Portugal Colonial - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - three things we learned  

Even as Red Bull’s influential advisor Helmut Marko conceded that they have no chance of retaining the teams’ title, it was clear in the aftermath of a tense and intriguing Azerbaijan Grand Prix that the power has shifted in Formula One.

AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from Sunday’s drama on the streets of Baku:

Red Bull concede team title

Lando Norris’s feisty drive to fourth from 15th on the grid kept alive not only his slim hopes of the drivers’ crown but also, with the aid of Carlos Sainz’s collision with Sergio Perez, ensured that McLaren took a healthy 20-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors’.

No wonder that Marko, the eminence grise of the Milton Keynes-based outfit, admitted all hopes of resisting McLaren were gone.

He did, however, see an upside in the drivers' title race.

"The positive is that Oscar Piastri is close to Lando Norris in terms of points and there are team orders at McLaren… Therefore, clarity will not follow so easily.”

Norris cut the lead of three-time champion Verstappen by just three points to 59 with seven races and three sprint races to go, but even that may still not be cushion enough for the Dutchman to retain his crown if he cannot find winning form again.

He is winless in seven outings and struggling for podium finishes while both McLarens and both Ferraris, with Mercedes close too, have shown the form to beat him.

"Max couldn’t even hook it up," added Marko of the skittish RB20 car. "The tyres failed. The brake temperatures went up. The car has potential but its set-up is very sensitive."

Red Bull, he said, expected a major upgrade for next month’s United States Grand Prix that may be their final chance to rescue the season for Verstappen if Norris avoids further mishaps.

Norris, whose qualifying was wrecked by a yellow flag, said: "I could be happier, if Saturday didn't happen. From a team’s view, we are probably more concerned by Ferrari than Red Bull."

Team boss Christian Horner added to troubled Red Bull’s downbeat prospects when he said: “Now we're not defending our constructors’ title but we are chasing so it changes the dynamics. We’ll just throw everything at it. It's far from over."

Mercedes 'misery' for Hamilton

Team boss Toto Wolff conceded that inconsistent Mercedes ruined seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton’s race before it began – by trading seventh on the grid for a pit-lane start due to a faulty component necessitating a late change of power unit.

After battling balance issues, he fought through to finish ninth, thanks to the late crash between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.

"We knew it would be a race of misery because it is so difficult to overtake in Baku," said Wolff. "But we decided to do the engine change here – that’s how it was."

As Hamilton struggled, George Russell finished a fortunate third.

"A real surprise," he said. "We've got to be realistic. Today, fifth was our true result so I don't want to get carried away. We have a lot of work to do."

Williams on the way up

Franco Colapinto finished eighth and Alex Albon seventh to score a 10-point haul to confirm Williams’ resurgence, the Argentine new boy shining in only his second F1 race.

His fine drive was mirrored by the efforts of fellow-rookie Oliver Bearman, standing in for Kevin Magnussen at Haas, who finished 10th, prompting Hamilton to heap praise on them both.

For Colapinto, however, it was a post-race chat with the Mercedes driver that made his day, describing it as a 'dream come true' on social media where he posted a picture captioned 'my best moment of the day.'

Alas, for him, there is unlikely to be room for him in the team next season with the arrival of Sainz from Ferrari as Williams strengthen further.

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V.Dantas--PC