F1 | Baku, Free Practice 1: Verstappen back in front and hits Leclerc!

Max Verstappen looks up: the world champion was the fastest in the first free practice session of the Azerbaijan GP. The Dutchman with the Red Bull equipped with a new rear diffuser with the soft tyres reached a time of 1’45″546. The performance, at the moment, has a more psychological than technical value because the Azerbaijani track was very dirty and slippery, so much so that it was about three seconds slower than last year’s FP1. In fact, Max, on the radio, complained to the pit wall about an RB20 that… “jumps like a devil!”.

Red Bull, however, is collecting positive information because Sergio Perez’s third place is also worth mentioning: the Mexican is three tenths behind his captain, but Checo gave the impression of adapting better to the Milton Keynes car. Lewis Hamilton with the Mercedes slipped between Christian Horner’s two drivers. The seven-time world champion with 1’45″659 arrived three tenths behind Verstappen: on the W15 James Allison’s technicians chose not to fit the new Spa bottom, preferring to continue with the older version. Lewis found the harmony with the track first, while George Russell did not go beyond eighth position with a gap of almost a second from the top due to unexplained problems in braking.

The McLarens hid because they did not fit the soft tyres, working only on the mediums: Lando Norris is fourth with a margin of just four tenths, that is to say a window smaller than the change in compound is worth, a sign that the MCL38 seems to be the reference car here too. Osca Piastri is sixth, but the Australian seemed less at ease between the walls of the very fast track and is seven tenths behind Max’s lead.

And Ferrari? Carlos Sainz is fifth in the papaya sandwich. The Spaniard used the soft tyres and took a risk, brushing a wall, but escaping with just a shiver. Things went worse for Charles Leclerc who was leading after half an hour of the session: the Monegasque lost control of the SF-24 at turn 15 and crashed almost head-on into the barriers. The Ferrari driver arrived slightly long and locked the front left tyre, losing directionality. The crash affects the feeling that every driver seeks on a very fast street track where there are no escape routes. The red flag was given immediately, interrupting the session for 17 minutes. The driver came out of the cockpit unharmed, while the Ferrari was damaged at the front: the front wing and the right suspension broke. Leclerc ended the session with the ninth fastest time, giving the impression that the red car could be competitive.

Franco Colapinto also paid the price: the Argentine caused the second interruption shortly after Leclerc’s accident. The young South American driver, after having fitted the soft tyres, was the victim of oversteer at the exit of turn 4: the Williams lost grip at the rear and hit the barriers with its left rear wheel, before bouncing off the guard rail with its left wheel as well. The damage to the FW46 was decidedly greater than that caused by Leclerc: the first impact may have damaged not only the suspension, but also the transmission. Franco had made an excellent debut in Monza without making the slightest mistake, while the impact in Azerbaijan will have a very heavy effect on the team managed by James Vowles. Despite the crash, Colapinto finished 16th ahead of Alexander Albon who went wide at the same turn 4, but the Anglo-Thai got away with a straight.

Positive seventh place for Fernando Alonso with a very low Aston Martin in search of speed, while with the other Aston Martin Lance Stroll seemed to be in great difficulty only 13th, seven tenths from the Spaniard. The Top 10 is completed by Daniel Ricciardo with the Racing Bulls equipped with a new front wing: the Australian with the mediums did better than Yuki Tsunoda only 15th despite using a set of softs.

Worth noting is Ollie Beraman’s excellent return to F1, able to immediately get ahead of Nico Hulkenberg on his debut with Haas in place of the disqualified Kevin Magneussen. The Englishman worked with yellow tyres just like his German teammate. There could not have been a better approach after his debut in Jeddah in Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

Valtteri Bottas took Sauber to 14th place, while GUanyu Zhou was 19th. The Chinese driver is missing because he took a second from the Finn. Alpine is suffering on the fast track of Baku: Pierre Gasly initially ran on the hard, then switched to the medium. He finished 18th, while Esteban Ocon only did three laps; a problem with the Renault power unit stopped him while he was starting a long run on the white compound.