维斯塔潘：巴库是红牛最好的夺冠机会，但引擎故障毁了一切
马克斯·维斯塔潘认为，由于梅赛德斯将变得更强，阿塞拜疆大奖赛是红牛本赛季最好的夺冠机会，但排位赛中内燃机故障让他失去了好的发车位置。
"把事情搞砸了，干得真好"——为什么马克斯·维斯塔潘认为巴库是红牛最好的夺冠机会
马克斯·维斯塔潘认为，梅赛德斯在马来西亚的升级之后会变得更强。因此他把巴库视为红牛最好的夺冠机会，但在排位赛中出现引擎问题之后，这个挑战变得大了很多
内燃机的问题让马克斯·维斯塔潘失去了在一级方程式阿塞拜疆大奖赛中一个不错的发车位置。这位四届世界冠军坦然承认，他可能本来也无法匹敌拉塞尔的杆位时间，但考虑到他身后巨大的差距，前排发车本应是一个合理的结果。
然而，由于红牛的内燃机出现问题，维斯塔潘在直道上已经比队友伊萨克·哈贾尔慢了半秒，之后兰多·诺里斯引发黄旗以及电池问题又雪上加霜。
这意味着维斯塔潘必须从发车区的第八位起步，不过拿下杆位的拉塞尔仍然称这位荷兰车手是争夺胜利的最大威胁。
当Motorsport.com在巴库围场把这话转述给维斯塔潘时，他的脸上露出了笑容：“那挺好啊，如果他是这么想的话！
“不过认真地说，他们真的非常快。所以我觉得他们可能对我们来说有点太强了，当然，我会全力以赴去争夺领奖台。”
尽管梅赛德斯在巴库城市赛道速度很快，维斯塔潘的看法却非常明确：在他看来，这个周末是红牛在2026年赢得一场大奖赛的最佳机会。
"他们（梅赛德斯）显然下周在马来西亚会带来升级，所以这本是夺冠的机会。而我们显然把这次机会搞得一团糟，这活儿干得真‘漂亮’。"维斯塔潘在巴库对荷兰媒体说。
当被问到巴库通常是否是剩余比赛周末中唯一的机会时，维斯塔潘继续说道："嗯，我确信梅赛德斯凭借那次升级还能做得更好。他们现在已经更快了，所以以后会变得非常困难。当然我从不放弃，每个周末我都会再次尝试，但我们必须现实一点。"
由于红牛本年度最后一次重大升级已经投入使用，而梅赛德斯的升级要到马来西亚才跟进，维斯塔潘认为本有可能在巴库取得一个脱颖而出的好成绩。
不过，每个周末都避免出现问题也是这项工作的一部分，因此维斯塔潘在下车后总结说，红牛这样表现也不配赢得胜利。
“我在车里感觉很好，整个周末我都完全掌控着局面，”他说。“你看，也许我们的速度不如梅赛德斯，但整个赛季一直都是这样。不过我的状态很好，当然，当你无法展现出来的时候，这确实令人沮丧。”
不过，维斯塔潘能够正确看待这件事。是的，他希望能在2026年赢下一场比赛，以避免遭遇自2015年以来第一个没有分站冠军的年份；是的，巴库代表着一个实现这一目标的机会，但所有这些挫折带来的伤痛都轻了一些，因为他并不在争冠行列之中。
“我在车里非常沮丧。我现在也可以继续非常沮丧，但反正我也无能为力，”维斯塔潘想通了。
“整个周末进展都非常顺利。然后到了真正关键的时刻，你就遇到了引擎问题。这真的太糟糕了。如果你想作为一支车队去争夺前排，这类事情就不该发生。但唉，它们确实会发生，而这也算是对我们这个赛季的一种总结。”
说了这些最后的话，维斯塔潘是在指他今年已经经历了不少挫折。这位荷兰车手此前曾表示，红牛车队似乎每个周末都会出问题，而他将不得不像西藏的佛教徒一样度过冬歇期来让自己平静下来。
不过，维斯塔潘实际上把这种坏运气仍然让他感到恼火这一点视为一个好迹象——一个表明他对一级方程式的热情依然存在的迹象。
“我真的为此感到沮丧，这意味着我仍然非常在意。当然我也可以说，谁在乎这个赛季呢，反正我也没在争夺总冠军。但是，唉，我还是非常在意。我总是尽力发挥出最大水平，而当这不可能实现的时候，还是非常令人沮丧。”
如果维斯塔潘在周六驶上领奖台，沮丧也将是这个场合的关键词，因为他心中会留下一种感觉：本可以取得更好的成绩。
"是的，这取决于整场比赛如何展开，以及我们的速度如何。但想象一下，如果我们是赛道上最快的，最后却只拿到第三名或第二名……那，我肯定会感到沮丧，因为本来可以拿到更好的成绩。"
最后，唯一的好消息是，巴库站带来的升级套件的表现正如维斯塔潘所期望的那样。
"那确实是一次不错的进步。但就明年而言，如果你真的想参与争夺，我们就需要迈出大得多的步伐。这适用于方方面面：赛车、动力单元，一切。" 当有人指出红牛在没有ADUO令牌的情况下无法对动力单元做太多改动时，维斯塔潘总结道："这没错，但我们当然仍然可以对一些细节进行微调。"
英文原文
"Great job messing it up" – Why Max Verstappen feels Baku was Red Bull's best chance to win
Max Verstappen believes Mercedes will become even stronger with its Malaysia upgrade. He therefore considered Baku as Red Bull’s best chance to win, but that challenge has become a lot greater after an engine issue in qualifying
A problem with the internal combustion engine cost Max Verstappen a good starting position for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The four-time world champion readily acknowledged that he probably could not have matched George Russell’s pole time, but given the large gap behind him, a place on the front row would have been a logical outcome.
