Kimi Antonelli has won eight of this season's 14 races
Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole last season
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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix poses an interesting challenge for the F1 drivers as there are a host of tight turns at the Baku City Circuit but also a long straight, meaning compromises have to be found on car set-up.
The race weekend will also have a different feel for fans as the schedule is a day earlier than usual with practice on Thursday, qualifying on Friday and the grand prix on Saturday.
Kimi Antonelli extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 81 points when winning the first Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring in Madrid two weeks ago and he will be bidding for a third win in a row having also been successful in the previous race at Monza.
Max Verstappen won the race for a second time last season but Antonelli is favourite to take another step towards the title with a victory in Baku.
The latest Azerbaijan Grand Prix odds are available on LiveScore Bet
The stats
Max Verstappen has won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix twice, in 2022 and 2025.
The other previous winners in the field are Sergio Perez (two), Oscar Piastri, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc has taken pole position in Azerbaijan four times but never won the race.
Red Bull have won this race in four of the last five seasons.
George Russell has been on the podium in Baku in each of the last two years.
Arvid Lindblad has finished in the points in eight of the last nine races.
The latest Azerbaijan Grand Prix odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Kimi Antonelli graciously admitted that he was fortunate to win in Madrid as Lando Norris had been the fastest driver on the day but the world champion was disadvantaged by the badly timed deployment of the safety car and finished third.
McLaren have more upgrades for their car this week but last season Norris had one of the worst weekends of his championship-winning campaign in Baku, finishing only seventh, and other tracks will give the British driver a better chance of adding to his win tally.
Antonelli looks a solid favourite this week given his prowess on the previous street circuits F1 has visited this season, with the Italian winning in Miami, Montreal, Monte Carlo and Madrid.
While he was only fourth on his first visit to Azerbaijan last season, that represented a step forward for the young driver in his difficult rookie campaign and it marked his best result for seven races – he had finished 16th, 10th, 16th and ninth in the previous four rounds.
Antonelli has taken his game to a whole new level this season and he looks the man to beat again this week.
Max Verstappen showed Charles Leclerc how it is done when becoming the first driver in five years to win from pole in Baku last season.
It was the Dutch driver's second win in the race after he won from third on the grid in 2022 and he would have had another if he had not suffered a tyre failure when leading the 2021 race with five laps to go.
The Red Bull ace does not have the fastest car this season, but he has been remarkably consistent in recent rounds, finishing on the podium in four of the last five races.
Given his team's expertise at setting up their cars for this difficult track, he merits support for a fourth podium finish in five seasons in Azerbaijan.
