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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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Green flag
"Did he have a free stop?" Verstappen asks, as we're back under green flag conditions.
Pit stop
Russell and Gasly also come in for a stop, taking the cheaper option under a virtual safety car. Hard tyres for all.
Pit stop
This virtual safety car has triggered a lot of pitstops, but a slow stop for Hamilton has seen Vettel leapfrog him in the pits.
Pit stop
There was an almighty crunch as Sainz tried to take Turn 4. There's a VSC now, as Leclerc pits for hard tyres - but it's moderately slow!
Yellow flag
Sainz has come to a stop at Turn 4! That's brought out a yellow flag. "Something failed," he reports.
"Just keep the patience, Max," Verstappen is told, as the reigning champion continues to try and get a move done on Leclerc.
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Ricciardo, on the hards, is being restrained by his McLaren team behind Norris who is on mediums. "If this is his pace I've got more," Ricciardo states over his team radio.
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Lap 7: Perez is still 2s out in front, as Verstappen's still trying to find a way past Leclerc. Leclerc is told that Perez is struggling for traction.
Hamilton had been hunting Gasly for sixth place over the opening laps, but has just slipped out of DRS range of the AlphaTauri driver.
Magnussen is up to 15th, diving up the inside of Albon at Turn 1, and has Zhou in his sights next.
Magnussen is on the move, taking 16th place off Bottas, using the advantage of his medium tyres against the Finn who is on the hards.
Latifi has duly served his penalty at the end of lap four, putting him in last place and almost 30s off Schumacher directly ahead.
"Red Bull is quick," says Sainz, who's now dropped to 2.5s behind Verstappen. It looks pretty slam dunk at this stage, Ferrari lacking straight-line pace.
Latifi's penalty was picked up when a Williams mechanic rolled back the Canadian in his car at the 15 second signal before the formation lap. A rare one, but rules are rules, the mechanics need to be clear of the car by that time.
A front-left lock for Leclerc at the start too, as Perez was never going give that position up. At the start of lap 3, Perez is almost 2s up the road.
Penalty
Latifi has been given a 10-second stop/go penalty for a stating grid infringement - it was a quick call by the stewards, so must have been clear cut.
Perez has already built a pretty big lead over Leclerc, 1.3s over the Monegasque by the end of lap 1. It's as you were in the rest of the top six - Verstappen, Sainz, Russell and Gasly.
Magnussen gets back by Stroll to regain 17th place into Turn 1 at the start of the second lap.
All very well behaved by the midfield at the start, Vettel gets the jump on Tsunoda to take eighth place, while Albon and Stroll both made up two places further back.
Perez gets a great start and dives down the inside of Leclerc to take the lead! Sainz is right on Verstappen's tail, putting the Red Bull under heavy pressure.
Lights out
The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix begins!
A starting grid incident involving Latifi has been noted by race control. More on that when we get it.
Green flag
Formation lap begins. Let's get this show on the road.
Breaking news
Tyre news: All on mediums, except Ricciardo, Ocon, Bottas, Stroll and Schumacher starting on the hards.
Races in Baku usually have everything, from A to Z. And then E. R. B. Then A again. I. J. A third A. N.
We're usually treated to peculiar races in Baku. But what will we get today? Fingers crossed it's a fun one.
15 minutes to go until the fun begins! Sorry Le Mans, I'm going to have to pause you...
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We're also running a Live feed for Le Mans, which is into its final three hours and 30 minutes.
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On that bouncing, the drivers have struggled with the after-effects of the multiple impacts. The venerable Stuart Codling wrote about it in his latest GP Racing column.
One of the key themes this weekend has been the bouncing on the straights. In other words: rock your body right - Baku street's back, alright.
Breaking news
For those of you who haven't been to bed and stayed up all night through Le Mans, well done - that's dedication! For those of you who did get some sleep, we hope you're suitably energised.
Good morning everyone, and welcome to our Autosport Live coverage of all things Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Race begins in 54 minutes' time, so make sure you're ready to go!
By: autosport.com
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