F1 Azerbaijan GP live commentary and updates – FP1
Follow along for updates from Formula 1's opening Baku practice session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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That's your lot from FP1! We'll be back a bit later on for FP2, which kicks off in just over two hours' time. Thanks for joining us, and we'll see you a bit later on!
Ocon was reversing at Turn 15 to bring out a yellow, something Hadjar also did at Turn 3. Late lock-ups rather closed out that interrupted session.
Norris is top ahead of Piastri, as the Australian's car faced a PU issue - actually, the damage wasn't too bad as he only missed a little bit of track time outside of the red flag.
Piastri hits a 1m43.014s to get within 0.310s of Norris, so he's up to second. He got a slide on through Turn 15 and touched the barrier, but without any apparent damage.
Russell, meanwhile, cements his place in fourth - just 0.001s behind third-placed Leclerc.
Albon touched the wall at Turn 15 with his rear wheel, but it doesn't look like a particularly forceful strike. He's currently fourth overall.
Verstappen looked like he was on a lap, but then duly goes deep at Turn 15 to nip that in the bud.
It was Turn 5 where Hamilton clipped the inside wall, and had to trundle around the rest of the circuit to pit.
Leclerc is up to second, albeit 0.552s off Norris, while Russell is currently third fastest.
Hamilton has had a brush with the wall, and he's collected a puncture and front wing damage for good measure. We're not quite sure where yet, but I'm sure a replay is imminent.
Hulkenberg goes up to fourth, ahead of Russell and Antonelli.
Albon aborts a lap, while Alonso crosses the line and displaces Piastri from 11th.
Norris, however, is on a quick one. Two purple sectors and a green ensures he sets a 1m42.704s to find a second on his previous best.
Piastri is up to third, 1.1s off Norris - but it's only his second actual attempt at a time in this session.
Norris' pre-red 1m43.747s remains the benchmark - let's see if anyone can find a bit more.
Lawson got up to fourth, and Norris' follow-up was aborted.
Piastri's up to ninth, but Verstappen then gets close to Norris' benchmark with a 1m43.790s.
Bortoleto perhaps needed to get a bit more temperature in his brakes as his car didn't quite slow up enough for Turn 2 on his out lap.
Everybody is on the road, and queuing up for position on the entrance to Turn 16 as they look to cue up a lap.
FP1 back under way
And we're back! Sainz is first back onto the road as FP1 is open for business once more.
Piastri ready to go as session to resume
Per McLaren: "We'd identified a PU issue, which we believe we've rectified. Now planning to get Oscar back out when we get going again."
We're going to resume at nine-past.
This isn't the first practice stoppage for track-based issues in Baku - in 2019, George Russell ran over a loose drain cover and damaged a big chunk of his floor. The session was actually cancelled as repairs could not be done in time to resume the session.
Valtteri Bottas did something similar in FP3 back in 2016, hitting a loose drain.
The damaged car of George Russell, Williams Racing FW42
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Kerb your enthusiasm
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has confirmed to Sky that there's a problem with the kerb - actually, it was the kerb bonding all along that was the problem, rather than an errant bit of Sainz underbody.
Piastri's got his helmet on, so it looks like his car's ready to go.
Lots of confusing race control messages here - there's been a shuffle between green and yellow flags. The cars aren't yet allowed out yet, as the pitlane is still closed. We don't have a resumption time either yet.
Is it a test? Who knows!
A marshal was tugging away at a bit of rubber that was dislodged from the kerb bonding, in comical fashion, but eventually got it loose.
The track is clear, then, and we'll have 19 cars out relatively soon - Piastri's issue might take a touch longer to sort out, depending on the severity.
Session paused
There's a bit of debris at Turn 16, so that's going to be collected - the session will be stopped as a precaution. That came out of Sainz's floor when he ran over the kerb.
Norris had just set a 1m43.747s to fly into first place.
Sainz is sliding about, and was millimetres away from tagging the wall at Turn 15.
