F1, Azerbaijan: The start of time trials is delayed

Valtteri Bottas will compete in the handsome scenery this weekend. AOP

Sergio Perez was the fastest in the last free practice of the Azerbaijani GP. The top four was a familiar combination of Red Bulls and Ferraris. Without surprises, the pole position will be settled among these four.

Alfa Romeo’s pace isn’t as good this weekend as it was in the early part of the season. Once braked for a long time Valtteri Bottas was the second to last on the results list. Get rid of the teammate Guanyu Zhouhun however, there were seven tenths, so the Finn had either problems or no clean round.

There is also something to think about Lewis at Hamilton. Brit was only 12th in practice. The man himself wondered at his pace on the team radio.

Lag

The start of free practice was delayed by 15 minutes as a result of rehabilitation work on the track. Before the rehearsals, F2 cars raced on the track, and wall hits were not avoided.

Despite the delay, the training lesson was still run full-time, not shortened by 15 minutes. Usually, training time suffers from delays, as the program for race weekends, including all classes, is very tight.

The F1 Series rules provide for a break of at least two hours between the last free practice and time trials. Since the rehearsals ended at 16.15 local time, the time trial can start at 18.15.

The F1 series has not yet confirmed the schedule change.

A 15-minute delay will be welcomed in motorsport circles. The delay in the start of the Q1 session by a quarter offers everyone the opportunity to follow the departure of the legendary Le Mans 24 Hour run without overlapping with the F1 runs.

Le Mans will start at 5 pm Finnish time, a quarter of this and time trials in Azerbaijan will start.

Iltalehti follows the time trials live as usual.