Lewis Hamilton has predicted an "easy win" for championship rival Max Verstappen in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix and is focused only on trying to "limit the damage" caused by his disappointing showing in the sprint race.
Mercedes driver Hamilton was made to pay for a poor launch in Saturday's half-hour 18-lap race as he slipped from second down to fifth, behind Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, Verstappen and winner Valtteri Bottas.
With Verstappen starting from the back of the grid on Sunday after taking a penalty for a power unit change, each driver moves up a place, meaning Hamilton will start in fourth and Verstappen in pole position.
Victory in the sprint race – just the second to have ever been staged after the inaugural event at Silverstone in July – also meant Red Bull's Verstappen extended his championship lead over Hamilton from three points to five.
And seven-time world champion Hamilton fears that gap could grow wider come the end of the main event in Italy, with the Briton's main aim being to finish ahead of McLaren pair Ricciardo and Norris in second place.
"We lost a lot of points," he told Sky Sports. "I've got to try and figure out how I can get by the McLarens tomorrow, and try to limit the damage.
"It's not the outcome we wanted and we can't afford days like these, especially when it is this close in the championship.
"You saw the pace of the Red Bull. I don't know if Max was quicker than Valtteri but they're so fast, and now he's on pole, so it should be an easy win for him."
Verstappen was considered an outsider for the sprint but comfortably finished in second, though the Dutchman is taking nothing for granted heading into Sunday's race.
"I expected we would lose points on Saturday, but I have increased the lead a little," he told De Telegraaf. "Every little bit helps, of course. But it can also quickly turn around. I know all about that.
"I don't expect it to be a straightforward and easy race – Valtteri coming from the back, Lewis P4, they have a lot of pace, so we'll see what we can do against them."
Bottas' triumph came in the same week it was confirmed he will switch from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo next year, having been dropped in favour of George Russell.
The Finn also led the way in the traditional qualifying session on Friday and his sprint race victory never looked in doubt as he retained first place throughout.
With the elation of finishing first comes some disappointment for Bottas, however, as he always knew he would be starting the main event from the back of the grid due to Mercedes' decision to add a number of new power unit elements to his car.
"What can I say, it's been a perfect weekend so far and now I have a grid penalty," he said. "That happens, but it's good to see we have good speed from the car here, good pace, and I'll be fighting tomorrow, going as high as I can.
"For sure it's annoying. We've done good the last two days, with good performances and then you kind of reset completely for the day after and you start from the back.
"Those are things that are out of my hands, so I won't waste too much energy or be too negative about it because there's absolutely nothing I can do about it.
"The only thing I can do is try my best and go full gas tomorrow. At least I got a few points – every point counts for me personally and for us as a team."
Horner rues 'heartbreaking' Perez crash in Baku
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Sergio Perez "deserved more" after a "heartbreaking" crash denied him a place on the podium in Baku on Sunday.
Perez, who made a brilliant start to the season only to struggle in recent months, looked set to register his best finish since finishing third at the Chinese Grand Prix in April after comfortably holding P3 for much of the race.
However, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz snuck past him on the penultimate lap, and when the Mexican attempted to regain third place, the two tangled and hit the barrier, forcing them both out of the race.
That meant that George Russell instead claimed the final podium spot alongside winner Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
"He deserved a lot more," Horner told Sky Sports. "He should've at the very least been on the podium today.
"It was a magnificent race out at the front for so many laps. It was great to be in, it was exciting to be a part of, and it's just disappointing that it came to a close like that when it didn't need to.
"Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of time on his out laps behind Alex Albon and then Lando [Norris] cost him dearly, which gave Oscar [Piastri] track position. I think without that, he would've won the race today.
"It's one of those things that's very heartbreaking for him and the team that so much effort goes in to lose a podium in the dying laps of the race."
It was a tough day for Red Bull all around, as Piastri's win coupled with Lando Norris crossing the line before Max Verstappen meant that McLaren leapfrogged them in the constructors'’ championship.
Red Bull are now 20 points behind McLaren ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, and Horner admitted he was not happy with how the tide had turned.
"Very, very disappointing," he added. "[The crash] destroyed the race for Checo.
"It's cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors' championship."
Ricciardo ready to experience the world of motorsport amid F1 exit rumours
Daniel Ricciardo revealed his desire to experience the world of motorsport as his 13-year Formula One career hangs in the balance ahead of the 2025 season.