His team-mate Alex Albon reported a missing mirror earlier - which won't reflect well on him.
Verstappen moves up to second with a 1m44.370s, and Tsunoda moves up to third - just over 0.3s behind.
That lasts until Leclerc, very much a hot-lap specialist at Baku, goes second with a 1m44.314s.
Russell then sets a 1m44.150s to go top. The times will keep falling as the track cleans up.
Norris had to pit to remove a cover on his car's front pitot tube, but he's now just thrown in a 1m44.274s to go top.
On the other side of the garage, Piastri gets out of his McLaren as he's definitely got some early problems with his car. The engine cover comes off to take a look.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was top of the times with a 1m46.121, but Russell beats that to get into the 1m45s - a 1m45.914s to go top.
Hadjar then finds 0.01s over Russell to move up to first with a 1m45.904.
Bortoleto is our first run-off explorer, as he goes a bit deep at Turn 3. No problem for him, as he reverses and gets on his way.
Piastri's potentially got a problem, as he's told to keep revs low. He'll trundle back to the pitlane.
Lots more takers now, as Colapinto returns to the pits after his sighter lap. All except Alonso and Stroll are on track as Russell heads out.
Russell missed yesterday's media sessions, but he's back in the saddle today.
Expect some early experimentations with rear wing level, as teams push the limits of low downforce for the 2.2km Neftchilar Avenue stretch - although downforce is needed for the corners.
Hulkenberg, Lawson, Bearman, and Ocon now hit the road too, aiming to get some early laps in.
Quite a few leaves on track, so it's up to the early risers to sweep up.
Azerbaijan FP1 begins!
The session is now under way! Franco Colapinto, last year's eighth-place finisher, is first onto the track. C6 tyres, no less.
Tyres for this weekend
We've got the softest range of tyres for this one: C4-5-6, so there's an expectation of widespread C5 usage in qualifying tomorrow.
So, don't be surprised if a few sets of the C6 are used up today...
Five minutes to go
FP1 coming up shortly! Let's hope the 20 drivers can keep it clean - although it's always a tough ask on a dusty circuit. Fiver says someone hits the wall.
Yesterday's news, today's chip paper
There were a few little nuggets from the paddock yesterday; as Oscar Piastri was in the main press conference, there was a glut of questions about McLaren's Monza shuffle between he and Norris.
Piastri said: "We’ve had a lot of discussions, clarified a lot of things, and we know how we're going to go racing going forward, which is the most important thing. So, yeah, what's happened is done, and I'm excited to get racing here.
"I think in exactly the same scenario, then yes, I would expect it to be the same. But I think the likelihood that you’re going to have the exact same scenario is virtually impossible. Every scenario is going to look different. There was another factor that was ultimately deemed to be the reason for the swap, and I respect that decision."
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen recounted his experiences driving GT4 machinery at the Nurburgring Nordschleife as he set about getting hold of the requisite licence to race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Despite technical issues with the second part of his permit assessment, Verstappen was indeed rubber-stamped for a full tilt at the N24.
"I had to do that race [in the ADAC ACAS Cup] in a GT4 car. Of course doing that race in a downtuned car is not the most exciting thing to drive, but on the other hand you still learn a lot like that.
"Luckily it rained a bit, it was dry, so I got more experience on the track, dealing with traffic as a slower car. Not always the easiest. The rest, I mean, just staying out of trouble really. But at the end of the day, I think any kind of lap that you drive around there, in any kind of car, is always fun."
#980 Lionspeed GP, Porsche Cayman GT4 - Max Verstappen
Photo by: Jan Brucke/VLN
Baku FP1 coming up shortly!
Good morning, and welcome to our live text feed of updates from Friday practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. We'll have FP1 coming up in a little over 40 minutes, where the drivers will look to become acquainted with the challenge of the Baku circuit.
FP1 is, in essence, an hour of trying not to hit a wall - and we'll be surprised if we don't see at least one red flag...
An aerial view of Baku
