Gary Anderson is ‘sure’ Red Bull have made one secret change to give Max Verstappen a McLaren-beater

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen returns to his day job after a jolly at the Nurburgring as F1 returns to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in round 17 of 24 of the 2025 season.

The Dutchman used the two-week break between his Italian Grand Prix win and this week’s meet in Baku to secure his DMSB Permit A licence required to compete on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a GT3 car. Verstappen can now fulfil his aim of racing in the Nurburgring 24.

Motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has also confirmed that Red Bull will allow Verstappen to race in the Nurburgring 24, but not in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2026 Nurburgring 24 is due to take place on May 16-17, so it does not clash with any races in the 2026 F1 calendar.

For now, however, Verstappen’s focus returns to the Red Bull driver’s day job, with the 2025 Azerbaijan GP in Baku. The 27-year-old stood on the top step of the podium last time out at Monza, and he will now eye back-to-back Grand Prix wins for the first time since June 2024.

Gary Anderson expects Red Bull will replicate Max Verstappen’s Monza set-up in Baku

Verstappen won the Italian GP from pole position, after he denied Lando Norris in qualifying by just 0.077 seconds and utilised the straight-line speed of his Red Bull RB21 to pull away in the race. The Dutchman ultimately won by 19.207s, as McLaren tried an alternative strategy.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku

Red Bull trimmed downforce off Verstappen’s rear wing at Monza, too, unlike on teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s car, to further improve his straight-line speed advantage. But Gary Anderson expects Red Bull also made changes to Verstappen’s floor to help him beat Norris at Monza.

Given F1 teams also use low-downforce set-ups for the city streets of Baku, albeit not to the same extreme levels as for Monza, Anderson expects Red Bull will try to mimic Verstappen’s Italian GP-winning set-up for the Azerbaijan GP. He has previously won once in Baku in 2022.

Anderson told The Race: “I’m sure there were other developments in the underfloor that might mean that the aerodynamic centre of pressure from the actual underfloor moved more rearwards with speed.

“If that happens, it will give you more front grip in the lower- and medium-speed corners and more rear grip in the fast corners. This allows you to run a less draggy rear wing, meaning you also get the benefit of increased straight-line speed.

“The big question is, will this improvement in performance continue? Well, it didn’t happen for Mercedes after they won in Montreal. But I’m sure Red Bull will have looked very closely at why they were so dominant at Monza.

“As Baku is also fairly low downforce, I can see Red Bull trying to carry through the same philosophy on the set-up for this weekend.”

Red Bull and McLaren’s set-ups could decide who wins the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Red Bull could face issues with Baku’s kerbs in the middle sector, which runs through the Old City, but the RB21’s straight-line speed advantage should be a big asset for the first and third sectors. Baku boasts the longest straight in Formula 1, with a 2.2km (1.3m) long pit straight.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Verstappen will likely ask Red Bull to let him use the same extreme low-downforce rear wing that he pushed for at Monza, knowing that it won him pole and the Italian GP and will likely be crucial in Baku. But Verstappen may need the floor changes that Anderson suspects, too.

The Baku City Circuit’s middle sector could swing the momentum back toward McLaren pair Norris and Oscar Piastri, if Red Bull and Verstappen struggle to agree on a set-up that copes with the twistier part of the track. The middle sector may certainly be decisive in qualifying.

Norris was visibly faster than Verstappen through Monza’s corners, but the McLaren driver lost out on the straights to his Red Bull rival. Baku could see a similar toing and froing in Q3 on Saturday, and potentially also allow for decisive margins to open up in this Sunday’s race.