In the first free practice of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Red Bull and Ferrari were old-fashioned evenly matched, with one important difference: where Max Verstappen’s car hardly bounces, the Ferrari suffers a lot from porpoising on the street circuit in Baku. Sergio Pérez eventually set the fastest time, Verstappen was third.
Pérez clocked a 1.45,476 and was 0.127 faster than Leclerc. Verstappen conceded more than three tenths to his teammate. The Ferrari and the Red Bull get their lap times in different ways. Verstappen and Pérez dominate on the straights, while the Ferrari is fast in the twisty mid sector.
Leclerc and especially Carlos Sainz were shaken up on the long straight in Baku. Sainz, who finished fourth half a second behind Pérez, soon complained to his team that the bounce was very uncomfortable.
Mercedes also suffered a lot from porpoising. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were therefore unable to keep up with the pace at the front. Hamilton was 1.2 seconds slower than Pérez and thus sixth, Russell was one tenth slower than his teammate and clocked eighth time.
Timetable Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Second free practice: Friday 4 pm
- Third free practice: Saturday 1 p.m.
- Qualification: Saturday 4 p.m.
- Race: Sunday 1 p.m.