Formula 1 returned to the streets of Baku on Friday with Free Practice 1 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, setting the tone for what promises to be another intriguing weekend in the 2025 season.
Last year’s race winner, Oscar Piastri, arrived as the form driver and championship leader, looking to repeat his 2024 victory. But it was his McLaren teammate Lando Norris who set the early benchmark, topping the opening session with a commanding lap as the papaya cars locked out the top two places.
The session began in typical Baku fashion with plenty of movement at the top of the timesheets. Max Verstappen was first to strike, clocking a 1:46.121s before George Russell edged ahead in his Mercedes.
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar briefly stole the spotlight with a 1:45.904s, only to be bettered moments later by Nico Hülkenberg and then Norris, who lowered the pace into the mid-1:44s.
Verstappen responded, coming within a tenth of Norris, while Charles Leclerc slotted between them, just 0.040s off the top. With the leading trio split by less than a tenth of a second, it looked set to be a tightly contested session.
But for Piastri, things got off to a worrying start. The Australian was called back to the garage after a single outlap and quickly removed his helmet and gloves, signalling potential trouble. McLaren later confirmed an engine issue was what the team were facing.
Russell returned to the top before Norris stamped his authority with a 1:43.747s, four tenths clear of the field.
Shortly after, the session was halted when a loose section of kerbing came adrift after Williams’ Carlos Sainz ran wide, forcing race control to deploy the red flag with 46 minutes remaining.
The stoppage proved lengthy, as marshals and FIA officials worked to secure the kerb. The delay ultimately stretched to 25 minutes, limiting valuable track time.
That played into Piastri’s hands, as the pause gave McLaren time to resolve his engine issue. Piastri rejoined the action and quickly got back on pace, though initially over a second off his teammate.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, the session resumed. Liam Lawson, making his first Baku appearance in Formula 1 but with prior Formula 2 experience at the venue, improved to go fourth fastest in his Racing Bulls.
Norris then underlined McLaren’s pace with a 1:42.704s effort, more than a second clear of Verstappen and 1.1s ahead of Piastri, who soon improved to third, trimming the gap to three tenths, despite brushing the wall during his run.
The closing stages produced the usual Baku shuffle. Leclerc vaulted into second, half a second down on Norris, while Yuki Tsunoda delivered a strong late lap to put his Red Bull fifth, narrowly ahead of Verstappen.
Sainz recovered from his earlier kerb drama to go eighth, just behind Albon’s Williams. Lawson ultimately rounded out the top ten, fractionally ahead of teammate Hadjar.
Lewis Hamilton’s session ended on a sour note when he clipped the wall, damaging his Ferrari’s front wing and suffering a puncture as he limped back to the pits.
At the flag, McLaren emerged as the early favourites with a 1-2 finish, Norris leading Piastri by just over three tenths. Leclerc, Russell and Albon completed the top five, while Verstappen found himself down in seventh as Red Bull looks to unlock more pace ahead of qualifying.
Free Practice 1 Top 10:
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:42.704s
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.310s
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.552s
- George Russell (Mercedes) +0.553s
- Alex Albon (Williams) +0.859s
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +1.034s
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.086s
- Carlos Sainz (Williams) +1.155s
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1.199s
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +1.271s
Free Practice 2 gets underway in just a few hours, with lights out at 12:00am Saturday (NZST).
Header Image: Simon Galloway/LAT Images via Red Bull Content Pool
