Max Verstappen can break Sebastian Vettel Red Bull record at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Chris Evans says Max Verstappen needs to 'be a bit nicer'

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Max Verstappen has an opportunity to break a remarkable Red Bull record set by Sebastian Vettel at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. F1 will move to the Baku City Circuit next Sunday and the Dutchman will aim to increase his slender lead at the top of the driver’s championship.

The 24-year-old had a nightmare race at the track last season as he retired due to a left-rear tyre failure on the main straight which caused him to spin and crash into the barriers on lap 46. Vettel finished second while Sergio Perez took the win. But now he can forget completely about that disaster, with Verstappen having the chance to become Red Bull’s top podium finisher ever if he finishes inside the top three.

Vettel achieved 65 podiums during his five-year stint with Red Bull, in which he captured four world championship titles. Verstappen is currently level with the German and is in a strong position to break that record next weekend.

What makes his record more impressive is he has achieved the feat having won just one world title so far compared to his legendary counterpart. For the second successive year, Verstappen finds himself in the midst of an intense title race.

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He gained the championship lead for the first time this season after winning the Spanish GP and has already engaged in some tantalising battles with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the track. The racer explained that a good car and the feeling of knowing he will win future races means he feels no pressure in the ongoing title fight.

“I think it doesn’t really matter where you are in the championship versus second [place],” Verstappen told journalists ahead of the Monaco GP in which Sergio Perez won and the Dutchman came third. “It’s more about what [performance] you have in the car. If your car is good and you know that you can win races in the future then it’s not so much pressure.

“I think as Formula One drivers, we’ve been in the sport for a while and we know what we can do. At least from my experience, it doesn’t really make a difference. I just want to have a good car because that gives you the confidence to do well.”

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Verstappen said Red Bull did a ‘very good job’ to ensure a victory for Perez and a third-place finish for himself in Monaco. “Today was really about strategy and making the right calls. And I have to say the team was very relaxed and on it with their calls, like, very straightforward,” he said afterwards. 

“There was no doubt. It was like: ‘pit now, we go on this tyre’, ‘pit now again we go on this tyre’. They did a really good job with that. And yes, I think as a whole team we can be very pleased with Sunday.”

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