Leclerc Ends Opening Day on Top at Baku City Circuit

Charles Leclerc ended the opening day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as fastest, after topping Free Practice Two at the windy Baku City Circuit. The Monegasque topped Friday’s afternoon session after setting a 1:43.224 on the red-walled Soft tyres.

Behind the Scuderia Ferrari driver was both Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers, with Sergio Pérez in second and Max Verstappen in third. Leclerc was +0.248s faster than Pérez, with Verstappen being a further tenth behind. The top three ended the day in a league of their own, with Fernando Alonso who impressed in fourth over +0.9s behind. The Spaniard performed brilliantly on the opening day in Baku, as the double World Champion made the most of BWT Alpine F1 Team’s aerodynamic modifications.

Carlos Sainz Jr has plenty of time to find on Saturday, after ending Friday in fifth-place but crucially a second behind his team-mate. However, Sainz’ time was set on the Medium compound, meaning his true pace is yet to be seen. Pierre Gasly was next in sixth, with George Russell who finished seventh finding himself in a Scuderia AlphaTauri sandwich.

Esteban Ocon was ninth in what was a good opening day for the Frenchman, with Lando Norris in tenth. Lewis Hamilton found himself in an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team sandwich, with last year’s second-place finisher Sebastian Vettel in eleventh, and Lance Stroll in thirteenth.

Whilst it was Nicholas Latifi who had problems in Free Practice 1, it was Alex Albon who faced difficulties in the second session. The Thai driver sat in the garage for most of the session, after damaging his front-left suspension early on.

Mick Schumacher who missed all of FP1, focused on long runs in the afternoon and ended up in nineteenth-place.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 2 Results: