Hill: 'It could be that Verstappen has a problem with the setup'

In Azerbaijan, the eighth Grand Prix of the season will have already arrived. Max Verstappen travels to Baku as the leader in the championship, but Charles Leclerc (9 points behind) and Sergio Perez (15 points behind) are close on his heels. In the F1 Nation-podcast the contenders for Baku and the world title are discussed.

Ferrari or Red Bull will supply the champion

Tom Clarkson, Natalie Pinkham and Damon Hill are quick to agree, the 2022 World Champion is a driver of Ferrari or Red Bull. Although George Russell is fourth in the championship, still ahead of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, Clarkson considers him short for the title. "It seems to me that the W13 is so inconsistent and struggles through the slower corners that I think they will have another difficult weekend in Baku." Hill agreed with Mercedes' poor form: "If a miracle doesn't happen that Mercedes finds another chunk of time somewhere, I think they're out."

The main contenders for the title seem to be Leclerc and Verstappen, but Perez is close behind and Sainz is not thought to be without a chance either. " Max was 46 points behind at one point and now he's back in the lead, so Carlos is not without a chance," said Pinkham about the Spaniard's chances. However, he will have to work hard. "He has thrown a lot of points away with his own mistakes."

Perez can beat Verstappen again in Baku

So there seem to be four contenders for the world title this season. "I think it's all still up for grabs, the teams have had so much to do with unreliability of the cars." Hill agreed, but thinks Ferrari and Red Bull respectively are still assuming Leclerc and Verstappen as their main title contenders.

The result in Baku may well be very decisive when it comes to which drivers both teams will put forward for the rest of the season. Especially at Red Bull, according to Hill, nothing has been decided yet. "Don't forget that Perez was faster than Verstappen in Saudi Arabia and that circuit is very similar to Baku. It could be that Max has a problem with Red Bull's set-up, you saw that in Monaco as well. The proportions are not as clear at Red Bull as they are at Ferrari."