Red Bull reveal 'hard experimentation' to leave Max Verstappen 'in a better place'

Laurent Mekies has confirmed Red Bull has been "experimenting quite hard" in recent grand prix weekends, with Baku its latest "test" that will determine its course for the remainder of the season.

Red Bull and Max Verstappen head into qualifying at the Baku Street Circuit on the back of victory last time out at Monza, where a low-downforce package propelled the four-time F1 champion to a long-overdue win.

In final practice, Verstappen finished second quickest, a quarter of a second behind McLaren's Lando Norris, and with the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton within thousandths of the Dutchman.

With Baku requiring a very specific setup that leans towards low downforce, given the 2.2km straight that dominates the circuit, the RB21 has so far performed well in Verstappen's hands.

Asked whether the direction taken at Monza will work across the remainder of the Baku weekend, speaking to Sky Sports F1, team principal Mekies said: "Monza is very specific, in terms of the downforce level that you run there, and the fact that the team brought a much improved Monza package, compared to last year. That was the biggest effect.

"In terms of the direction with the set-up, it is fair to say we have been experimenting quite hard in the last few races. It was not only Monza, but also Zandvoort, Budapest. Sometimes it's gone in the right direction, sometimes not.

"Here, it's a little bit of a test for us to see how much of that good pace we had in Monza is going to carry on into the next races.

"As you have seen, we are probably in a better place than we were three, four, five races ago, but there is still some work to do."

Tsunoda to tow Verstappen?

The strength of the wind, however, dominated FP3, blowing at an average of 30kph, and with gusts double that.

Recognising it will have a major effect in qualifying, Mekies added: "The level of wind was quite impressive. It's a tough time for the 20 drivers out there. It's the same for everyone. But it's unusual circumstances to have 60kph of wind.

"You always learn things, especially here, where you get to some corners and you have the protection from the grandstand, and then you get to the next corner, and you have no protection. You get the full effect of the wind.

"So it's interesting to see how the guys are dealing with it, but I don't think it has fundamentally changed anything. McLaren is very, very fast, Ferrari is very fast as well, and we will get with these two teams. Trailing by two-tenths is probably fair where we are."

Yuki Tsunoda was a lowly 16th, leading to a suggestion as to whether the Japanese could lend a hand to Verstappen by providing a tow along the straight.

Mekies, however, that could be "quite difficult". He added: "Everybody is going to chase a slipstream because in the end you can get more than two tenths here with that.

"It's probably quite difficult to time it beforehand, but all the drivers are very switched on and trying to get the opportunity as the run goes. That's probably what's going to be."