BAKU — Red Bull turned the FIA's assessment that it holds the strongest power unit into a clear advantage at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, securing its first double Formula 1 podium of the season after resolving an engine problem for Max Verstappen.
The team fixed an ill-behaving internal combustion engine on Verstappen's car after qualifying, an issue that triggered a painful Q3 session and left the Dutchman eighth on the grid. The power unit, which Red Bull views as both a blessing and a curse following the FIA's evaluation, proved key to race pace once reliability was restored.
With the fix in place, both Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar delivered podium finishes in Baku, marking the team's first double podium of the campaign and underlining the performance gain unlocked by the power unit on the long straights of the street circuit.