“The day that Pérez takes off the role of squire and begins to fight Verstappen for the championship”

Ferrari cannot make a fool of itself this Sunday if it wants to be taken seriously in the fight for the crown. After having lost the last four races against Red Bull, and starring in a blooper in the recent Montecarlo with Charles Leclerc, the Italian house knows that this race can mark a before and after. The challenge seems simple, but there are the Red Bulls that so far this year have been in charge of attacking them mercilessly, winning 5 of the 7 races held. Sainz was imposed at home and Leclerc in his principality. His rivals uncorked their champagnes at home and played their hymns in front of theirs. The consequences? Max Verstappen leading in drivers, Red Bull in teams by 36 points and the impression that Ferrari, although it has a car, does not have the capacity to accompany the ambition with arguments that go beyond tradition, mystique and lineage.

A year ago, on this same track, Checo Pérez won the race and Verstappen set the lap record in the history of the circuit. And although Leclerc took pole, it is impossible for everyone not to look at each other in the pitlane without remembering how last year in this same Baku he also started as a hare, but finished fourth. The result would not be strange considering that, until yesterday, so far this year, Leclerc, despite getting 5 poles, has only won in 2 races. So it seems that, for Red Bull, giving Leclerc pole is more about cabal than strategy.

Next to Leclerc will leave Checo Pérez who has been having the best season of his career. With a recently renewed contract, until 2024, the Mexican comes with the momentum unsheathed after the victory in Monte Carlo and the demonstration in Spain where he had to cede the lead of the race to Verstappen before an order from his team. It seems that what happened in Catalonia has marked a break in Checo’s ambitions and in the team’s assessment of him who knows that today, in Baku, his main card to win the race is him

“There is no clause in my contract that says that I am the team’s second driver,” Pérez said a few days ago about the details of his new contract, wanting to make it clear that the door is open to fight for the championship. That reality today is vital in a circuit that he knows, he won it and where he has shown throughout the weekend that he has been the fastest bull. At 6 points behind Leclerc in the championship, it is difficult for Red Bull today to carry out an action similar to that of Catalunya with Checo. Given this reality, today could be the day that Pérez takes off the role of squire and begins to fight for the championship as equals to Verstappen. The asphalt river in Baku will tell us.