Azerbaijan GP: Perez quickest in FP1 amid porpoising issues
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ended up fastest in FP1 of F1 Azerbaijan GP with Max Verstappen in third behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The porpoising issue was on display again in FP1 of F1 Azerbaijan GP with multiple cars bouncing on the straights which was affecting their overall pace. It was expected to be a problem considering the nature and characteristics of the circuit.
The troubles, meanwhile, continued for Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, with both losing whole of the FP1 session. The former had a leak on his car, while the latter’s car stopped briefly which forced him to stop at the side.
The Virtual Safety Car had to be deployed to clear them. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had multiple incidents which included a brush with the wall and also a small off. There was a small wall moment for Red Bull’s Perez too but it didn’t hurt him as much.
He set the pace with a 1m45.476s lap from Ferrari’s Leclerc (1m45.603s) and Red Bull’s Verstappen (1m45.810s), with the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz (1m46.012s) slotting in fourth. A late dash from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso put him in fifth with a 1m46.571s lap.
This dropped Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to sixth with a 1m46.667s lap, with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m46.696s) seventh. A late lap from Mercedes’ George Russell (1m46.705s) put him in eighth, pushing AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m46.830s) to ninth.
The Frenchman caused a late yellow flag after a huge lock-up and off moment. A late lap from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m46.917s) put him in 10th with McLaren’s Lando Norris only 11th from Aston Martin’s Stroll, who set his best lap on the medium tyres.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was 12th with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in 13th – setting his best lap on the medium tyres – with Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu having a difficult run in 16th and 17th, respectively.
Williams’ Alexander Albon was 17th with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo only 18th after an early fast lap, as Latifi and Schumacher were classified 19th and 20th. The PU list, meanwhile, was also updated by the FIA ahead of the session with seven drivers taking new ICE.
While Verstappenn, Perez, Ricciardo, Stroll, Albon and Latifi took their second, Bottas took his third. In terms of new TC, Verstappen, Ricciardo, Stroll, Albon and Latifi took their second, while Leclerc and Schumacher took their third of the season.
The MGU-H list saw a second unit for Verstappen, Ricciardo, Stroll, Albon and Latifi. At the same time, the MGU-K list had Verstappen, Perez, Stroll, Ricciardo, Albon and Latifi take their second, with Vettel on his third.
