McLaren Baku disaster 'a release valve' after 'flawless' Max Verstappen masterclass

Former F1 driver David Brabham believes the underwhelming Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend at McLaren may serve as a blessing in disguise as the season approaches its final rounds.

Title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both endured a difficult event, with the latter notably having a more dismal time.

The championship leader crashed in qualifying and saw his race last just three corners before he locked up and speared into the barrier, marking his first non-finish of the year.

It was an uncharacteristic weekend for the Australian who is seeking to clinch his first title this year.

The race was won by Max Verstappen in dominant fashion, as the Red Bull driver crushed the competition en route to his sixth career grand slam, drawing praise from Brabham.

“It all kind of fell apart [for McLaren] in Baku, obviously in tricky conditions,” Brabham exclusively told RacingNews365. 

“But look at someone like Max, who again did a flawless example of what a world champion is like.”

Brabham has backed McLaren to use the difficult weekend to reset and come out stronger in the weeks ahead.

“McLaren and Oscar had just one of those bad weekends, just didn’t quite work out for them,” he said.

“[There were] too many mistakes that were very costly. You have to ask the question, why?

“Is that the pressure of everything building to the point where it has to have like a pop-off valve to release the pressure and readjust for the rest of the season?

“It could be seen as a blessing in some way, because it’s helped them to do that and refocus for the rest of the season. So it’ll be fascinating to see what happens next.”

Norris could not take advantage of the poor race from Piastri and ended the grand prix in seventh, allowing Piastri to walk away from the weekend with a healthy 25-point lead intact.

With seven rounds remaining, there is still an opportunity for Norris to overcome the deficit. But having missed out on a chance to take a large bite out of Piastri's lead in Baku, Brabham stated the latter will be content that his mistakes didn't cost him to a greater extent.

“Lando had a great opportunity in qualifying in particular, to get up the grid, but he didn’t quite do that,” Brabham highlighted.

“In the race, obviously, with the way the track was and how little effect the DRS seemed to have, he just couldn’t move up.

“So an opportunity missed from, from Lando’s point of view, and I think Oscar definitely has gone away from the weekend going ‘that could have gone a lot worse’.