28/04/2023
NEWS STORY
Even though there was 'only' one red flag stoppage earlier, a lot of the headlines referring to practice include the word "chaotic".
Then again, Gasly's Alpine did catch fire causing his team to stop teammate Ocon as a precaution. Tsunoda did hit the wall and cause further damage making his way back to the pits, while Magnussen also stopped out on track.
Then there was the fact that both Mercedes drivers and Alonso opted not to try the softs, meaning we have no idea of their true pace here.
Both Black Arrows encountered brake issues at the start of the session, but it appears the issue was subsequently resolved.
While tomorrow's Shootout (groan) sees the drivers strictly limited in terms of tyre choice, today it is business as usual.
Ahead of Q1, the air temperature is 20 degrees C, while the track temperature is 30 degrees.
As soon as the lights go green there is a mad scramble to get out on track, with Albon leading the way.
Hamilton posts a benchmark 43.676, with Ocon going second ahead of Russell.
However, Albon responds with a 43.615 only to be demoted when Bottas crosses the line at 43.464.
No sooner has Leclerc gone quickest with a 42.791, than Leclerc posts a 42.105 and Verstappen a 41.887.
Oh dear, De Vries is off and in the barrier at Turn 1, bringing out the red flag.
"Oh my god," he sighs, "ohhh!".
The clock stops with 10:17 remaining.
As it stands, Ocon, Tsunoda, Gasly, de Vries and Sainz comprise the drop zone, with Russell, Sargeant, Zhou and Albon hovering.
Verstappen asks for his headrest to be checked as he feels he's lying down.
At Haas, Magnussen is assured that his problem is not that which he encountered earlier, the team confident that it can be fixed. The current issue is electrics-related.
Elsewhere, Ocon appears to have a problem, the Frenchman reporting a loss of power just before the red flag.
Verstappen is under investigation for being released in an "unsafe condition".
The stoppage was particularly hard on Piastri who had just gone quickest in the opening sector.
The session resumes as it is revealed that even before his encounter with the barrier de Vries was warned of an issue with his car.
The Williams pair head the long queue in the pitlane. Indeed, soon there are 18 drivers on track.
Hulkenberg improves to sixth with a 43.010, however moments later the session is red-flagged yet again as Gasly hits the barrier at Turn 3. Elsewhere, Sainz is lucky not to hit the wall after spinning.
"Sorry about that, I locked the front," Gasly reports. "I couldn't stop the car."
"The sun is getting lower and lower," reports Verstappen, "it's annoying." Now before you laugh, moments earlier Leclerc had called for a darker visor only to be told that he is already using the darkest. So, clearly the sun is an issue.
When the session resumes there will be 7:32 remaining, with Sainz yet to post a time.
Once again the Williams pair head the queue.
Perez goers quickest in S1, but further back Verstappen goes quicker. Albon goes quickest in S2, but Perez, Hamilton and Verstappen go quicker.
Albon goes third (42.171), while Perez posts a 41.756 and Verstappen a 41.398.
Hamilton goes fourth with a 42.113.
His team having noticed an issue, Magnussen is told to return to the pits. "We can't risk it," he is told.
Leclerc goes third and Alonso seventh.
"I clipped the wall a bit, rear-right, have a look," says Ocon.
As Verstappen pits, Perez goes quickest in S1.
Sargeant, currently 15th, gets a useful two from his Williams teammate. Indeed, the American goes seventh with a 42.242.
Russell goes fourth (42.073), as Perez improves but remains second.
Bottas goes 13th and Piastri 11th, as Leclerc goes quickest with a 41.269 and Alonso third (41.720).
"I hit the wall with the right-front wheel," reports Hamilton, though he appears to have got away with it.
Quickest is Leclerc, ahead of Verstappen, Alonso, Perez, Russell, Hamilton, Norris, Albon, Sainz and Tsunoda.
We lose Zhou, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Gasly and de Vries.
