Max Verstappen told Baku’s ‘huge difference’ to Monza that could cost him Azerbaijan Grand Prix win

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Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will go to the 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix chasing back-to-back race wins for the first time in 30 rounds following his victory at Monza.

The 27-year-old has not secured successive Grand Prix wins since he was victorious across the Canadian and Spanish rounds of the 2024 F1 season. Verstappen has also only achieved five Grand Prix wins in the 30 races since he was on the top step of the podium in Barcelona.

Three of those victories have come in 2025, including last time out at Monza as Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix from pole position. The Red Bull ace’s commanding victory in the Royal Park even ended his run of eight rounds without a win since conquering Imola in May.

Verstappen will now head to Baku for the Azerbaijan GP this weekend eager to build on the momentum he and Red Bull established at Monza. But Mike Hezemans has warned the 66-time Grand Prix winner that one major difference could harm his hopes in the City of Wind.

Max Verstappen warned that Baku’s kerbs could hurt his Azerbaijan Grand Prix hopes

Hezemans believes the lack of kerbs around Monza played a part in Verstappen winning the Italian GP, as Red Bull optimised his low-downforce set-up to exploit the RB21’s straight-line speed. But he questions if Red Bull will enjoy the same successes on the kerbs around Baku.

READ MORE: The most successful drivers at the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix of all time

Red Bull are the most successful team in the history of the F1 Azerbaijan GP with four wins, including three of the past four editions. But the team endured a miserable visit a year ago, as mistakes with their set-up left Verstappen wrestling for stability en route to his P5 finish.

Hezemans told RacingNews365’s F1 podcast: “Completely different, and there are almost no kerbs left at Monza. They’ve made everything flat, which makes a huge difference.”

Sergio Perez was Red Bull’s lead driver ahead of Max Verstappen in Baku last year

Red Bull will have learned from their mistakes in Baku one year ago, when Sergio Perez was their lead driver ahead of Verstappen throughout the Azerbaijan GP weekend. The Mexican qualified P4 with a 1:41.813 lap in Q3, while Verstappen only managed P6 with a 1:42.023.

But Red Bull saw their hopes for a podium in Baku end in calamity last year, when Perez and Carlos Sainz crashed on the penultimate lap of the 2024 Azerbaijan GP while fighting for P3. Their tangle promoted Verstappen into P5, albeit 77.098s behind race-winner Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris also overtook Verstappen for P4, and the McLaren star even finished the 2024 Azerbaijan GP 40.955s ahead, despite starting from P15. Yet Norris nor Piastri had a reply to Verstappen’s pace as he won the 2025 Italian GP, which Red Bull will try to replicate in Baku.