However, due to a problem with Red Bull’s combustion engine, Verstappen was already losing half a second on the straights compared to team-mate Isack Hadjar, before a yellow flag caused by Lando Norris and battery problems were added to the equation.
It means Verstappen has to start from eighth on the grid, although polesitter Russell still described the Dutchman as the biggest threat to victory.
When Motorsport.com put those words to Verstappen in the Baku paddock, a smile appeared on his face: "That’s good, if he thinks that way!
"But on a serious note, they are really quick. So I think they might be a bit too strong for us, although I’m going to give everything to fight for the podium, of course."
Despite Mercedes’ pace at the Baku City Circuit, Verstappen is crystal clear: in his view, this weekend represented Red Bull’s best chance to win a grand prix in 2026.
"They [Mercedes] are obviously getting an upgrade next week in Malaysia, so this was the chance to win. And we’ve certainly done a great job messing up that chance," Verstappen told the Dutch media in Baku.
Asked whether Baku would normally have been the only opportunity during the remaining race weekends, Verstappen continued: "Well, I’m sure Mercedes can do even more with that upgrade. They are already faster now, so it will become really difficult. Of course I never give up. I try again every weekend, but we have to be realistic."
With Red Bull already having its final major upgrade of the year available and Mercedes only set to follow in Malaysia, Verstappen believes a standout result in Baku would have been on the cards.
However, avoiding problems every weekend is also part of the job, and Verstappen therefore concluded after getting out of the car that Red Bull does not deserve it this way either.
"I felt good in the car and I was really on top of it all weekend," he said. "Look, maybe it wasn’t as quick as Mercedes, but that has been the case all season. But I was in a good place and of course it’s frustrating when you can’t show it."
However, Verstappen was able to put things into perspective. Yes, he would like to win a race in 2026 to avoid his first winless year since 2015, and yes, Baku represented an opportunity to do so, but all the setbacks hurt less because he is not in the title fight.
"I was extremely frustrated in the car. I can also stay very frustrated now, but there’s nothing I can do about it anyway", Verstappen realised.
"The whole weekend was going really well. And then when it matters, you have an engine problem. That really sucks. And if you want to fight at the front as a team, then those things can’t happen. But yeah, they do happen, and that also sums up our season a bit."
With those final words, Verstappen is referring to the fact that he has already experienced plenty of setbacks this year. The Dutchman has previously said that something seems to go wrong at Red Bull every weekend and that he will have to spend the winter break like a Buddhist in Tibet to calm down.
However, Verstappen essentially sees the fact that his bad luck still causes irritation as a good sign – a sign that his passion for F1 is still there.
"I'm genuinely frustrated by it, and that means I still care a lot. Of course I could also say, who cares about this season, I’m not fighting for the championship anyway. But yeah, I still care a lot. I always try to get the maximum out of it, and when that isn’t possible, it’s still very frustrating."
Frustrating will also be the word if Verstappen drives onto the podium on Saturday, as he will be left with the feeling that even more had been possible.
"Yes, that depends on how the whole race unfolds and what our pace is like. But imagine we’re the fastest on track and you finish third or second… Yeah, then I’ll be frustrated because there would have been more in it."
Finally, the one piece of good news is that the upgrade package in Baku is doing what Verstappen had hoped it would.
"That was a decent step, yeah. But for next year, if you really want to compete, we need to make a much bigger step. And that applies to everything: the car, the power unit, everything.” When it is pointed out that Red Bull cannot do much to the power unit without an ADUO token, Verstappen concludes: "That’s true, but of course we can still fine-tune things."
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