WEEKEND WARM-UP: F1 title battles heat up as paddock lands in the Land of Fire

There were plenty of topics to talk about as the Formula 1 community reunited in Baku ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix – and F1 TV's Weekend Warm-up team were on hand to run through them all.

In what is proving to be an extremely competitive season, Max Verstappen and Red Bull head into the final overseas round with an even greater drop in the championship standings – Lando Norris and McLaren are now just 62 and eight points behind respectively.

WORTH KNOWING: The most important facts, statistics and things to know ahead of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

While Red Bull struggles to get its RB20 package under control, McLaren has decided to back Norris in his quest for a title double, with Oscar Piastri confirming on Thursday that he is ready to “help out” if circumstances arise in the remaining eight rounds.

But can Ferrari upset the team now that they have recovered from recent problems? Charles Leclerc has taken pole position on the last three visits to the streets of Baku and the Scuderia are only 31 points behind in the constructors' battle.

Finally, it wouldn't be a complete preview of the weekend without talking about some explosive news off the track. It was announced that legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey will join Aston Martin as their new Managing Technical Partner following his departure from Red Bull.

Click on the video player above to watch Laura Winter and Alex Brundle discuss these developments and look ahead to the weekend's action.