Competition for Verstappen in Baku? 'He is extra motivated now'

In just under two weeks, Formula 1 will resume in Baku after a long break. With three wins in three races, Red Bull Racing also seems to have the best papers for the race in Azerbaijan. Emerson Fittipaldi expects it to be exciting between the Red Bull drivers in Baku.

Perez on street circuits

Sergio Perez is a real specialist when it comes to street circuits, indeed, the Mexican achieved all his victories for his current employer on a street circuit. Perez has won four times for Red Bull so far: in Baku (2021), Monaco (2022), Singapore (2022) and Saudi Arabia (2023), all street circuits in other words.

Fittipaldi has also noticed that Perez always does very well at these circuits and thinks it is because of the Mexican's driving style. “His style of driving fits very well to street races. His record in street races has always been very good. When driving a street race you have to be fast and precise and you can’t make any mistakes because the walls and the barriers are there.”

Competition from Perez for Verstappen

The next race is in Baku and is thus on a street circuit. In addition, Perez seems to be a real contender for the world title this year and therefore Fittipaldi expects the Mexican to be extra motivated.

“Now, Perez is going to be 110% motivated because he has the chance to win the championship. And he knows that. He knows that he has a chance to be the champion. I’m sure that he will give it his all now because he believes that he can win," the Brazilian told MyBettingSites.co.uk.