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Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Live updates of all the action from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku
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Hamilton now finds more pace to claim the fastest lap - but Verstappen's going to respond now - and Perez is keeping him at arms' length at the moment.
Stopwatch
Verstappen's rapid out front, posting a 1m44.805s on that previous lap.
Hamilton benefitted from DRS too, having a look at Perez but didn't quite have enough straight to get the move done.
Hamilton found some pace on that lap, logging a 1m45.215s to go a tenth faster than Verstappen on lap 38.
Russell gets past team-mate Latifi for P15.
Vettel steams past Gasly and climbs up to fourth - grabbing a huge tow down the start-finish straight. Hamilton's next up!
Vettel's now challenging Gasly for fourth - the Aston Martin driver's tyres are fresher at this stage.
Green flag
Verstappen gets us underway after a bundle of weaving - Perez under attack from Hamilton as Vettel passes Leclerc for fifth!
Safety car
The safety car period will end at the end of the lap.
Schumacher pits but stops at the end of the pitlane and has to be pushed back - appears to be a problem with the front left.
GIO and RUS go for the hards.
The pitlane entry is now open, so we'll see who takes the risk to jump in and who stays out...
Alonso has pitted for the soft tyres ahead of the safety car restart.
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"Restart's going to be difficult on these tyres," Hamilton says. "But I think it'll be the same for everyone".
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Hamilton's angling for a stop, worried about the wear on his tyres.
The pitlane is currently closed, as Stroll's car awaits clean-up patrol.
It looks like a tyre failure there, the rear left just seemed to give up. Gasly was very close to that, and managed to avoid the stricken Aston Martin.
Safety car
Stroll's moving around in the car, so he looks okay. We'll need a replay of that to see what happened. Safety car.
Crash
It's Stroll! Huge accident on the main straight!
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"No real change in wind, Max" - things you can say about Baku but not after you've just quaffed a plate of beans on toast.
It's the Lance Stroll ident of doom! We had to check the timing screens to make sure nothing was happening as we looked at a replay of his tyre...
Mazepin's getting in the way of Perez and Hamilton a little bit there. Jonathan Palmer's assessment of Giovanni Lavaggi back in the day comes into mind.
Sainz now passes Alonso and is back up to P12.
Stopwatch
Verstappen ups the pace with a 1m45.456s to re-open the lead over Perez.
Mazepin goes off at Turn 4 before managing to get back onto the track without damage.
Stopwatch
Perez has just logged a 1m45.616s to set the fastest lap so far - hoping to reel in Verstappen.
Sainz eventually passes Giovinazzi in a Ferrari-powered battle for P13.
Perhaps we overplayed the unpredictability here - it's all been very clean at the moment. It's a bit too 2016 at the moment.
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"It's impossible to keep up in the middle sector," Hamilton says - as the Red Bull ahead has lovely traction in that part of the course.
Perez is slowly stretching away from Hamilton, not giving the Mercedes DRS, but the tow is still pretty strong on that main straight.
Pit stop
"Just look out for the right rear, peak tyre temp," Verstappen is told - as Vettel now finally stops.
"Pace is good, keep it up," Vettel is told. He's about a second slower than the leading trio, but lapping faster than everyone else.
Stopwatch
Perez underlines that pace with a 1m45.868s, but Hamilton immediately hits back with a 1m45.675s.
Ricciardo passes Alonso to make it up to P11, while team-mate Norris is in P9.
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Hamilton had a run at Perez with DRS, but the Red Bull's stayed ahead. "He's so much faster than me," the Mercedes driver reports.
Stopwatch
Verstappen now drops a 1m46.192s for the fastest lap - while Vettel currently leads having yet to stop.
Pit stop
Perez, fresh from some rapid pace, also now stops - but it's 2s slower than it needs to be! Verstappen gets ahead, but Perez stays ahead of Hamilton.
Pit stop
Verstappen pits from the lead - a 1.9s stop - that's brought him out ahead of Hamilton!
It's about an extra 1.5s on Hamilton's stop there - which means Verstappen and Perez could theoretically clear him with quick tyre changes.
Pit stop
Hamilton now pits for hard tyres, and it's a marginally slow stop as Mercedes had to wait for Gasly to go by.
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