Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in the closing moments of the first practice session for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while last year’s pole-sitter, Charles Leclerc, crashed his Ferrari.
Leclerc, fresh off a win in Italy, has consistently excelled at the Baku street circuit, securing pole position in each of the past three years. Early in the session, he was again looking strong, setting the pace on medium tyres.
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However, the Monegasque driver lost control after hitting dirt on the outside of Turn 15, sending him into the barriers. The crash brought out the red flags, ending his session with 30 minutes remaining.
With low grip on the temporary circuit, which isn’t used throughout the year, drivers struggled to find their rhythm early on. Once they shifted focus to the soft C5 tyres, the softest in Pirelli’s range, Verstappen laid down the fastest lap of 1m 45.546s, edging out Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by 0.313s.
Red Bull showed stronger form compared to their struggles in Monza, with Sergio Perez slotting into third place, just 0.376s behind his teammate Verstappen.
McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fourth, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, while Oscar Piastri secured sixth in the second McLaren.
Aston Martin, expecting a strong performance in Baku, saw Fernando Alonso finish seventh. The Spaniard edged out George Russell’s Mercedes, while Leclerc, who didn’t switch to the soft tyres, finished ninth.
Daniel Ricciardo completed the top ten, a second quicker than his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who complained of significant bouncing.
Haas’ Ollie Bearman impressed, standing in for Kevin Magnussen, who was suspended for exceeding the penalty points limit. Bearman finished 11th, 0.162s quicker than teammate Nico Hulkenberg, and will drive full-time for Haas next season.
Lance Stroll struggled with his Aston Martin’s balance, expressing frustration over the radio, and ended the session in 13th.
Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas had a minor off at the beginning of the session but finished 14th, just ahead of Tsunoda. The second Sauber of Zhou Guanyu failed to set a competitive time, finishing 19th.
Williams’ Franco Colapinto, participating in only his second FP2 session, showed promise but spun into the wall at Turn 4, bringing out the third red flag of the session. He was classified 16th, just ahead of teammate Alex Albon, who had a minor incident at Turn 4 but avoided major damage.
It was a tough day for Alpine, with Pierre Gasly down in 18th and Esteban Ocon finishing at the bottom of the standings after failing to set a timed lap. Ocon reported a power loss early on and, though he made it back to the pits, his session ended prematurely as Alpine investigated the issue.
Azerbaijan GP FP1 Results
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP1, 13 September 2024
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