Azerbaijan GP won by Russell confirms prediction and Verstappen minimizes difference in Baku

The Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix race in Baku had a peculiarity this year: the event underwent a schedule change, being held on Saturday instead of Sunday.

After the session, Britain's George Russell of Mercedes predicted that although Max Verstappen had only started in eighth, the Dutchman would pose the greatest threat to victory.

After the dispute, Verstappen explained that the difference of only one tenth from Russell was "misleading", suggesting that qualifying performance did not reflect the real balance between drivers.

The Baku stage, which is part of the Formula 1 calendar at a street circuit in the Azerbaijani capital, once again showed that the NEM classification always defines the outcome of the race, especially on a track where overtaking is possible and the race pace can differ greatly from round-trip performance.