Max Verstappen has 'unfinished business' in Baku

F1 championship leader Max Verstappen is looking forward to next weekend's round of racing in Baku where the Red Bull driver says he has "unfinished business" to take care of after last year's blow-out in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

In 2021, Verstappen was holding a commanding lead in the race and heading towards his third win of the season when a tyre failure on the main straight pitched him into the wall just six laps from the checkered flag.

However, a mishap on the race's restart by Verstappen's championship rival Lewis Hamilton meant that the Mercedes driver also left Baku empty-handed, which left Sergio Perez to save the day for Red Bull.

"I’m looking forward to returning to Baku, we have some unfinished business there after last year," said Verstappen in Red Bull's Azerbaijan Grand Prix preview.

"It’s a tricky track with big braking zones and a tight run off, finding the best set up for the car will be difficult in terms of making sure we get the correct wing level.

"It will also be interesting to see if we can make our one lap performance better for qualifying as we’ve been lacking a little."

Ahead of the eight round of the 2022 F1 season, Verstappen leads the Drivers' standings with a 9-point advantage over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and 15 points over his Perez.

The Mexican heads to Baku on the back of his supreme win and Monaco and with a new two-year contract with Red Bull in his back-pocket.

"Having my future decided allows me to stay one hundred percent focused on the main goal of winning races and world titles," said Perez.

"It's amazing how hard work always pays, two years ago I was without a seat in F1 and today I'm in the best team. I can only say that I am happy and very grateful for the opportunity.

"Today I think I am in the best moment of my career and driving for a Team that always seeks perfection, which is the perfect match for me and for any driver.

Next weekend, Perez has an opportunity to make it two in a row for himself and his team, this season and year-over-year in Baku.

"I am still very excited to think about what we achieved as a Team in Monaco, seeing the joy it brought to my family and my country motivates me a lot," he added.

"However, we must put the emotion aside and focus on the next race, which is Azerbaijan.

"The Championship fight is really tight, so we need to be totally focused. It was very special winning my first race with the Team in Baku last season, it brought me great joy.

"I like street circuits because it is where the driver can really make the difference, of course it is easier to make a mistake when you’re trying to go on the limit, but at the end of the day that is what gives you the tenths you need to be competitive."

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