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Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying

Saturday's action, including qualifying, ahead of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18

F1 returns to the unique Baku Street Circuit for the eighth round of the 2022 championship, the second street event in a row following the Monaco GP.

Sergio Perez was the winner last time out, and now sits only 15 points behind championship leader and team-mate Max Verstappen - as Charles Leclerc remains between them in second in the drivers' standings.

Verstappen will be looking for retribution after his spectacular tyre blowout at last year's Baku race, which cost him victory in Azerbaijan's capital city.

Charles Leclerc topped Friday’s second practice for Ferrari ahead of Perez and Verstappen.

Live Standings

Stopped

Summary

  • Summary
    • Charles Leclerc takes pole for F1's Azerbaijan GP
    • Perez lines up on the front row with Verstappen in third
    • Norris, Ricciardo, Ocon, Zhou and Bottas out in Q2
    • Magnussen, Albon, Latifi, Stroll and Schumacher out in Q1
    • Hamilton faces investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly
  • Leaderboard
    1. Leclerc, Ferrari
    2. Perez, Red Bull
    3. Verstappen, Red Bull
    4. Sainz, Ferrari
    5. Russell, Mercedes
    6. Gasly, AlphaTauri
    7. Hamilton, Mercedes
    8. Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
    9. Vettel, Aston Martin
    10. Alonso, Alpine

Live Text

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Lights green
Good day one and all - it is nearly time for final practice at the Azerbaijan GP, how are we all doing this fine Saturday?
So here we are, a track fancied to be a stronghold for Red Bull with the 2022 cars, only for Leclerc to go quickest on Friday for Ferrari.
We were about to say there is just under 10 minutes until the start of final practice, but scratch that as the start of the session has been delayed. There was a big crash on the final lap of the F2 sprint race earlier, so the track is being cleaned up.
The Tecpro barrier is being replaced at Turn 1 following that F2 crash, so the start of the session won't be too far away.
"Pink head padding material must be used," states the F1 race control updates. Even the head padding material gets upgraded in F1, as earlier this season it was blue.
The barriers are in place and the sponsor branding is being applied, so FP3 is mere moments away. Just contain that excitement for a few more minutes.
"Session will start at 15:15 (local time) TBC," according to the F1 race control messages. So take that as FP3 starting in 11 minutes, maybe later, but not any sooner.
There won't be any lost track time, as the FP3 clock has started yet, in the same way it stops when there's a red flag in a practice session. But it does make the FP3-to-qualifying turnaround even shorter which teams will be wary of.
The TBC has been withdraw, confirming final practice will start at a quarter past the hour. Just enough time to get a cuppa.
Max Verstappen is strolling into the Red Bull garage and looks pretty relaxed. It looks like he won't be going out early in FP3 even with the delay.
Green flag
Right, enough stalling, let's get this party started.
Stroll agrees and heads out early, shortly joined by Vettel, Schumacher and Magnussen.
Now both Mercs head out, starting their session with practice starts at the end of pitlane. Careful not to cross the pitlane exit line with a tyre, or is that just part of the tyre?
There's still some dust and fluff on the exit of Turn 1 being thrown up by the F1 cars, while all drivers who have been out on track after sticking to installation laps so far.
Mercedes, Aston Martin and Haas are also scrubbing in some tyres with one eye on tomorrow's race. Still no lap times on the board with nine minutes gone.
Russell has the freedom of the Baku circuit and a fresh set of soft tyres to do his thing on.
Baku's fortress walls have a close resemblance to Caernarfon in North Wales, with the modern developments constructed under the shadows of the historic building. One for all the castle fans out there.
Stopwatch
Anyway, some actual lap times are being punched in now, with Sainz on the softs going top with a 1m46.457s.
Stopwatch
Leclerc trumps that with a 1m45.260s, also on the softs, to go 1.1s quicker than his Ferrari team-mate. Elsewhere, Bottas took a trip into the Turn 1 run-off but was OK to continue.
Stopwatch
Russell goes second quickest with a 1m46.029s, which will give Mercedes some encouragement after a tough Friday.
Hamilton puts in a lap seven-tenths of a second slower than his team-mate to go fifth, as his head continues to bounce in the Mercedes cockpit.
Stopwatch
Perez pops up to second overall with his first timed lap of 1m45.503s on the softs, to go two-tenths off leader Leclerc.
Stopwatch
Sainz goes fastest with a 1m44.744s, half a second up on Leclerc's earlier effort.
Both Mercedes improve, Russell into fourth and Hamilton into fifth, but there's still seven-tenths between the pair.
Stopwatch
Leclerc returns to the top with a 1m44.661s, just 0.083s quicker than Sainz. Meanwhile Verstappen heads out for the first time in this session.
Stopwatch
Perez is the latest driver to go quickest with a 1m44.416s to set a new benchmark.
Gasly, with a monster-sized slipstream from Norris ahead, pops into fourth place with a 1m45.507s on the hard tyres. Everyone else has set their best laps on the softs.
Stopwatch
Verstappen's first timed lap sees him go second fastest with a 1m44.468s - 0.052s off his Red Bull team-mate.
Stopwatch
Ferrari are cranking up the F1-75, as Sainz goes top again with a 1m44.001s to put four tenths on Perez.
Stopwatch
Leclerc follows Sainz's lap with a 1m43.514s to go top by 0.4s.
Lap times everywhere you look now. Perez splits the Ferraris to go second quickest but is still a third of a second off Leclerc.
Verstappen takes second spot with a 1m43.653s, just 0.139s off Leclerc. He was quicker through the first two sectors than the Ferrari but lost a lot of time in the final sector, the big blast to the finish line.
Ricciardo appears to be having a better day of it so far. On the mediums he is eighth fastest with a 1m46.026s. Add in the gains he'll get from the softs and he'll be on par with the Mercedes drivers with that kind of lap.
These F1 team run plans in practice sessions must be like Baku buses, you wait for ages for a car on track then they all come out at once. By that we mean we are stalling for time with only Latifi on track.
Breaking news
The FIA has confirmed F1 qualifying will start 15 minutes later than scheduled due to the delay to final practice. That's due to Article 39 in the regs, which states a two-hour gap must be in place for the end of FP3 and the start of qualifying.
That's good news for motorsport fans as it means F1 quali and the Le Mans 24 Hours won't start at the exact same time this afternoon, which is a nice bonus.
Russell improves to go fifth quickest with a 1m44.573s, beating Gasly, Magnussen and Schumacher who all improved behind him.

By: autosport.com

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