Despite securing pole position three times at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has yet to claim victory. The Monégasque, who recently triumphed in Monza with Ferrari, began his new campaign in Baku with a slip-up and significant damage. He wasn’t alone in VT1, a session riddled with crashes and damage, where Max Verstappen clocked the fastest time by a considerable margin.
Adrian Newey’s transition to Aston Martin, the flirtation of his new employer with Max Verstappen, two title fights, team orders at McLaren, and the balance issues of Red Bull’s RB20: the opening day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix offers plenty of talking points. However, the most pressing question is the power dynamics on the super-fast street circuit in Baku, the ultimate challenge after Monza. Does McLaren once again have the fastest car, and can Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull challenge the MCL38 on the shores of the Caspian Sea?
After the first free practice session, filled with incidents, it’s too early to answer these questions. As usual, the focus is on finding balance, tuning, and the initial interaction of the tires with the dusty street asphalt that offers little grip. Lance Stroll complains that his car ‘isn’t a car’, while Max Verstappen records the fastest time. In the preliminary skirmishes with the medium tire, he is overtaken by Charles Leclerc, albeit by a minimal margin (0.030 sec). After about fifteen minutes, the session is halted due to a piece of metal that has detached from one of the cars and is lying in the middle of the track.
Unexpected Interruptions During the Race
The delay was limited to six minutes, but nine minutes later, the track was closed again. Charles Leclerc took too little gas for turn 15, went straight ahead, and smashed the right front of the SF-24. “I was driving on the dusty side,” he excused himself via the radio. Franco Colapinto followed Leclerc’s example not much later. The Argentine, who debuted for Williams in Formula 1 two weeks ago, also crashed into the wall: the red flag was raised for the third time.
Hamilton and Verstappen’s Performance
Lewis Hamilton recorded the best time in the qualifying simulations (with the fastest, red band). He was 0.036 sec faster than Max Verstappen, but Verstappen turned the tables in the last minute. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez finished third: a seemingly satisfactory start for Red Bull.
Results
For more detailed results, please refer to the official Formula 1 website.
Note: All times mentioned have been converted to UST.
