Lando Norris led a McLaren one-two in first practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Englishman set a 42.704 to go just over three tenths faster than his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. McLaren go into this weekend with an opportunity to wrap up the constructors, but it wasn’t a perfect session for Piastri, who encountered a power unit issue and contact with the wall at Turn Fifteen.
The Australian, leading the championship from Norris by thirty-one points, managed thirteen laps in the session compared with the eighteen of the Briton. He had lost very little track time thanks to the red flag, the Baku streets demands high confidence given the close proximity of the barriers.
Norris ended up just over three-tenths quicker than Piastri, with Charles Leclerc half a second off the pace. This could place Piastri on the back foot as this circuit demands confidence, but McLaren look to have a comfortable advantage.
Leclerc put his Ferrari third but was over two tenths further behind the two McLarens, but he has been in the mix in Baku since the race’s hiatus in 2020; he was a thousandth faster than the Mercedes of George Russell.
The session was interrupted by a couple of minor incidents, which brought out the red flags. But the biggest interruption saw all the drivers lose about a quarter of a session when the red flag came out for twenty minutes.
Alex Albon put his Williams fifth, three tenths behind Russell, but it once again showed the team’s strength like in Monza at circuits with long flat out straights. The British-Thai driver was just under two tenths faster than the two Red Bull’s, with Yuki Tsunoda going half a tenth faster than Max Verstappen. Verstappen was seven hundredths ahead of the second Williams of Carlos Sainz.
The Dutchman looked to be in the mix late in the session, but had to abort after a lock-up in the braking zone for Turn Fifteen, where he ran wide. Sainz also brought out the first red flag when he dislodged the kerb at Azneft Square (Turn Sixteen) a key corner on the long flat out section to Lewis Corner (One).
Liam Lawson put his Racing Bull ninth going four and a half hundredths behind Sainz and just over eight hundredths faster than teammate Isack Hadjar, to complete the top ten. Hadjar was another driver to find the run-off area.
Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes eleventh as he missed out on the top ten by a hundredth as he went a thousandth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton, who had to settle for thirteenth. The seven-time champion set the same time as Gabriel Bortoleto, with Fernando Alonso just over half a tenth behind.
Ollie Bearman put his Haas a hundredth behind Alonso, as he split the Aston Martin’s with Lance Stroll a tenth and three quarters behind. While Bearman’s teammate Esteban Ocon was just over a tenth behind. The two Alpine’s completed the field, Franco Colapinto just under a tenth and a half ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly.
