Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Red Bull in good shape, 3 red flags

The drivers thus set off at 11:30 for this first free practice session in Baku. Piastri, the McLaren driver, quickly mentioned a track with very little grip. His teammate, on the other hand, pointed out an imbalance with easy right turns, but much harder left turns. Ollie Bearman, future Haas driver who is replacing Kevin Magnussen this weekend, is the first to set a timed lap at 1:51.767. His boss, Ayao Komatsu, also mentioned the possibility of finishing the season with the British driver. After only five minutes, the FIA reported an incident with Perez who cut the pit lane exit, forcing the marshals to waive the black and white flag for the Mexican driver.

Several red flags in this session

After 10 minutes in the session, first red flag occurred as Lewis Hamilton was finishing his lap. According to Julien Fébreau, it would be a piece of metal coming from the floor of a single-seater. Nevertheless, a track marshal quickly removed this part and the session was able to resume promptly.

A few minutes later, it was Charles Leclerc’s turn to provoke a red flag. The winner of the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago braked too late in turn 14, locked up his wheels, and damaged his car, particularly the right side, against the tire barriers. The Monegasque driver explained that he caught dust on the outside of the turn, causing him to understeer and miss his braking point. With 20 minutes left in the session, it was the new Williams driver, Franco Colapinto, who caused a third red flag in the session. The Argentine, on a flying lap with soft tires, tried to brake outside the white line, losing control of his Williams and sending it into the wall. The former Formula 2 driver apologized over the radio, especially to his mechanics who will have a lot of work before the second session.

A very slippery track

During the whole session, the drivers seemed to lack grip on the Baku circuit, with many drivers going straight at turn 1, like the Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell, the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, or the winner of the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Valterri Bottas at the start of the session. Albon also caused another yellow flag in the first sector. In the same turn where his teammate had damaged his car, the Thai driver preferred to go straight. In the final seconds, many drivers embarked on a timed lap, like Carlos Sainz. Despite a good first sector, the Spanish driver did not manage to improve, unlike the two Red Bulls.

Perez initially took third place, less than a tenth behind Hamilton’s best time, before his teammate Max Verstappen grabbed the first position with a lap in 1:45.547, more than three tenths ahead of the Mercedes of the seven-time British world champion. Perez then completed the podium, followed by Norris and Sainz. In the French-speaking camp, Leclerc is only ninth after his mistake, while the Alpines finished eighteenth and last in this session, Ocon not even being able to complete a flying lap due to an engine problem. See you at 2:45 pm for the second free practice session.

The result of Free Practice 1 of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix