Baku set-up breakthrough led to current F1 dominance

The championship leader, who extended his points advantage to 138 points following his Dutch Grand Prix victory, won the season opener in Bahrain as he sought to successfully defend his title once more.

But he traded blows with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in the opening four races of the season, as the Mexican chalked up wins in Saudi Arabia and Baku while Verstappen took victory in Australia.

Reflecting on that defeat in the Azerbaijani…