Ricciardo, who has raced for five different teams in F1, is yet to find out whether he will race for RB next year.
The Australian and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda were considered the favourites to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull until the Mexican signed a new two-year deal.
Red Bull is a team Ricciardo knows well, of course.
Ricciardo has won eight F1 races during his career, seven of which came with the Austrian-based team before his move to Renault in 2019.
Across his 257 race entries, the 35-year-old has also claimed 1,329 points and 32 podiums, but Ricciardo has been unable to get close to the top three in recent times.
The Australian has not stood on the podium since his last victory at the Italian Grand Prix in 2021, picking up just 55 points over the last three seasons for an RB team who have struggled to emerge from the midfield places in a competitive grid.
Ricciardo finds himself 14th in the drivers' championship this term, with his best finish coming at the Canadian Grand Prix in June, where he finished eighth.
With time potentially running out on his F1 career heading into the final seven races of the 2024 season, Ricciardo kept his options open as to what may come next.
“I mean there's things I would like to try and experience," Ricciardo said in an interview with Tourism Western Australia ahead of the release of his new film 'Drive the Dream 2.0'.
"I don't know, let's say on a competitive level, I grew up a fan of NASCAR. I'd like to drive a NASCAR. I'd love to drive around Daytona, for example.
"But would I like to compete? Yes and no, but I also know that, it's not what I grew up doing, and I'll probably get smoked so like, I don't know if I need that!
"I would love to experience it. I love motorbikes. I love MotoGP. I would love to try a MotoGP bike, but I would be very, very slow and probably horrendous. Just like, all in my own time.
"And actually Bathurst, if it's, obviously okay, it's the V8 that does the race there, but you know there's the 12 hour and stuff, so maybe that's one I could compete in.
"If a V8 team said 'hey, do you want to do a few laps around Bathurst, no pressure, just to experience it', then I'll definitely take that up."
Russell 'surprised' by Baku podium as Hamilton lauds next generation
George Russell was left surprised after his podium finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, but tempered Mercedes' expectations for the rest of the season.
Russell, who started fifth on the grid in Baku, inherited third place on the penultimate lap of proceedings after Sergio Perez's collision with Carlos Sainz.
The Briton claimed his third podium for Mercedes this season, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton made it double points for the Silver Arrows after finishing ninth.
Russell moved level with Red Bull's Perez in the drivers' championship and is now 23 points behind Hamilton ahead of the final seven races.
However, Russell acknowledged where Mercedes ranked in the pecking order at the end of a tricky weekend that saw the team complete two power unit changes.
“Definitely surprised,” Russell said about his podium finish. “I think there was so much hard work this weekend for everybody in the team.
"There were engine changes on my side, engine changes for Lewis, so much going on, everybody was working so hard.
“We had a really bad start to the race. I was dropping off a lot, but on the hard tyre I think we were one of the quickest out there and that was great.
"Got past Max, so an added bonus to stand on the podium.
“I mean we’ve got to be realistic still. We should’ve finished fifth today. That was the true result.
"Obviously, with Lando [Norris’] qualifying yesterday, he probably would’ve been up there as well, so I don’t want to get carried away with ourselves with this podium today.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do. Hopefully, Singapore’s a slightly better weekend.”
As for Hamilton, having taken on a raft of new power unit components after qualifying, he was resigned to a long afternoon after his pit lane start.
He made up plenty of ground early on, and again after his pit stop, but spent much of the latter part of the race battling Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman.
Colapinto impressed in just his second race for Williams, scoring four points after finishing in eighth, while team-mate Alex Albon finished one place in front.
And Bearman, who replaced the suspended Kevin Magnussen for Haas, completed the top 10, which came with a record-breaking achievement.
The 19-year-old became the first driver to score points for two different teams in his first two Formula One races, having made his debut in March for Ferrari as a last-minute replacement for Sainz at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing in seventh.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton showered praise on the two rookies after the race, with the Briton, who will be replaced by youngster Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes next season, insisting the future is bright for the sport.
“Today was a difficult race,” Hamilton said.
"“We had a good day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was tough. We made some changes heading into Saturday that didn’t work out, but we had to live with them.
“We also knew it would be challenging to overtake today. Despite the long straight, it is hard to follow through the second sector.
"Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, who I was racing for a lot of the afternoon, did such a great job.
"It is great to see the youngsters like them coming through and doing so well. For their first and second races, it was very impressive.”
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