Written by Owen Bradley
The opening day of practice for the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen fastest in FP1 and Charles Leclerc fastest in FP2, despite an earlier terminal crash in FP1. Rookie Franco Colapinto would also crash out in FP1 as well, with others brushing the walls of the tight Baku City circuit.
FP1 - Verstappen Fastest, Leclerc and Colapinto crash out
Max Verstappen would set the fastest lap of FP1, the Dutchman looking to regain some momentum after a number of races away from the very front of the field. The Red Bull driver set a lap time of a 1:45.546's to top the time sheets, with Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes the next car behind Verstappen, a few tenths away.
Oliver Bearman will drive for Haas this weekend, replacing Kevin Magnussen who has received a one race ban. The 18-year old managed to beat teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the opening practice session, ending up in 11th place, just over a second off the top time by Verstappen.
Just in front of Bearman on the timesheet, was Charles Leclerc - who crashed at Turn 15 after claiming that he went onto a dirty line, locking up his inside left tyre and sliding into the outside barrier that has caught out many drivers over the years.
Franco Colapinto would also crash during the session, losing the rear on entry to Turn 4, the rear of the car slamming into the wall before the front end of the car caught up, with the entire left side of the car taking damage. Alexander Albon would join his Williams teammate in making a mistake at that same corner, albeit not as costly, running deep and into the escape road.
Carlos Sainz and a number of other drivers would also begin finding the limit around the circuit, grazing the barriers as they tried to find pace. Esteban Ocon would report to Alpine about some engine power issues, the Frenchman returned to the pit lane and would be unable to set a lap time in FP1.
FP2 - Leclerc Quickest by just 0.006s, Hamilton stays in Top 3 as Norris only 17th
With the second practice session allowing for the teams to run their Qualifying simulations and tests, FP2 is usually the most important practice session of the weekend. Charles Leclerc would immediately bounce back after his earlier crash, setting the fastest time in FP2 with a 1:43.484, a full two seconds faster than the top time in FP1.
The margins would be incredibly tight, with Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton less than a tenth off the Monegasque. Sergio Perez has a good track record around street circuits, notably in Azerbaijan, taking his last victory in F1 at this circuit in 2023, and his first victory with Red Bull in 2021 at this circuit as well.
Lance Stroll would find himself in seventh, just over half a second from Leclerc, with Fernando Alonso in 12th a further six tenths behind, as Aston Martin hope to carry their momentum from the announcement of Adrian Newey, through to their race results this weekend.
Bearman would break into the Top 10 in FP2, sitting just one tenth down on his teammate Hulkenberg in a weekend which could prove to be quite positive for Haas, who have found themselves duelling for points on frequent occasion recently.
Lando Norris would surprisingly end up in 17th place despite setting the same amount of laps as many others throughout the field, the Brit was around 1.6 seconds off the pace of Leclerc, and over one second off his teammate Oscar Piastri in a weekend that will be crucial in Norris' chase for the World Championship.
Esteban Ocon would finally get to set some lap times, albeit only going 19th as he found himself over two seconds from the leading Ferrari, the Frenchman evidently disappointed.
FP3 starts on Saturday at 09:30 UK time, with Qualifying at 13:00.
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