巴库真是维斯塔潘本赛季最好的夺冠机会吗？
维斯塔潘认为巴库城市赛道是红牛本赛季最好的夺冠机会，但他坦言“我们把它搞砸了”，最终他以0.196秒之差惜败。
巴库真是维斯塔潘2026年最好的夺冠机会吗？
维斯塔潘表示梅赛德斯即将到来的升级将让红牛的挑战更加艰难，不过领队洛朗·梅基斯从巴库的正赛节奏中看到了希望。
当维斯塔潘周五走进红牛接待区参加他的荷兰语F1媒体环节时——顺带一提，在阿塞拜疆，这个环节只有两名荷兰记者——传递的信息很明确。巴库城市赛道为红牛提供了本赛季赢得一场比赛的最佳机会，但维斯塔潘补充道：“我们把它搞砸这件事做得非常出色。”
一天之后，他仍然非常接近胜利。诚然，由于博塔斯的撞车和拉塞尔的动力系统问题，他认为终点线上0.196秒的差距有些失真，但红牛的正赛节奏无可否认地很好——尤其是在软胎上。
这不仅仅得益于在F1赛历中最长直道上出色的极速表现，还要归功于红牛在巴库引入的升级件。这是小红牛22的最后一套重要升级包，据两位车手所说，这套包含全新底板和改进侧箱的升级达到了预期效果。
除了直接的性能提升之外，这次升级还让两位车手在车里感觉更舒服，至少在巴库的赛道布局上是如此。
'巴库是一条非常特别的赛道，有特别的沥青路面，但这个周末赛车在过弯平衡方面的表现，从第一节自由练习的第一圈开始，我就觉得，好的，看起来相当不错。'伊萨克·哈贾尔说。
'然后是赛车的后半部分（动力单元），我们肯定比梅赛德斯欠缺。但在刹车操控方面，赛车绝对比布达佩斯时好了一步。'哈贾尔说，他指的是他手腕受伤前的上一场比赛。'所以，是的，我对这种（在车里的）感觉非常满意。'
维斯塔潘也持同样的看法，他觉得有信心去攻击弯道，而在巴库这样的赛道上这一点非常重要。“是的，这是一条独特的赛道。它主要是90度的弯角，但从平衡性上来说，可能感觉上更连贯了一些，”这位荷兰车手说。
“但就像我说的，赛车上还有其他问题需要我们真正去解决，因为这里面有白白流失的圈速。这正是我们正在努力的方向。不过性能部件表现不错，整个周末我对赛车的表现一直都比较满意。”
所谓损失‘白白流失’的圈速，维斯塔潘指的是‘赛车退化’的问题，以及动力单元电气端的能量输出，与梅赛德斯相比还达不到最佳状态。
尽管由皮埃尔·瓦什领导的技术团队带来的升级表现良好，维斯塔潘仍然坚持认为，巴库的比赛周末是红牛在2026年最有希望夺冠的一场。
这不仅仅是因为赛道布局，还因为梅赛德斯将在马来西亚为W17带来万众期待的升级套件——此外动力单元的ADUO升级也已在计划之中。
"如果他们要在马来西亚带来升级，那对我们来说就会显得更加困难，"这位四届世界冠军说道。
"如果梅赛德斯带来了升级并且奏效，那他们就会再向前迈进一步，而这并不是你想要的。这会让夺冠变得更加困难，但我们每个周末都会全力以赴，当然，如果机会出现，我们就会全力争取。"
夏尔·勒克莱尔（勒克莱尔），法拉利；马克斯·维斯塔潘（维斯塔潘），红牛车队；伊萨克·哈贾尔（哈贾尔），红牛车队。
当Motorsport.com询问梅基斯是否也这样看，还是认为巴库的正赛节奏反而让他对会有更多机会抱有信心时，这位车队领队回应道：
“我认为两种说法都是对的。我觉得维斯塔潘的评估是公平的，即从纸面上看，这条赛道是最有利于我们的。所以我认为这是正确的，就赛车特性而言，这很可能是对我们最有利的赛道。
“同样地，我认为我们在正赛中所展现出的表现，让我们有不错的希望，在年底之前还能再迎来几次这样的机会。”
此外，梅基斯强调，今年剩下的几个比赛周末不仅仅是为了争夺那令人渴望的胜利。至少同样重要的是让红牛为2027年积累经验，理想情况下，这能让车队打造出一辆下赛季能够持续在前方作战的赛车。
维斯塔潘已经多次表示，某些更大的改动在2026年已经来不及实现了，但这些改动对于在明年发起争夺总冠军的挑战是必要的。梅基斯承认这一点，并表示剩下的几个比赛周末在这方面同样很重要。
"除了再多几次机会去争夺首个分站冠军之外，去一些对我们来说会更加艰难的赛道也是好事，因为这正是我们需要面对的挑战，才能继续取得进步，"他说。
不过，整整一年没有取得胜利将是非同寻常的，因为对于维斯塔潘和红牛来说，这都将是2015年以来头一次。
英文原文
Was Baku really Max Verstappen's best chance to win in F1 2026?
Verstappen says Mercedes' upcoming upgrade will make Red Bull's challenge even greater, although team principal Laurent Mekies takes hope from the race pace in Baku
When Max Verstappen walked into the Red Bull hospitality on Friday for his Dutch Formula 1 media session – which in Azerbaijan, incidentally, consisted of just two Dutch journalists – the message was clear. The Baku City Circuit offered Red Bull its best opportunity to win a race this year, but Verstappen added: "We’ve done a great job messing it up."
A day later, he still came remarkably close to victory. Admittedly, he felt the gap of just 0.196 seconds at the finish line was somewhat misleading due to Valtteri Bottas' crash and George Russell's boost issue, but Red Bull's race pace was undeniably good – particularly on the softs.
That was not only down to the impressive top speed on the longest straight of the F1 calendar, but also to the upgrades Red Bull introduced in Baku. It was the final significant package for the RB22 and, according to both drivers, the upgrade – which included a new floor and revised sidepods – delivered what had been hoped for.
Besides outright performance, the upgrade also made both drivers more comfortable in the car, at least on the Baku layout.
"Baku is a very specific track, with specific tarmac, but the way the car was behaving in terms of through-corner balance this weekend, from lap one in FP1, I was like, 'Okay, this is looking pretty good'," Isack Hadjar said.
"Then the second half of the car [the power unit], we’re definitely lacking compared to Mercedes. But in terms of handling on the brakes, the car was definitely a step better than in Budapest," Hadjar said, referring to the last race before his wrist injury. "So, yeah, I’m really pleased with that [feeling in the car]."
Verstappen shared that view and felt the confidence to attack the corners that is so important at a track like Baku. "Yeah, I mean, it’s a unique track. It has mainly 90-degree corners, but it probably felt a little bit more together balance-wise," the Dutchman said.
"But like I said, we have other issues in the car that we really need to fix because there is just free lap time in that. That’s what we are working on. But the performance items, they worked well and we’ve been fairly happy all weekend with what I had from the car."
By the problems costing 'free' lap time, Verstappen is referring to the 'car degradation' issues and the deployment on the electrical side of the power unit, which is not optimal compared with Mercedes.
Despite the upgrades from the technical team led by Pierre Wache working well, Verstappen maintains that the Baku race weekend was Red Bull’s best chance of victory in 2026.
That is not only because of the layout, but also because Mercedes will have its long-awaited upgrade package for the W17 in Malaysia – with an ADUO upgrade for the power unit in the pipeline as well.
"If they’re bringing an upgrade to Malaysia, then it’s going to look a little bit more difficult for us," the four-time world champion said.
"If Mercedes is bringing an upgrade and it works, then they’ll take another step ahead, and that’s not what you want. It will make it even more difficult to win, but we’ll try every single weekend and, of course, if the opportunity is there, we go for it."
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
When Motorsport.com asked Mekies whether he sees it the same way, or whether the race pace in Baku instead gives him confidence that there will be more opportunities, the team principal responds:
"I think both statements are correct. I think it's fair what Max is saying in terms of assessing this track as, on paper, the one that was favouring us the most. So I think that is correct, it has probably been the most favourable track for us in terms of car characteristics.
"Equally I think that the performance we've shown in the race is giving us decent hope that we will get another couple of occasions before the end of the year."
Moreover, Mekies stresses that the remaining race weekends this year are not only about securing that much-coveted victory. At least as important is for Red Bull to learn for 2027, ideally allowing it to produce a car that can consistently fight at the front next season.
Verstappen has already said several times that certain bigger changes are no longer possible in 2026, but that they are necessary to mount a championship challenge next year. Mekies acknowledges that and says the remaining race weekends are important in that respect as well.
"On top of getting a couple of other occasions to get that first win, it's also good to go to tracks where it's going to be more difficult for us, because that is exactly what we need to be confronted with to continue to progress," he said.
Nevertheless, a year without a victory would be remarkable, as it would be the first time since 2015 for both Verstappen and Red Bull.
Motorsport.com ·
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