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Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2

Live updates from Friday's free practice sessions in Baku

Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 walks the track

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Mechanical problem
Latifi appeared to have an issue on the downshift approaching Turn 13, seemed in two minds as to whether to take the corner before opting for the run-off, then came to a halt as he returned to the track.
Red flag
Red flag. Latifi's Williams is stranded on-track, the Canadian reporting the engine has died.
Sainz now leaps back to the top, despite having to battle with Mazepin's Haas. It's a 1m43.162s for the Ferrari man.
We've yet to see what Mercedes can do in this session - Hamilton is P11, Bottas P16, 1.3s and 2.6s off respectively. When will the Black Arrows show their hand?
Times are tumbling as the track continues to get rubbered-in, with Alonso briefly holding top spot before Gasly and now Leclerc duck under his time. The Ferrari driver posts a 1m43.210s.
The latest incident is a spin for Vettel - he follows Norris having a small off-track moment, also at Turn 15.
We've had our first flyers of the session and it's a Ferrari on top of the times, with Carlos Sainz Jr clocking a 1m44.072s ahead of Perez and Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo.
Not an ideal start to the session for Bottas, who overshoots into Turn 1 and has to abort his lap immediately. Where's that rewind button when you need it?
Just two minutes down and all 20 cars are on track. Alonso appears to be the only driver on the soft, with everybody else using the medium barring three on the hard - Schumacher, Vettel and Stroll.
The first man to leave the pits is Alonso, but he's not technically the first out on track. As the Spaniard does a practice start, he's overtaken by Tsunoda, who is clearly keen to get some more laps under his belt.
Green flag
We've got a green light at the pit exit, which means FP2 is underway!
Here's your two-minute warning folks. Not quite as grating as the Mark Owen song from Now 56, is it?
For those of you who are fans of weather, air temps are at 28.1 degrees, with track temps of 49.2 Celcius. Toasty.
Drivers are starting to head to their cars - McLaren of course back in their traditional papaya hue this weekend after the delightful Gulf-inspired livery it ran in Monaco. We wouldn't have been too offended if the McLaren paint-shop team had decided to have a week or so off...
Of course, you may recall that Bottas was on course to win in 2018 before a late puncture denied him. He recently opened up to sister title GP Racing about that incident - one of many race-costing moments that year - in an exclusive interview, which Plus subscribers can find here: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-bottas-feels-the-time-has-come-to-be-more-selfish-/6508357/
It's a stat that we've seen trotted out in the build-up to the weekend, and we'll likely see again before it's out. But no driver has won in Baku more than once, with Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas each taking one victory apiece. 

Three drivers yet to win filled the top three places in FP1, with Max Verstappen heading Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr - might the run continue in 2021?
An update from trackside courtesy of our GP editor Alex Kalinauckas, who tells us: "The distance marker boards on the approach to Turn 1 were changed from white numbers on an orange background to black numbers on a white background immediately after FP1."

We're awaiting word from the FIA on whether this was requested by the drivers.
Over the lunch break, we've had F2 qualifying, with Red Bull juniors Liam Lawson and Juri Vips putting a smile on Helmut Marko's face by putting their Hitech machines 1-2. Here's the report from Megan White: https://www.autosport.com/formula2/news/baku-f2-lawson-takes-pole-position-ahead-of-team-mate-vips/6532683/
Good afternoon! We're back and refreshed for more fun and games on the Baku streets in FP2, which gets underway in a little over 15 minutes.
With that, we're off to find some more things to say about flexi-wings and run-off areas, but be sure to check back in ahead of FP2 which begins at 1pm UK time.
Breaking news
Forgotten what happened over the last hour-and-a-bit? Never fear, the FP1 report is here: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/azerbaijan-gp-f1-verstappen-beats-ferrari-duo-to-fp1-fastest-time/6532327/
As expected, that was a very busy session. Lots of laps, a few spins and plenty of run-off area action. That last part wasn't necessarily planned or expected, but best to do it now before the main event.
Checkered flag

After all that, FP1 has come to an end with the chequered flag shown. Verstappen tops the times for Red Bull from Ferrari pair Leclerc and Sainz.

Yellow flag

We know that drivers need to find the limits in practice, but not quite like this. Bottas runs off at Turn 4 and mid-spin to turn his car around he finds Norris joining him in the run-off. Thankfully they avoid getting too close to each other. Social distancing and all that.

Yellow flag

Sainz is the latest to get pulled into the Turn 15 run-off area, but gets going without too much trouble. Meanwhile at Turn 4, Schumacher also finds the run-off area.

Yellow flag

Mazepin has spun and come off at Turn 16. The Haas driver is able to get going again despite making contact with the barrier.

 

Solid session for Gasly so far in P6, who is disrupting the top order dominated by Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes. Behind the frontrunners, Raikkonen is P10 for Alfa Romeo narrowly ahead of the Alpine and Aston Martin cars.

Perez, who gained a tow behind team-mate Verstappen on that lap, goes P4 with a 1m43.630s.
Stopwatch
Verstappen, now free of traffic, puts in a 1m43.184s on the softs to go top by 0.043s.
Quote

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable! He just stays in front and is weaving,” Verstappen says over his Red Bull team radio as he is held up by Mazepin.

Yellow flag

Gasly has a copycat moment to Hamilton's at Turn 15 and just like the F1 world champion the AlphaTauri driver finds reverse and coolly returns to his work.

Yellow flag
Hamilton runs off the track after messing up his braking at Turn 15. No further worries for the Mercedes driver though, who avoids the walls and gets going again.
 
Stopwatch

Those chaps in the Ferraris are at it again - Leclerc goes quickest with a 1m43.227s ahead of Sainz in second. It is still very early into the race weekend, but maybe Monaco wasn't a one-off?

Yellow flag

Norris, who was fastest through sectors 1 and 2, throws away that lap with a spin at Turn 16. The McLaren driver asks for a bit too much inside kerb and goes for a 180-degree spin.

Stopwatch

Ricciardo goes fastest! The McLaren driver puts in a 1m43.732s, on the softs, to go 0.161s faster than Hamilton's earlier effort.

Vettel runs on at Turn 1 but avoids a Tsunoda-like nightmare in the ample run-off area.

Stopwatch

Time flies when you are having fun - we are already well over halfway through FP1. Hamilton still tops the times, as Norris moves up to second with a 1m43.996s.

Tsunoda is free! After a couple of minutes of back and forth facing the wrong way he escapes the run-off area and is able to get going again.

By: Haydn Cobb

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