Verstappen eager to see what Baku has in store

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Max Verstappen says he's looking forward to returning to Baku for next weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“Baku in my opinion is quite a special street circuit," said the 19-year-old this week.

"It’s really unique in terms of having quite wide sections, but also some of the tightest parts of track on the calendar," he explained.

"Sector 2 is tighter than parts of Monaco which has always been regarded as really narrow and challenging."

This year, Verstappen finished in fifth place in Monaco. He's hoping for a repeat of that sort of performance, rather than the engine failure that put him out in Canada.

Last year proved a frustrating race for the Dutch driver. He qualified in ninth place and clashed twice with Valtteri Bottas in the early part of the race.

He then suffered extreme tyre degradation and only came alive with a late switch to the medium compound. After all that drama, he ended up finishing the race just one place up on his grid position.

Verstappen only getting better and more complete - Horner

If nothing else, Verstappen is determined to enjoy the city itself this time around.

"When you drive up into the old town and past the castle it is fun and tricky but also amazing to watch as a spectator," he said

"That section of the track is my favourite. The straight is quick but seems to go on for a long time and gives you a chance to relax a bit."

Verstappen said that the facilities in Baku were excellent. However, he was wary that the nearby location of the team hotel would make them complacent about getting out and seeing the sights.

"The hotel is really nice and new, as well as being situated right next to the paddock. I didn’t manage to get out and have a look around last year," he admitted.

"The old town is fun to drive so I think I should try and get up there one evening this year and see what else it has in store."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.