Verstappen splits the paddock: Is he really back?

After his dominant weekend at the Italian Grand Prix that saw the four-time world champion take his first win since the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, another impressive weekend in Baku saw him close the gap on championship leader Oscar Piastri.

A lap one crash for the Australian saw him miss out on the podium for just the third time this campaign, with Verstappen now sitting on 255 points, 69 points away from Piastri's tally of 324 with seven races remaining.

Piastri's teammate Lando Norris, who is 25 points away from P1 in the championship, stated that "people need to stop being so surprised that [Red Bull] are quick".

Team principal Andrea Stella was in no doubt that Verstappen and Red Bull were back in the title fight, while Piastri himself explained that he was "not too concerned" about the charging Dutchman, only needing to focus on himself for the rest of the season.

In the Red Bull camp, there has been a lot of tempering of expectations, including from Verstappen himself, saying that he "personally doesn't think about" the chance of bringing himself back into the title battle.

Advisor Helmut Marko also remained tight-lipped about the chance the 27-year-old could make it five consecutive world titles, but there was also no ruling out the prospect from the Austrian.

Two former world champions have also had their say in the changing title battle landscape.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton gave the papaya-coloured team a warning about Verstappen and Red Bull after the Austrian team updated the RB21, saying he "expects they're probably going to win all races."

However, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso does not believe Red Bull will be in so much control, stating that the drivers' title "depends on McLaren, not so much on Max's performance."