Azerbaijan Grand Prix Preview – Copybet
The 2025 Formula 1 world championship season received a shake-up when world champion Max Verstappen broke up McLaren's run of success with a refreshing victory in the Italian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull ace is 96 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri with only seven races remaining, though, and his crown will realistically be passed to one of the McLaren drivers at the end of the year.
Piastri leads team-mate Lando Norris by a slightly reduced margin of 31 points after the British driver was runner-up at Monza, but Norris's retirement in the previous race at Zandvoort due to engine trouble could remain the key event in the championship race.
The McLarens have won 12 of this season's 16 races and are returning to one of the six tracks where they triumphed in 2024 as Piastri overhauled pole-sitter Charles Leclerc for his second career victory.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
With Piastri made favourite to secure back-to-back wins at Baku, the value should lie in backing Norris as there has been so little between the McLaren pair in terms of pace in recent races.
The Australian got the win at the quirky street circuit last season, but Norris also acquitted himself well in the race, coming through the field to finish fourth after starting 15th when his flying lap in Q1 was halted by yellow flags.
The McLarens have impressed on most street circuits so far this season, with Norris successful in the season-opener in Melbourne and in Monaco, while Piastri took the honours in Miami.
Verstappen is much closer in the market this week after his rapid improvement in Monza following changes to his car's floor and engineering set-up, but Baku has never been one of his favourite tracks. His former Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez won there twice, while Verstappen's sole Azerbaijan success came in 2022.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
George Russell has generally either been very good or nowhere in the Mercedes this season but he has a decent record on street circuits and this could well be one of his more positive weekends.
Russell won on the streets of Las Vegas last season, while his only 2025 success so far came on a similar track in Montreal. He was also on the podium in this race last season having not finished higher than seventh in the previous five rounds and a return to the unique venue could suit.
Third place looks far more likely than the top two spots on the podium, though, so take the much better odds for the British driver to finish exactly third.