FP1 data
After the Ferrari victory in Monza, we return to the track on the city track of Baku. As every year, the first free practice session saw a particularly dirty track, as is normal on a track made up of 100% roads normally used by regular traffic like the one in Azerbaijan. The evolution of the times was therefore rapid, although incomplete given the two long red flags due first to Leclerc’s accident, into the wall at turn 15, and then to that of Colapinto, also into the wall after turn 4.
In the first part of the session, everyone tackled it with medium tyres in an attempt to test the track while waiting for the grip level to increase, the SF24 number 16 had given particularly positive feedback compared to the competitionparticularly in terms of cornering speed and traction when exiting. The Ferrari therefore seemed at ease right from the first corners, despite the low-grip asphalt, and with a low level of aerodynamic bounce, an initial confirmation of the positive work carried out on the new surface that debuted at Monza.
RedBull in front, McLaren hidden
However, it was Red Bull that gave the break, especially that of Max Verstappen, who at the end of the session lowered the limit by more than half a second. Perez also, always at the end of the session, found an excellent fourth time, confirming an RB20 with what for now seems to be a good initial set-up, while the fastest team at the moment, McLaren, mixed the cards, with very few laps on the soft tyre and then immediately returning to the medium compound. Let’s go and see the comparison of the data to have a clearer idea of what happened on the track.
Verstappen best in the slow middle sector
While the speed graph may not seem easy to read, the growth line of the gap, underneath, is instead decidedly clear. The RB20 number 1, after a first sector just a little faster than Norris and Sainz, decisively distances the competition in the central sector, where the long slow stretch seems to favor the reactivity in traction of the single-seater of the reigning World Champion team. In this sector, the closest to Verstappen’s time is Lewis Hamilton, a good half a second behind, and thanks to a Mercedes that is very performing on the straight (with the seven-time world champion chasing slipstreams even on the shortest straights). Verstappen’s strength, for the moment, appears to be braking phaseespecially in the initial detachment, an aspect that, if confirmed, would show a stronger front compared to the last races, a sign of some improvement already underway at Red Bull. McLaren, for now, is giving way only in the most tortuous section of the track, but, as already mentioned, with Norris author of a single fast pass with the soft tyre. Considering how important rear protection is on the Baku track, which stresses it with the continuous traction phases on the long straights, the recent ability of the Woking team to protect the rear tyres very well, and to maximise the traction phase, places the MCL38 certainly as the favourite of the weekend. At first glance, however, the others are not just watching. Red Bull, still down on the engine as usual, so much so that it is over 4 tenths behind in the last sector, appears to have started with a so-called “baseline” set-up that is this time centered and working, while Ferrari, beyond Leclerc’s mistake which is still attributable to the driver, gives the impression of having excellent fundamentals, between traction and good passages in the short corners, but still has a lot of room for improvement available. Mercedes for now seems slower than the competition in the sequence of the various 90-degree corners of the circuit, but with excellent performances in extension, although it needs to be purified from the various slipstream effects. It is therefore very difficult at the moment to establish some kind of hierarchy between the teams, something that the second free practice should help us identify. The premises are, however, those of another fun weekend.
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