The first day in Azerbaijan saw a good start for Ferrari, which confirmed its affinity with the characteristics of the Azerbaijani track. However Charles Leclerc would hardly have stood out without the help of the evolution of the track, against a Red Bull in form with both Verstappen and Perez. But be careful about talking about a recovery of the world champions, with the track factor playing an even more important role than the updates arrived in Baku.
Ferrari believes in it
The Maranello team celebrates best time of the day with Charles Leclercaccompanied by the fourth position of Carlos Sainz, recovering in the afternoon. The SF-24 also convinces in the race pace simulation on medium tyres, with the Spaniard capable of maintaining a pace marginally better than that of Verstappen. This confirms the predictions of the day before that saw a Ferrari at ease on the ninety-degree curves of Baku, without wide radius and high mileage corners to expose the limits of the SF-24.
If the affinity between the Rossa and the Azeri track is established, turning it into victory will be anything but a given. The Prancing Horse in fact wastes precious minutes, with Leclerc’s mistake in the morning and the subsequent complications following the repairs that cost over a third of the available time. Ferrari thus limits itself in the opportunity to lap on the track, not managing to fully exploit the potential of the car.
The best time of the day clashes with the awareness that the better track conditions that Leclerc benefited from were worth much more than the mere 6 thousandths he gave to Perez. The reference point at Red Bull also continues to be Verstappen, who however made a mistake on the last corner in his attempt. The impression however is that Ferrari starts from a competitive basewith the potential to play for an important result.
Red Bull Lightning
The departure of the world champions provides encouraging premises. Red Bull proves competitive in both sessions and with both drivers, enjoying a Sergio Perez who tends to excel on city tracks, with a balance aimed at enhancing the rear axle in traction. Red Bull in particular surprises in the tortuous central sector, where Max Verstappen trims a tenth and a half to the Leclerc-Hamilton duo and over 3 tenths to the rest of the competition, with the exception of his teammate.
Friday’s competitiveness should not, however, lead one to believe that the RB20’s problems have suddenly disappeared. Although less insistently, even in Baku Verstappen continues to complain about understeerthis time located at the apex instead of the center of the curve. The short curves of the Azerbaijani track also mask the gaps in the stability of the car, making it easier to find the balance. With curves all of a similar type, in fact, there is no difficulty in having to balance the imbalances in the balance between high and low speeds. It is therefore too early to connect the speed of the Red Bulls to the important modification made to the diffuser that arrived in Azerbaijan, and it is still to be understood whether to interpret it as an update or an experiment.
Silent McLaren, Mercedes Goes Against the Current
McLaren is absent from the top positions on the first day in Baku and not only on the flying lap, as Oscar Piastri’s race simulation on medium tyres is not the best either. The Australian shows some tyre degradation at the end of the stint, but starts with a more aggressive initial attack than the competition. Overall a higher McLaren was expectedbut it should be remembered that on other weekends the Woking team has emerged over the distance.
Mercedes scores a blow with Lewis Hamilton’s second and third fastest times in the two sessions of the day. Less positive news is the half hour lost by George Russell in the afternoon due to the replacement of the power unit, which, like Ferrari, takes away precious time from the preparation. Also disturbing yet another return to the old fund specificationprior to the Spa update. The doubts that the latest developments have affected the car’s handling characteristics seem to be confirmed, despite guaranteeing a fraction more load. Finally, Mercedes is surprised by the choice to carry out the race pace simulations with hard tyres, keeping an extra set of medium ones.
Towards qualification
The premises are for an extremely hard-fought Saturday in Baku, just like most of the qualifying sessions held since the beginning of the season. The ability of the teams and drivers to anticipate the evolution of the trackwhich on Friday led to an improvement of two seconds between the first and second sessions. Strategies to exploit the slipstreams on the very long finishing straight, which have already influenced the first day’s standings, will also be central.
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