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Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - race day
Minute-by-minute updates for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku Street Circuit
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The F1 Azerbaijan GP will commence at 3pm local time (12pm BST), with Charles Leclerc on pole for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez.
Perez planted a late lap to usurp team-mate Max Verstappen from the front row, as Carlos Sainz begins the race from fourth.
George Russell was the leading Mercedes in fifth, and starts alongside Pierre Gasly on the grid in Baku.
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Mechanical problem
Or not, as Magnussen is slowing and is told to stop the car! Is it another Ferrari-powered car suffering a breakdown?
Lap 33/51, and Verstappen is a full 10s ahead of Perez. Red Bull wanted 1m48.0s from Verstappen - they get a 1m47.5s in response.
Magnussen has been given the hurry up by his Haas team to get by Ocon, in the knowledge Norris is hunting them both down.
Norris has caught and passed the yet-to-pitstop Bottas to take 12th place and move 4s off Magnussen next up, who is stuck behind Ocon in the super-fast in a straight line Alpine.
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Red Bull is telling Verstappen to fly casual and take down the speed a bit. "You know full well what it's like to lose a race around here," engineer Gianpiero Lambiase says.
"My back is killing me," Hamilton says, struggling massively with the bouncing. He's going to slip more discs than a butter-fingered DJ.
A lap later Norris repeats the same move at Turn 3 to overtake Stroll for 13th place. The British driver now has a two-second gap to bridge to Bottas.
Fourth-placed Gasly's picked up the pace now to try and keep Hamilton at bay, the gap between them up to 3.8s. Russell is almost 14s up the road now.
Norris is climbing back up the order after his pitstop, as he gets by Albon at Turn 3 to take 14th place.
Ocon, on ageing tyres now, makes it easy work for his team-mate to overtake, as Alonso glides by into Turn 1 to take ninth place.
Hamilton's on the back of Ricciardo now, and makes the dive past into Turn 3 to collect fifth place from the McLaren. Ricciardo's going long into the race, having started on the hards.
Alonso is a driver also on the move, taking 10th place off Magnussen, with some seriously impressive top speed in his Alpine.
A lap later Vettel gets the job done around the outside at Turn 3 on Ocon. With Vettel up to eighth he'll aim to hunt down Tsunoda over the second half of the race.
In the fight for eighth place, Vettel tries to go around the outside of Ocon at Turn 3 but has to back out as he runs out of room.
Lap 25, and Verstappen is 6.3s up the road from Perez. Behind them, Russell is 10s adrift, with Gasly another 20s back.
Zhou duly pits having got up to 10th place. That's three retirements in the race and all Ferrari-powered cars.
Mechanical problem
Heartbreak for Zhou! He's told he needs to retire from the race due to a mechanical issue. "Are you kidding me? Not again!" Zhou fumes over team radio.
Or not, as Tsunoda dives by Ocon at Turn 3, just has Hamilton did on the French driver a few laps ago.
Ricciardo has no defence against Gasly at the start of lap 22, and the AlphaTauri now breezes past for fourth. This could be a big result for the French driver today - "finally," he says as he gets past.
What is it about Alpine and DRS trains? Ocon, still yet to pit, leads Tsunoda, Vettel and Zhou all following closely but so far cannot find a way through.
In the meantime, Norris pits - and Ricciardo is now under heavy attack from Gasly. The Australian holds him off, however, keeping the AlphaTauri at bay.
Mechanical problem
Leclerc's engine has just blown up! The Ferrari kicks out plumes of smoke - and that's the day over! Heartbreak for the Scuderia.
Pit stop
Alonso also pits, which releases Norris, Ricciardo, and Gasly - having been stuck behind the #14 Alpine.
Pit stop
Alonso, who was at the head of another DRS train, pits to release Norris, Ricciardo and Gasly behind him.
Pit stop
Verstappen gets the call to pit, and duly does so for the hard tyre - which releases Leclerc back into the lead.
Hamilton finds a way ahead of Ocon, up the inside at Turn 3, to take ninth place.
It's lap 18 and Verstappen leads still, with Leclerc 8s behind having stopped. Perez has now build up a buffer over Russell. Alonso, in fifth, has a train of McLarens and Gasly behind him.
Magnussen passes Bottas at Turn 1 for the second time in this race. The Dane pitted under the virtual safety car, hence falling behind, and is up to 14th place.
Perez now comes into the pits, which moves Leclerc up to second. New hard tyres, but that's a slow stop for the Monaco GP winner - nearly 6s, which brings Russell into play here.
Shout out to Zhou who is having a decent race so far. Having pitted under the virtual safety car he's cleared Stroll and been allowed to pass team-mate Bottas to move up to 13th place.
Perez was told not to fight Verstappen, and duly did not. No repeat of 2018 there between the two Red Bulls along the straight.
Despite getting a freebie from Vettel's off, Hamilton is still stuck behind Ocon who is yet to pit. It's Monaco all over again!
Verstappen's got a run on Perez with DRS now, and the Dutchman dives down the inside of Turn 1 to grab the lead at the start of lap 15!
Vettel came a little too close to collecting Tsunoda when he rejoined the track at Turn 3, but does get style points for his 180-degree spin.
It's a fastest lap for Leclerc, a 1m47.531s on those new hards. He's within 12.5s of Perez now.
Vettel goes bold into Turn 3 to try to pass Ocon, getting clear of the Alpine into the braking zone, but locks up and has to take to the escape road. That drops the German down to 12th behind Ocon, Hamilton and Tsunoda.
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"Those who pitted have to do a bad one-stop or convert to a two-stop," Norris - who didn't pit under the VSC - is told. Strategery.
Hamilton must be getting tired of how his races keep playing out in 2022. He's lost a place to Vettel in the pitstops and now he's stuck in a DRS train led by an Alpine.
Leclerc will have to potentially do 40 laps on these hard tyres, if it's a one-stop. But anything can happen in Baku, so it might be a gamble worth taking.
Alonso, Norris and Ricciardo all didn't pit under the virtual safety car so they've been promoted up the order ahead of Gasly who did pit and is now eighth.
By: autosport.com
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