Max Verstappen's Azerbaijan Grand Prix record splits neatly in two. There are the first five visits, three of which ended early and none of which brought a podium. Then there is everything since.
Nine starts, two wins, one pole and 108 points. Almost all of it belongs to the second half.
Three retirements, then four straight finishes
2017 went first, an oil pressure failure from fifth on the grid. 2018 was the collision with his own team mate, which is still the most talked about afternoon either of them had at this circuit. 2019 finally brought a finish, fourth place and twelve points.
Then 2021, which was the cruellest of the lot. He started third, led, and crashed out near the end of the race with the win in hand. Classified 18th, nothing scored, and a result that took a title fight somewhere it did not need to go.
Three blank weekends from five is a rate that would look bad on anyone's record. At a circuit this unforgiving it is closer to normal, which is part of what makes what came next look so good.
Since 2022 he has finished every Azerbaijan Grand Prix he has started, five in a row. The 2022 win came from third on the grid, 2023 brought second, 2024 a quieter fifth.
2025 was the complete weekend he had never quite managed here: pole position, his first at this circuit, converted into the win. Eight years and eight attempts to put both halves of a Baku weekend together.
Max Verstappen's Azerbaijan GP record year by year
Every Azerbaijan Grand Prix start, with the grid slot it came from and what it was worth.
| Season | Grid | Finish | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 | P18 | 0 | Red Bull |
| 2018 | 5 | P16 | 0 | Red Bull |
| 2019 | 4 | P4 | 12 | Red Bull |
| 2021 | 3 | P18 | 0 | Red Bull |
| 2022 | 3 | P1 | 25 | Red Bull |
| 2023 | 2 | P2 | 18 | Red Bull |
| 2024 | 6 | P5 | 10 | Red Bull |
| 2025 | 1 | P1 | 25 | Red Bull |
| 2026 | 8 | P2 | 18 | Red Bull |
The most improved record on the grid
Split the eight starts down the middle and you get two different drivers. The first four produced 12 points. The last four produced 78, two wins and a pole.
Verstappen's Azerbaijan record took a long time to start behaving, and the 2021 crash will always sit in the middle of it. What the table shows now is a driver who worked out a circuit that took three cars off him before it gave him anything back.
The 2026 defence came up 0.196 seconds short. He started eighth in the RB22, worked his way onto the back of George Russell's Mercedes and ran out of laps, the closest finish this race has ever produced. Five straight finishes now, and 96 of his 108 Azerbaijan points have come since 2022.
