Lando Norris led McLaren in a chaotic first practice at Baku, marked by a red flag, wall brushes, and troubles up and down the grid.
McLaren set the pace in FP1 under the floodlights of Baku, with Lando Norris topping the session and Oscar Piastri close behind, and Charles Leclerc in thirs. What began as a routine opening practice quickly turned into a rollercoaster of red flags, driver drama, and track issues.
Early Running: McLaren Radio Drama
When the pit lane light turned green at 12:30 local time, the field wasted little time getting out on track under cloudy but dry conditions. McLaren, however, immediately found themselves in the spotlight. Norris was told over team radio to return to the pits to “remove something,” which was later revealed as a loose component cover. Meanwhile, Piastri also received strict instructions to “avoid full load,” as the team worked to manage a suspected early power unit concern.
The track at Baku was proved to be slippery as Gabriel Bortoleto went deep at Turn 3 and bailed into the run-off. George Russell added also reported a strong smell of “burning” from his Mercedes cockpit.
Red Flag: Kerb Failure at Turn 16
Barely 15 minutes in, the first red flag. Carlos Sainz ran heavily over the exit kerb at Turn 16, dislodging part of the structure and scattering debris onto the racing line. With safety compromised, the session was halted for more than 20 minutes while marshals repaired the damage.
Just before the stoppage, Norris had already laid down a benchmark lap of 1:43.747s on the soft tyres, putting him comfortably ahead of the rest.
Running Resumes
With roughly 20 minutes to go, green flags waved once again. McLaren sent Piastri back out, the Australian’s earlier power unit issue seemingly resolved, and both cars quickly picked up where they had left off. Norris improved his time to 1:42.704s, stretching a full second clear of Verstappen and Piastri.
Moments later, Lewis Hamilton clipped the wall on the entry to Turn 5, damaging his Ferrari’s front wing and forcing him back to the pits. Albon also found the barriers in his final performance lap on softs.
Final Laps
Piastri produced a strong effort to finish just three-tenths behind Norris. Leclerc, a four-time polesitter in Baku, slotted into third at half a second adrift.
Russell held onto fourth in the lead Mercedes, followed by Albon in fifth. The two Red Bulls endured scrappy sessions: Yuki Tsunoda ended sixth, while Max Verstappen could do no better than seventh after abandoning a push lap when he ran out of road at Turn 15.
Williams enjoyed a strong showing with Carlos Sainz in eighth, while the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and rookie Isack Hadjar closed out the top 10.
Featured Image Credit: EverythingF1
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