Live: F1 Azerbaijan GP commentary and updates - FP1 & FP2 | Live text

By: Stephen Lickorish, Megan White

Summary


	Summary Leclerc fastest in FP2 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Perez and Verstappen Perez topped the opening session ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen FP3 gets underway Saturday 1500BST (1200 local time)
	Leaderboard Leclerc, Ferrari Perez, Red Bull Verstappen, Red Bull Alonso, Alpine Sainz, Ferrari Gasly, AlphaTauri Russell, Mercedes Tsunoda, AlphaTauri Ocon, Alpine Norris, McLaren

Status: Stopped

18:25 We'll see you tomorrow for all of the FP3 and qualifying action - until then, we'll bid you a good evening!

18:24 Here's the report from FP2 at Baku: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-azerbaijan-gp-leclerc-leads-fp2-from-perez-and-verstappen/10319571/

18:06

18:02 Sainz ends the session by becoming the 93rd (*) driver to go deep at Turn 15 (* figures may be exaggerated).

18:01 And that's the end of FP2! Leclerc ends the session quickest, from Perez, Verstappen, Alonso and Sainz.

17:58 "What's going on? There's a problem with the engine no?" he asks, going relatively slowly. He's picked up the pace now, and is told "we think everything is fine." "The loss of power was normal?" Leclerc says.

17:53 Well, Stroll had an off - Russell had to skip the apex of the corner to avoid the Aston Martin in the way. Business as usual now.

17:52 Just about eight minutes to go, and there's a yellow flag at Turn 15 - Stroll and Russell had separate offs at the corner.

17:46 It's a 1m43.580s for Verstappen, good enough to stay P3.

17:45 It seems that we're into the cut and thrust of race runs now, as the drivers see how long the used softs last. That said, Verstappen's trying to go a bit faster.

17:42 Another off for Perez, going deep at Turn 15 and thus putting a pin in his team-mate Verstappen's lap. Sainz was also caught out by that.

17:39 Perez has gone deep at Turn 1, a feat that has been repeated by Pierre Gasly. Schumacher, meanwhile, reports something "flopping around" next to him, which is some loose tape, and Leclerc also goes deep at Turn 7. Amateurs.

17:37 Schumacher went deep into Turn 4 and had to take evasive action, hence the brief yellow. In an unrelated incident, Albon touched the wall on the first kink along the back straight, getting far too close and requiring repairs to his suspension.

17:35 Perez does a 1m43.472s to go second overall, moving above Verstappen in the times. Meanwhile, there's a yellow flag in the first sector.

17:33 There's a 1m43.224s for Leclerc, extending his advantage out front. Still loses time on the straight as he doesn't get a tow, but he's still over half a second quicker than his previous effort.

17:31 Magnussen's had a run-in with the Turn 3 run-off, but he's got back on the road. Meanwhile, Gasly moves up to sixth.

17:29 A flurry of improvements followed Vettel - Russell went up to fifth, with Tsunoda, Hamilton and Norris improving, before Alonso moved back up into P5.

17:28 Vettel moves up to P6 now, as the circuit once more begins to teem with activity.

17:24 It's a 1m43.836s for Verstappen, who grabs P2 - 0.030s off Leclerc.

17:21 Perez is now up to P2, just over a tenth away from Leclerc, as Verstappen moves up to P4. Most of the cars are currently in the pits, as we're a third of the way through the session.

17:17 Leclerc lost a bit of time in the final part of the lap, and thus doesn't quite eclipse his personal best. Sainz now goes P2, 0.46s off his team-mate.

17:15 Perez is P2 now, 0.7s off Leclerc, as the Ferrari driver seems to be going quicker so far on this latest lap.

17:14 Two plastic bags causing havoc for Sainz and Ocon. If they get picked up by one of the Mercedes drivers, we'll have a rustling Russell.

17:12 Everyone's set a lap bar Max Verstappen, who was dealing with some rear wing changes. But he's now on-track to bother the timekeepers.

17:11 Leclerc now punches in a 1m43.806s, getting a tasty tow from Latifi. Alonso goes P2 with a 1m44.928s.

17:10 "That was brake temp related," Vettel is told as he goes deep into Turn 1.

17:09 Sainz now goes faster, a 1m45.118s, as Perez goes up to P2 and Zhou gets third above Hamilton. Sweetness.

17:08 Hamilton had a rather nice tow down the straight from Perez, a free gift from the recently renewed Red Bull racer.

17:07 And there's a 1m46.295s for Hamilton to go top, 0.06s clear of Tsunoda.

17:06 Alonso now posts a 1m46.673s, but Tsunoda betters that with a 1m46.351s.

17:05 Sainz has kicked us off with a 1m46.705s, on the medium tyres. Sebastian Vettel gets up to P2.

17:05 That's a McLaren in the run-off at Turn something, with Norris having to attempt a 900-point turn. He gets out of the run-off and continues on his merry way.

17:01 Carlos Sainz is first onto the circuit, kicking off with a practice start on the exit of the pitlane. Esteban Ocon accosts him into the opening corners.

17:00 And the winds of change have now activated the green flag - FP2 now begins!

16:59 Baku, of course, is known as the City of Winds. That's also what they call my house after too much Deliveroo...

16:55 Five minutes to go - and, as expected, zero percent chance of rain.

16:52 Lots of bouncing going on along the seafront straight - it's like a bouncy castle at a summer village fete. Such are things one doesn't get to enjoy when you're inside doing the feed for FP2...

16:49 Quick recap from FP1: Sergio Perez was just a whisker ahead of Charles Leclerc to lead the session - with Max Verstappen third quickest. Sainz was fourth, ahead of compatriot Alonso.

16:46 Good afternoon! It's almost time for FP2 - yielding another hour for the 20 drivers to get more of a taste of the terrifyingly tricky Baku circuit.

15:22 It's a tight turnaround before FP2 - with both the Haas and Williams teams having plenty of work to do after their car woes - so we'll be back shortly before 3pm UK time for second practice. Bye for now