The FIA Formula One World Championship finally returned to Baku City Circuit, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The wind was high and cars were flying, especially into the runoff areas.
The Red Bull Racing duo of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez took it in turns of topping the timings. Verstappen went fastest in the morning practice with Pérez on top in the afternoon. Red Bull are certainly on a high from their victory at Monaco and plan on continuing the trend at Baku. Pérez came fourth in the morning and Verstappen completed a Red Bull one-two being second fastest in the afternoon session.
Scuderia Ferrari looked to be back to old ways in Monaco and that has continued on at Baku. Carlos Sainz Jr. finished third in both sessions, he’s now got in the groove in the Ferrari. Charles Leclerc had a small scare when he crashed his car into the wall at Turn 15. He went into wall, damaging his front wing after a front right tyre lock up. He finished the practice’s second and fourth respectively.
Baku is turning into another great weekend for Pierre Gasly. He got his Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda into the top ten in both sessions, finishing sixth and fifth respectively. His day wasn’t without issues, during the afternoon practice, the Frenchman locked up at Turn 15, flying into the run-off area. Yuki Tsunoda had a tricky afternoon. He went into the runoff area at Turn 4 during the morning session, after clipping the wall. He was unable to get his car to start up again. He finished fourteenth and tenth respectively.
Daniel Ricciardo’s weekend got off to a great start, considering his recent races. The Australian driver spent part of the morning session on top but ultimately had to settle for fifth overall. His afternoon session wasn’t as strong, coming in thirteenth. McLaren F1 Team teammate Lando Norris continued to be a threat up top. However, he’ll be disappointed with himself. During the morning session, the Brit was on a flying lap that surely would have topped the time sheets, but went too quickly into Turn 16 and spun; He finished both session in eighth.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team still seem to be in their Monaco funk. Both drivers came in the top ten in the first practice but with Lewis Hamilton in seventh and Valtteri Bottas in tenth. Bottas locked up a few times during the day, sending his car into various run off zones. The afternoon didn’t improve for the team as neither car made it to the top ten with Hamilton just outside in eleventh and Bottas in sixteenth, two seconds off of Pérez’s fastest time.
Fernando Alonso had a good day in the Baku sunshine as he broke into the top ten during both sessions, coming ninth and sixth respectively. His Alpine F1 Team teammate Esteban Ocon has been keeping him on his toes but wasn’t able to best his during Friday’s activities, finishing sixteenth and ninth.
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN had a good day as Antonio Giovinazzi continued his Monaco form finishing twelfth and seventh. Kimi Räikkönen beat his teammate in the morning, coming in eleventh but couldn’t break the top ten in the afternoon and had to settle for twelfth.
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team had a day to forget, Lance Stroll came thirteenth and fourteenth, where Sebastian Vettel came fifteenth in both.
Williams Racing continued to float around the bottom end of the grid. Nicholas Latifi had some trouble during the second practice when his car had a technical issue and came to a grinding halt on the track. He came eighteenth and twentieth respectively. George Russell was only able to achieve seventeenth overall in both sessions.
Uralkali Haas F1 Team had a difficult day. Mick Schumacher had a battery issue during the afternoon session and was forced back to the pits. He came nineteenth in both sessions. Nikita Mazepin got caught up in a few run-ins with Verstappen and Sainz Jr. when the pair felt like the Haas driver obstructed their flying laps. Mazepin also found himself in a spot of bother when tailwind sent his car into the wall at Turn 16 in the morning. Luckily, his car sustained no damage. He came twentieth and eighteenth respectively.
Free Practice 1 Results
Pos | No | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:43.184 | 19 | |
2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:43.227 | =+0.043s | 20 |
3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:43.521 | =+0.337s | 20 |
4 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:43.630 | =+0.446s | 17 |
5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1:43.732 | =+0.548s | 25 |
6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:43.757 | =+0.573s | 23 |
7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:43.893 | =+0.709s | 20 |
8 | 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1:43.996 | =+0.812s | 20 |
9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Alpine F1 Team | 1:44.777 | =+1.593s | 25 |
10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:44.891 | =+1.707s | 20 |
11 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1:44.943 | =+1.759s | 18 |
12 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1:45.092 | =+1.908s | 20 |
13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:45.234 | =+2.050s | 23 |
14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | JAP | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:45.384 | =+2.200s | 25 |
15 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:45.415 | =+2.231s | 24 |
16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1:45.446 | =+2.262s | 23 |
17 | 63 | George Russell | GBR | Williams Racing | 1:45.452 | =+2.268s | 24 |
18 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1:45.774 | =+2.590s | 22 |
19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:46.899 | =+3.715s | 20 |
20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | RUS | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:46.945 | =+3.761s | 18 |
Free Practice 2 Results
Pos | # | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
1 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:42.115 | 22 | |
2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:42.216 | =+0.101s | 23 |
3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:42.243 | =+0.128s | 24 |
4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:42.436 | =+0.321s | 22 |
5 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:42.534 | =+0.419s | 26 |
6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Alpine F1 Team | 1:42.693 | =+0.578s | 24 |
7 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1:42.941 | =+0.826s | 25 |
8 | 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1:43.018 | =+0.903s | 24 |
9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1:43.020 | =+0.905s | 23 |
10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | JAP | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:43.130 | =+1.015s | 25 |
11 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:43.156 | =+1.041s | 24 |
12 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1:43.220 | =+1.105s | 23 |
13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1:43.298 | =+1.183s | 23 |
14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:43.812 | =+1.697s | 21 |
15 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:43.881 | =+1.766s | 22 |
16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:44.184 | =+2.069s | 23 |
17 | 63 | George Russell | GBR | Williams Racing | 1:44.557 | =+2.442s | 24 |
18 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | RUS | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:45.563 | =+3.448s | 23 |
19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:46.095 | =+3.980s | 12 |
20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1:46.983 | =+4.868s | 5 |