Q2 gets underway, and once again the Williams pair are out front.
Albon posts a benchmark 42.203, however Alonso responds with a 41.400.
Russell goes second with a 42.007 and Hamilton third (42.173).
A 41.131 sees Perez go top, as Verstappen begins his first flyer. The world champion crosses the line at 41.193 to go second by 0.062s.
The Ferraris are last out along with Norris.
While Sainz aborts his lap in the second sector, Leclerc goes third with a 41.216.
Ah-ha, the Monegasque is now running just ahead of his Ferrari teammate, clearly set to give him a helpful tow.
The Spaniard subsequently goes fifth with a 41.517 as Norris finally heads out.
With 5:10 remaining, the drop zone currently comprises Albon, Piastri, Bottas, Sargeant and Norris, with Hamilton hovering.
Norris goes seventh with a 41.631, while a 41.650 sees Hamilton improve to eighth. Russell can only manage ninth.
A mistake at Turn 3 sees Sainz having to engage reverse in order to escape the escape road.
Albon does well to keep his car out of the barriers as he takes avoiding action after encountering a slow Sainz.
Ocon improves to tenth, but is it enough?
Norris goes fifth, as Verstappen goes top with a 40.822.
Piastri goes eighth which is bad news for Ocon.
Hamilton is tenth, but it's bad news for teammate Russell who fails to make the cut.
Told he didn't make the cut, Albon cites Sainz as the cause, while Russell can only swear.
Verstappen is quickest, ahead of Leclerc, Perez, Sainz, Alonso, Norris, Tsunoda, Stroll, Piastri and Hamilton.
We lose Russell, Ocon, Albon, Bottas and Sargeant.
Check out our Friday gallery from Baku here.
Perez is first out for Q3, followed by Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Norris and Hamilton, slipstreaming highly likely to be the order of the day at Red Bull and Ferrari.
All are on fresh rubber bar Norris and Tsunoda.
Verstappen goes quickest while Perez goes second, however Leclerc responds with exactly the same time as the Dutchman.
Sainz goes fourth, ahead of Hamilton, Norris, Tsunoda and Alonso.
Stroll and Piastri are last out, the pair seeking to benefit form a clear track.
The Canadian goes seventh with a 41.971, while the Australian can only manage tenth (42.097).
Leclerc goes quickest in S1, but Perez subsequently goes quicker. Verstappen can only manage a PB.
In S2, Leclerc goes quickest, while Perez loses pace, as does Verstappen.
At the line Leclerc posts 40.203 to grab provisional pole, while Verstappen fails to improve and Perez remains third.
Alonso improves to sixth, while Tsunoda goes eighth.
Stroll and Piastri post the same time but because the Canadian did it first he gets to start 9th.
So, Leclerc has pole, and starts ahead of Verstappen, Perez, Sainz, Hamilton, Alonso, Norris, Tsunoda, Stroll and Piastri.
Russell will start eleventh, ahead of Ocon, Albon, Bottas, Sargeant, Zhou, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Gasly and de Vries.
After the session it was revealed that both Aston Martin drivers had DRS issues, as was the case for much of practice, which makes one wonder what might have been possible.
"It was tricky in Q1 with the amount of red flags," admits Perez. "it was really challenging.
"I'm a bit disappointed to be sitting P3," he adds, "I felt there was more in it. My lap wasn't that clean but if there's a circuit you can race it is definitely here."
"It's always tough here to put the whole lap together," says Verstappen. "Around here, it's just really hard, you are on the limit trying to make everything perfect.
"We know we have a very good race car so all in all, it's not too bad."
"For sure, I'm surprised," laughs Leclerc. "We thought it would be great to be in front of Aston Martin and Mercedes in qualifying.
"I'm really happy with the lap, the feeling was good since the start so really happy. The pace seems strong, we know the car is good."
Check out our Friday gallery from Baku here.