Verstappen says Red Bull engine faults turned Baku into a wasted best shot at a 2026 win

Max Verstappen will start eighth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a Red Bull combustion-engine problem left him about half a second per straight behind teammate Isack Hadjar, with a Lando Norris yellow flag and battery trouble adding to the deficit. He said George Russell’s pole was probably unreachable but the front row was realistic, and called Baku Red Bull’s best 2026 win chance before Mercedes’ Malaysia upgrade, saying the team “did a great job messing up”; Russell still called him the biggest threat to victory.