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Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & Qualifying

Friday's action from the fourth round of the 2023 Formula 1 season

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

F1 heads to Baku this weekend for round four of the 2023 championship, with Max Verstappen leading the standings from team-mate Sergio Perez.

The weekend will follow a different format, with a single free practice session on Friday followed by qualifying for Sunday's grand prix.

Saturday now features a shorter sprint qualifying 'shootout' for the afternoon's sprint race, meaning drivers will get thrown right into competitive action in the morning without a practice session to warm up.

FP1 starts at 10.30am BST, with Qualifying getting underway at 2pm BST.

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It's getting hard to keep track of who hasn't made a major mistake so far today...
And there was more drama then as Sainz also had a spin at Turn 1 but just managed to avoid hitting the barriers.
"I couldn't stop the car," says Gasly.
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"I'm sorry, I locked the front," says Gasly, who does not repay the enormous effort the Alpine mechanics made to get his car back out.
It's Gasly! His weekend goes from bad to worse as he smashes into the wall at the same Turn 3 corner.
Red flag
And it's happened immediately! Another red flag!
Verstappen does now rejoin the fray while Hulkenberg and Tsunoda remain in the garages.
Everyone has headed out straightaway, apart from Verstappen, Hulkenberg and Tsunoda.
Green flag
And we're back under way! But will we have any more red flags?
Replays show that de Vries was pushed back into the garage when he first tried to leave earlier, so it could well be a mechanical issue contributed to his crash.

For those wondering what was going on with that Verstappen unsafe release incident, here's what the FIA is saying:

The noted incident regarding car #1 was related to the headrest which was flapping. Following review of the footage and inspection of the component, it was evident that it had been fitted correctly and then broken - so no further investigation necessary.

And, with over two minutes to go, there's already an enormous queue of cars forming in the pitlane!
Right, race control now says the session will resume at 1724 local time - in three minutes, in other words.
 
Race control now says there will be no further investigation into the Verstappen release 'incident'.
Replays have shown we were very close to have two AlphaTauris stuck in the barriers, as Tsunoda also earlier glanced the wall.
While the FIA is also reporting the delay in recovery is down to the car being embedded in the TecPro, it says a potential unsafe release for Verstappen has also been noted.
This is not a quick recovery of de Vries's stricken car as it is well and truly embedded in the TecPro barrier.
 
This red flag will be handy for Haas, therefore - and also for Alpine after its hurried attempts to fix Gasly's car earlier.
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"OK, we don't think it's serious a problem as it was this morning and we think we can fix it," Magnussen is told of his engine woes - but it's not exactly convincing.
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"Engine problem again, they need to fix this," reports Magnussen, with his engineer saying it's a connection problem.
Sainz had aborted his first effort and bailed into the pits, so he's the only other driver yet to set a time.
He's gone into the wall at Turn 3, locked up on the way in and was nowhere near making the corner as he carried far too much speed. Without a lap time on the board, we can safely say he is out.
It's de Vries and it's a fairly sizeable hit for the AlphaTauri.
Red flag
And now we have a red flag!
Replays have shown it was a spin for Zhou at Turn 1 earlier but he just about avoided hitting anything.
Everyone is on the soft rubber in this session as Alonso now moves up to third in his Aston but is the best part of a second slower than Verstappen.
For those wondering, de Vries has now left the pits having been the last one to venture out earlier.
Stopwatch
But here come the big guns, Verstappen moves to the top with a 1m41.887s to head Leclerc by three tenths after their initial efforts.
Next up it's the McLarens to the fore with Norris now lowering the benchmark to a 1m42.105s.
Stopwatch
But now Bottas goes to the top a couple of tenths quicker, but we're still over a second off the pace from earlier.
Stopwatch
Times are now starting to be posted and it's Albon who is currently fastest with a 1m43.615s.
Yellow flag
And we have a yellow flag already! Zhou has a moment at Turn 1 but gets going again.
Verstappen has headed out so it's just de Vries yet to leave the pits.
Just as a bit of housekeeping, this session adopts the traditional qualifying format so we're now in an 18-minute session to see who progresses to Q2.
In fact, everyone has now ventured out aside from the two Dutchmen: Verstappen and de Vries.
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"Thanks to the boys for getting the car out," says Gasly as the Alpine driver is remarkably heading out on track, despite the extensive fire just a couple of hours ago.
Given the likelihood of a red flag here, it's not a surprise to see an enormous queue of cars heading out.
Green flag
And we're off! Qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP begins.

By: Autosport Staff

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