FORMULA 1 GOES TO THE CAUCASUS AS NORRIS SETS THE EARLY PACE
After a two-week pause, Formula 1 roared back to life as the championship moved beyond Europe for its final stretch, kicking things off with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The capital city, nicknamed the “City of Winds,” hosted the first on-track action of the weekend, and it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who set the early benchmark by topping the timesheets in Free Practice 1.
The 6.003 km Baku City Circuit, known for its blend of tight old-town sections and long straights, posed its usual challenges with low grip and little room for error. Despite cloudy skies, conditions remained dry as the session began at 12:30 local time, with most drivers eager to hit the track.
Pirelli has opted for the softest trio of compounds for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, going one step softer than last year’s selection. The C6 will serve as the Soft tyre, making its return after appearances at Imola, Monaco, and Montreal, with the C5 designated as the Medium and the C4 as the Hard.
McLaren had some early drama on the radio, Norris was told to pit to have a component cover removed, while Oscar Piastri was instructed to ease off to avoid loading issues. Elsewhere, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto overshot Turn 3 and had to use the run-off, Alex Albon lost a mirror from his Williams, and George Russell reported a “burning” smell inside the cockpit.
An early red flag interrupted proceedings after Williams driver Carlos Sainz clipped the kerb at Turn 16, dislodging part of it and forcing repairs. Norris had already gone quickest at that point with a 1:43.747 on soft tyres, leading Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen.
Once the session resumed with around 20 minutes remaining, Norris improved his time to a 1:42.704, putting him a second clear of Verstappen and teammate Piastri. Lewis Hamilton brushed the wall at Turn 5, damaging his front wing and returning to the pits for repairs.
In the closing minutes, Piastri narrowed the gap to three-tenths, while Leclerc, who has claimed pole in Baku the last four years, slotted into third, half a second back. Russell ended up fourth for Mercedes, ahead of a strong lap from Albon in fifth. Yuki Tsunoda led the Red Bull charge in sixth, just ahead of Verstappen, who abandoned a late push after running wide at Turn 15.
Sainz made it two Williams cars in the top ten, followed by the Racing Bulls pair of Liam Lawson and rookie Isack Hadjar, with Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli in P13. Hamilton, sandwiched by Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Bortoleto, was 14th after his wall strike. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were next, ahead of Haas’s Ollie Bearman and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly brought up the rear for Alpine.
Teams will now sift through the data and make setup tweaks ahead of Free Practice 2, which is scheduled to begin at 16:00 local time.
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