Does Verstappen have anything to fear? 'In speed he has him under control'

Max Verstappen was on his way to a dominant win in Baku in 2021, but a blowout threw a spanner in the works. The Dutchman himself already indicated that he has "unfinished business" in Azerbaijan. According to former Formula 1 driver Christian Klien, he has a good chance of succeeding, as he thinks Red Bull Racing has the best opportunity.

Klien indicated to ServusTV that Verstappen was "clearly the fastest man" in Baku last year and that he is keen to avenge himself. Sergio Perez caught the damage for his teammate and won the race, but according to the Austrian, Verstappen should have been the actual winner.

Red Bull at an advantage?

After two disappointing races, Charles Leclerc also has something to make up for, but according to Klien, Red Bull is in a better position for the next two races. He stresses that the Monegasque had the pace better in Spain and Monaco, but that Red Bull had an edge in terms of strategy and tire degradation. "Now come Baku and Montreal, two high-speed tracks, where I rather see Red Bull leading," he explains.

The Monaco Grand Prix worked out better for Perez than for Verstappen, who was searching for the right balance all weekend. Klien does not believe, however, that Perez can actually make things difficult for his teammate in the championship. "Max was maybe just missing that little bit of confidence in the car. This is a set-up thing that will be solved with the development of the car. In pure speed he has the Mexican under control," he continued.

Verstappen and Perez

Although team boss Christian Horner stresses that there will be no first and second driver, Klien thinks that ratio will naturally fall into place. Despite the contract extension, he thinks 32-year-old Perez is slowly moving toward the end of his F1 career.

"He could choose: don't drive in Formula 1 anymore or have a few more great years in the best car? He will be intelligent enough to do the right thing," Klien said.