Nervous Red Bull proves Verstappen shouldn't just switch teams

At the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen was blisteringly quick. He swept past one driver after another and soon found himself behind his teammate. On the medium tyre, he was faster than Isack Hadjar on the softs, so Red Bull informed Hadjar not to defend against Verstappen.

The Frenchman complied and neatly slotted in behind Verstappen. On the medium tyre, Verstappen was then unable to pass Oscar Piastri, who on the soft tyre and simply pulled too far clear in the middle sector to be overtaken on the straight.

As the race progressed, Hadjar seemed to have more pace on the soft tyre. Hadjar pressured Verstappen but visibly held back. Over the team radio, he asked whether Verstappen could push more and said he wouldn’t attack. When it became clear that Verstappen was struggling with his tyres, Hadjar cautiously asked if he could overtake his teammate.

And there lies the first advantage for Verstappen. He has a teammate at Red Bull Racing who not only steps aside without complaint, but then, even with clearly more pace, continues to follow behind him.

After the race, Hadjar even stated that he knows what Verstappen can do, so he especially doesn’t want to get in his way. A unique situation for Verstappen, one he won’t encounter at every team where he gets preferential treatment.

Red Bull’s approach also raises questions. Of course, the data ultimately showed that the red-walled tire was faster. Verstappen also proved he was quicker than his teammate in the final stint. Still, that doesn’t mean holding position was the best choice at that moment.

It was clear that Verstappen wasn’t going to get past Piastri. Any other team would then give the driver with more pace and softer tires the chance, but Red Bull didn’t. All with the second stint in mind, but in doing so they also threw away an opportunity to pass Piastri on track right then and there.

Had the roles been reversed, everyone knows what would have happened. Verstappen would have been allowed straight past Hadjar. The reverse isn’t the case at Red Bull. That Hadjar accepts this and that Red Bull prefers to play the Verstappen card is very much to the Dutchman’s advantage.

It’s another good reason for Verstappen to stay longer at Red Bull. McLaren, which would love to sign Verstappen, stands for driver equality. Mercedes, where Toto Wolff is a big fan of Verstappen, also aims to treat drivers equally.

Would those teams give Verstappen the same preferential treatment? And would Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli move aside just as willingly? It’s hard not to doubt it.