Villeneuve backs Red Bull's call to keep Verstappen ahead of Hadjar in Baku

Jacques Villeneuve has backed Red Bull’s decision to leave Max Verstappen ahead of rookie team-mate Isack Hadjar during the closing stages of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, where Verstappen finished second — just 0.196 seconds behind race winner George Russell, with Hadjar third.

Despite Hadjar carrying a tyre advantage over Verstappen in the final laps, Red Bull chose not to issue team orders to swap the pair. The 1997 world champion argued the call was correct, pointing to Verstappen’s ability to build an eight-second gap over Hadjar once he switched to the softer compound.

“It was perfect,” Villeneuve said. “There was no reason to ask Max to let Isack by. Hadjar was on the better tyre and the lap time was similar to Max. So at one point they would swap over the tyre and, as we’ve seen, Max built an eight-second gap on Hadjar. Max had a better chance of getting to the front so they did the right thing.”

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies confirmed the team had actively weighed its options before electing to hold positions. “We looked at all these scenarios, honestly, and then we elected to hold the car in those positions,” Mekies said. “Both drivers have been very good at being disciplined with that.”

Mekies also praised Hadjar, who had missed six weeks of racing with a wrist injury before returning for the Baku race. “Big well done also to Isack who has raced very cleverly to make sure we get the best team result,” the team chief added.

The Red Bull boss explained the strategic logic behind keeping Verstappen in front, noting the team had been anticipating a safety car that never materialised. “We felt it was the best chance to get a chance at Piastri and at Russell. Max was struggling with the medium at that stage and we knew that on the soft we would have a better chance. Ultimately, that’s what happened. We are missing one tenth but we got a chance to fight with him and show we had the same pace.”

Verstappen’s second-place finish, combined with Hadjar’s third, gave Red Bull a strong double podium on the streets of Baku, even as Russell and Mercedes took the race victory.