Red Bull have launched into the 2023 season with an impressive performance that sparked fears from some in the paddock that the team could win every race on the calendar.
Heading to Azerbaijan, Red Bull is three for three, having secured victory in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez leading the field.
Former Formula 1 driver Timo Glock, who raced for Jordan, Toyota, Virgin Racing and Marussia, believes Red Bull’s string of success could continue in Baku after a close fought qualifying at the Albert Park Circuit.
Verstappen took pole, as expected, in Australia but Mercedes were hot on his tail, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton qualifying just 0.2 and 0.4 seconds behind him respectively.
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Off the line in Australia, the Mercedes duo managed to pass Verstappen, swiftly taking P1 and P2, with the Silver Arrows holding the lead until lap 12, when the Dutchman regained control of the race.
The tightly fought battle got fans believing that the grid could finally be as close together as the new regulations sought to achieve, ensuring exciting wheel-to-wheel action.
However, Glock believe that might have been more to do with the nature of the track than the reality of the performance of the cars.
“Is there any hope that the next races will be more exciting? I think the fact that the field was closer together in Melbourne was due to the characteristics of the track,” Glock wrote in his Sky Germany column.
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“I had hoped that Mercedes in particular would have moved closer. You have to see if they can keep up the pace.
“In Baku there are more corners, long straights, where the DRS effect of Red Bull comes into play. That’s why I think Red Bull will again put a bigger gap between themselves and the competition in Baku,” he added.
With Azerbaijan the first Sprint race on the calendar, Red Bull leads to the Constructors’ Standings, while Verstappen and Perez are P1 and P2 in the Drivers’ Championship.