Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Verstappen ahead of Ferrari lurking behind

The first 20 minutes

Despite the strong wind that will have a significant impact this weekend, the track was hot this morning in Baku, 48 degrees on the ground! The single-seaters immediately encountered problems with sliding on the Azerbaijani track. We could see Carlos Sainz sliding, brushing against the walls in the last sector, and Mick Schumacher complaining about the rather slippery painted stripes.

Charles Leclerc was one of the first to set a time behind the wheel of his Ferrari, SF21, which had played a trick on him at the Monaco Grand Prix, preventing him from starting from pole position. Red Bull has introduced a new rear wing, a wing that is at the center of controversy. Flexible in Spain, the Red Bull wing bends less at high speed, especially in the long straight at Baku.

After 20 minutes of driving, Lewis Hamilton was at the top of the timesheet (1:43.893) ahead of Max Verstappen (+0.968) and Lando Norris (+1.744), while Sergio Pérez was the only one who had not yet set a time.

At midday

The period is complicated for rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who struggled in Monaco on a track he was discovering. The Japanese driver also discovered the Baku track this morning. After hitting the wall and running straight into an escape route at turn 4, the young AlphaTauri driver had a hard time engaging reverse and getting out of the escape route.

Also struggling in Monaco, Daniel Ricciardo arrived in Azerbaijan with great ambitions, a better pace, and a new chassis. The McLaren chassis combined with the Mercedes engine allows the Australian to place himself at the top of the time standings, ahead of his teammate.

After a huge disappointment in the Monaco stands, Valtteri Bottas, the most recent winner of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix (2019), was lagging behind in the times and only managed to secure 7th place. It is worth noting that the Finnish driver’s race weekend had already started badly, as he was stuck at an airport in Finland for many hours and could only join his team on Thursday evening.

After 40 minutes of driving, Charles Leclerc’s Ferraris (1:43.227) and Carlos Sainz (+0.294) were the fastest, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (+0.505). Lewis Hamilton, while he was improving, made a mistake in the last sector, depriving him of this provisional first place in the time ranking.

The last 20 minutes

Disappointing in Monaco and saved by a very good race from Esteban Ocon, the Alpine team seems to still struggle on this Baku circuit. It was necessary to wait until the 11th row of the time ranking to finally see the colors of the French car. Fernando Alonso therefore finished in 11th place and Esteban Ocon in 16th place.

If Nikita Mazepin had managed to save his single-seater in Monaco, the Russian ultimately made a mistake at the end of the session, damaging the rear wing of his Haas. At the same time, Mick Schumacher, Valtteri Bottas, and Lando Norris also went off track, exploring the runoff areas.

After a very good performance on the track, Scuderia Ferrari expected to struggle this weekend, and yet the red cars are ranked at the top of the standings. Even though we don’t know the amount of fuel carried, the Ferrari cars confirm their good form at the moment and finish second and third under the checkered flag.

Max Verstappen finishes as the leader of this Free Practice 1 session, ahead of the two Ferraris and struggling Mercedes.

Timetable