Verstappen hopes different downforce level will help Red Bull in Baku race

Having only qualified sixth on the grid for today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, reigning world champion Max Verstappen hopes that the very different downforce level of his car will bear fruits in today's 51-lap Baku race.

Having displayed encouraging performance across the opening segments of qualifying, reigning champion Max Verstappen ended the one-hour session in a disappointing sixth place.

"I have mixed emotions after qualifying, I think P2 was possible, but I lost a little bit in sector two and couldn’t put my perfect lap together, I also think Ferrari were super strong today.

"We are on a very different strategy when it comes to downforce levels to most of the grid, we will see if that helps us tomorrow, definitely on the first stint I should be strong.

"From there it will be down to the amount of progress I am able to make and then, it will be head down and hopefully we are able to be strong in the race.

"As long as we are in the mix for the victory it should be a good weekend. I like this circuit, I have always done well here but I think it’s more that we are in a much better window than we have been for most of the season. The Team is pushing in the right direction, we have a clear development direction and hopefully we can make another step for Singapore because we still need more."

His team-mate Sergio Perez has displayed an encouraging performance across the practice sessions, showing a much improved form compared to the previous rounds.

Although the Mexican was unable to challenge for pole position, he ended up fourth on the grid for tomorrow's 51-lap race, which marks the first time this season that he is the leading Red Bull driver.

"We made some final changes going into qualifying, so this might have tipped things over the edge unfortunately. As soon as I went out into Q1, I felt that the car became a bit more difficult to drive, which was a shame as you want to always have the perfect set up.

"On a street circuit you need to be comfortable and confident to be able to attack corners and it is harder to do this when the car is a bit more unpredictable. We tried to find solutions throughout qualifying and my lap in Q2 was good but my Q3 could definitely have been better. I hit the kerb and it was the worst time it could have happened, which was a shame.

"There was a balance disconnect and we are working and fine tuning that so we can optimise the car ahead of tomorrow. From last week, we have improved the car and it would have been nice to have been on the front row. We will see what happens tomorrow: it is not ideal starting from P6 and the Ferraris are always quick around here, but the cars looked quite close today," noted the Mexican.