Damon Hill offered a theory as to why Max Verstappen slightly underwhelmed in qualifying ahead of Saturday's Baku Sprint race.
Verstappen is the championship leader and has the fastest car on the grid in terms of race pace. But qualifying has been more tricky for the Dutchman this weekend with Charles Leclerc starring in Azerbaijan.
The Ferrari racer took pole for Sunday's race, with Verstappen going second fastest on Friday. But he could not even manage that in the first ever shootout event on Saturday morning. Leclerc again was quickest over one lap, while Sergio Perez put his street circuit expertise to good use to secure a front row place for the Sprint.
Verstappen will start the short-form race third on the grid. The race pace of his Red Bull car will give him confidence that he can convert that into a victory, but he will only have 17 laps to do so.
Sky Sports pundit Hill thinks the fact Verstappen is a vocal critic of the Sprint format may have played a part. "Maybe he's not delivering the very best he can because he doesn't like the whole idea of it," theorised the 1996 world champion.
Speaking after the session, Verstappen blamed his result on a lack of grip. "Everything was going well and the pace was good, but in Q3 on the first run on the soft I had a big moment in five, six and because of that the tyres were really hot," said the Red Bull racer.
"On the second lap with the most grip we had a horrible sector two so that was not fantastic. We managed to do another lap which not many other people managed to pull out. With this heat and how the tyres are behaving I think it's not going to be a straightforward Sprint.
"My first lap in Q3 where the fastest lap normally has to happen I had a terrible middle sector so that explains the gap. I'm not worried, I think in the race we can fight."
Verstappen and Perez will be able to work together to reel in Leclerc between them, given Carlos Sainz could only steer the other Ferrari to fifth on the grid. He will have his own problems, sandwiched by the two Mercedes cars with George Russell ahead and Lewis Hamilton on his gearbox.
