By Tuvan Gumrukcu
BAKU (Reuters) – Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari as Formula One leader Max Verstappen lapped fastest for champions Red Bull in a three-times halted first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton was second for Mercedes, 0.313 slower than Verstappen’s one minute 45.546 effort, and sandwiched between the Red Bulls after Sergio Perez ended up third on the timesheets.
Verstappen set the fastest lap right at the end after red flags were waved first for a marshal to collect debris and then following crashes involving Leclerc and Williams’ Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto.
Leclerc — who has been on pole for the past three years in Baku without winning — went into the wall at turn 15 with 33 minutes remaining, the Monegasque taking too much speed into the corner and locking up.
“I took the dirt on the outside,” the Italian Grand Prix winner said over the team radio, with other teams also complaining that the temporary street circuit was dirty with low grip.
Colapinto also hit the barriers, at turn four with 18 minutes to go, with the back end snapping around and smacking the wall.
The Argentine was starting his second race weekend after replacing dropped American Logan Sargeant until the end of the season.
The session resumed with 11 minutes remaining and ended with Verstappen fastest at the finish as the team’s floor upgrade appeared to be paying off as Red Bull seek to recover their early season form.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, Verstappen’s closest title rival but 62 points behind the Dutch driver with eight rounds remaining, was fourth fastest with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz fifth and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri sixth.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was seventh fastest with Mercedes’ George Russell eighth and Leclerc ninth despite missing more than half of the session. Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 10 for RB.
British teenager Oliver Bearman made his Haas debut as replacement for suspended Kevin Magnussen, lapping 11th fastest and 0.162 quicker than team mate Nico Hulkenberg.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon reported a loss of power early on, with his session ending early.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)
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