Sunny. Dry. Air +20C, orbit +44C
A new weekend format with a sprint debuted on the stage in Baku, with Friday morning practice proving to be the only one.
As always in Baku, there were incidents. Sargent went off track in the first corner, Sainz hit the barrier in fifth. Mercedes drivers complained about the brakes, the rear of Piastri’s McLaren smoked.
Tsunoda crashed into the wall in turn 3, blowing his right rear tire and riding back to the pits on three wheels for a long time. Windows unfolded in the first corner, Piastri in the second – both kept moving. Later, Tsunoda also left – the car was not damaged.
On the 15th minute Gasly’s car caught fire due to a leak in the hydraulic system – and the session was stopped with red flags. Pierre got out of the car and watched the work of the firefighters, who could not immediately cope with the fire – a column of thick brown smoke billowed from the upper air intake for a long time. Just over three hours before qualifying, the Alpine mechanics are having a hard time.
Behind him, Magnussen’s car stopped on the track – the pressure in the fuel system dropped, Kevin returned to the pits on foot.
The break lasted 15 minutes before the riders set off again, after completing several laps in qualifying mode at the end of the session on the C5 tyres, which were used in the Grand Prix for the first time this season.
The fastest time was set by Max Verstappen with a lap time of 1:42.315.
Session results
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:42.315 | – | 22 |
| 2. Sch. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:42,352 | +0.037 | 21 |
| 3. C. Perez | Red Bull | 1:42,454 | +0.139 | 22 |
| 4.K Sainz | Ferrari | 1:42,899 | +0.584 | 23 |
| 5. L. Norris | McLaren | 1:43.125 | +0.810 | 22 |
| 6. N. de Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:43,414 | +1,099 | 24 |
| 7. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 1:43.455 | +1,140 | 23 |
| 8. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:43,560 | +1,245 | 20 |
| 9. A. Albon | Willems | 1:43,628 | +1,313 | 25 |
| 10. G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:43,748 | +1,433 | 23 |
| 11. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43,798 | +1,483 | 21 |
| 12. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:43,980 | +1,665 | 23 |
| 13. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:44.010 | +1,695 | 23 |
| 14. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:44.137 | +1,822 | 18 |
| 15. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 1:44,323 | +2,008 | 21 |
| 16. L. Sargent | Willems | 1:44.900 | +2,585 | 16 |
| 17.D Russell | Mercedes | 1:45.082 | +2,767 | 20 |
| 18. E. Okon | Alps | 1:45,955 | +3,640 | 8 |
| 19.P Gasly | Alps | 1:46,321 | +4,006 | 7 |
| 20. K. Magnussen | hare | 1:47,498 | +5,183 | 8 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
