. If you're stuck behind Alex and Lando and have balance problems, then it's no surprise in the end,” said Verstappen angrily.

While he damaged his fresh tires in the turbulent air, Russell was able to use the pace of the new Pirelli tires behind him. On lap 34, Verstappen had to let Russell pass. It was exciting again towards the end of the race. Three laps before the checkered flag, Norris came flying from behind with fresh media after his stop. Verstappen was only able to defend himself briefly and eventually had to let his title rivals go.

Norris moved up from 15th place on the grid to 4th, Verstappen from 6th to 5th – and that despite the accident between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, which gave him two positions. Instead of striking back in the battle for the World Championship, there was another setback. “But you can also look at it the other way around.” [McLaren und Norris] “I could have done a better job,” Verstappen interjected. Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri ultimately won the GP.

In contrast to the previous race weekends, the 26-year-old was more conciliatory. This is mainly due to the underbody: “We showed today with Checo that the car is better. We didn't win, but he was in the fight. If we continue to improve the new car step by step, then we can be consistently in this fight again.” Perez also drove with the new underbody, but didn't gamble with the setup.

Perez crash costs Verstappen 2 points in the World Championship battle

The Perez crash on the penultimate lap was not only bad for Red Bull in the fight for the constructors' championship, but also for Verstappen. After Norris had passed him, Verstappen came into the pits to get fresh tires and drive the fastest lap. However, the accident meant he no longer had a chance because the track was set under VSC. What was particularly bitter was that the extra point for the fastest lap went to Norris. Verstappen lost two points in the fight for the world championship.

Formula 1 World Championship table 2024

After the race, the VSC almost proved fatal for Verstappen a second time. He overtook several drivers on the lap of honour – under the VSC, this is forbidden even after the race has ended. “There have been many examples of drivers doing this,” he defends himself. In fact, the stewards also saw it that way and therefore only issued a warning, especially since Verstappen did not overtake at the accident site and drove quite slowly for the rest of the lap. While overtaking, he congratulated his competitors.