F1 is in Azerbaijan for what is typically one of the most action-packed Grand Prix races of the year.
Max Verstappen will be looking to extend his title lead after crashing at 200mph in last year’s race with just four laps left.
But he will have Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc hot on his heels as well as team-mate Sergio Perez, who won in Baku last year and also took the chequered flag in Monaco a fortnight ago.
Here’s how you can watch the practice, qualifying and race live from Azerbaijan.
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Seven down so far
This weekend’s race in Baku will be the eighth race of the 2022 calendar.
Max Verstappen has won four out of the seven races so far, with Charles Leclerc taking the chequered flag twice and Sergio Perez topping the podium last time out in Monaco.
Lewis Hamilton’s P3 in the opening race of the season is his best result of the campaign, and feels like a very long time ago.
🏁 F1 2022 calendar: practice times, dates and racetrack info
Baku bouncing causes nightmares
Many of the drivers were forced to put up with severe bouncing during practice today.
Poor Esteban Ocon even thought he was going to lose his helmet due to the bumpy ride.
The Alpine driver said: “It’s important to get confident, learn these big braking zones to try and get these bumps under control as well
“The head is all over the place, I felt I was going to lose my helmet at the end of the straight line.
“It’s quite tricky for everybody, it’s important to get a feel for that. That’s what we’ve done today.
“It’s not physical for the right reason, unfortunately. It’s very strange, it’s like oscillation, you can’t train or get ready for [it].
“It’s just painful on the body, really. I can feel it on the neck, it’s getting me smaller – hopefully I will lose a couple of centimetres!”
Russell speaks after “tricky day”
George Russell has admitted both Ferrari and Red Bull have an “inherently faster car” than Mercedes.
The Brit finished FP2 in seventh, while teammate Lewis Hamilton was way down in 12th.
Speaking at the end of the day, Russell said: “It was a tricky day, we weren’t as competitive as we would have liked. Again, a tricky track to get the tyres in the right window.
“You see with a number of drivers, their fastest laps were coming right at the end of the run, whereas Ferrari and Red Bull, they seemed to be able to turn it on.
“At the moment, they just have an inherently faster car than us and we’ve done everything we can to try and catch up.
“If we’re totally on top of the tyres we’re not going to fully close that gap – or we’re definitely not going to close that gap, they’re just too far ahead.
“So that’s probably 50% of our issues – the rest is just the lack of performance we have at the moment.”
Exclusive – Horner on Verstappen-Perez partnership
Christian Horner is confident Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez won’t turn into a pair of raging Red Bulls as they battle for the F1 title.
Horner even pointed out there is a bromance between his current pairing.
He said: “You can see there’s a great respect and there’s a friendship between the two and they work very well together as a pairing.
“They work as a team. You saw that in Barcelona and you saw that with Checo in Abu Dhabi last year, he was outstanding, so I think the dynamic in a team is as good as it has ever been.
“Back then you had two drivers who clearly didn’t like each other and now there is a genuine respect that exists between the two.
“We’ve got two drivers. They’re both getting the same opportunity but it’s still very early in the year.
“We’ve only had a sample of what seven races so far and still have a lot of racing to do with a couple of sprint races in there too.
“And we are up against a very competitive Ferrari team, so our number one priority is making sure both our cars are ahead of the Ferraris and we will then see where we are later in the year if it’s still very close between the drivers.”
Leclerc still has “question marks”
Despite topping the standings in FP2 today, Charles Leclerc believes there are still questions to be answered before Sunday’s race.
He told formula1.com: “We’ve had a hard Friday because overall I think we’ve improved quite a lot from FP1 to FP2 but there’s still another step that we have to do from today to tomorrow.
“I also feel Iike in FP2 nobody really put a lap in and neither did we – actually I think Max and Carlos didn’t actually improve on the softs, so there’s still quite a lot of question marks.
“I think the positive to take away from today is that the tyre degradation was good and the race pace was very strong, so that is good.”
More from Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton was also asked if he had changed anything on his car between FP1 and FP2.
And the Brit said Merc had tried experimenting with his car, but the plan backfired.
He added: “We tried something experimental on my car and it didn’t feel that great to be honest.
“But at least we tried it and got data on it and now we’ll go through it.
“And hopefully for tomorrow we’ll probably revert back to what we changed.”
Lewis Hamilton “sore” after P2
Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has spoken to Sky Sports after being 12th fastest around the track in FP2.
And he said he was feeling “sore” after spending the session plagued by porpoising issues.
When asked what the hardest thing about the day was, the seven-time world champ laughed and said: “The bouncing.”
Then when quizzed if he was alright, Hamilton said: “I’ll get by. I’m a bit sore but yeah. We’re hitting some serious speeds at the end here and it’s bouncing a lot.”
Sergio speaks after FP2
Sergio Perez, winner of the last race in Monaco, has spoken after FP2 in Baku.
The Mexican was second fastest on the track behind Charles Leclerc.
And he said: “I think there is good data for us to gather and to go through tonight.
“And hopefully we are able to put it all together tomorrow for qualifying.”
He added: “I feel confident out there. As always with braking you are going to make some mistakes here and there.
“But that’s the way it is at the moment but we just have to keep our heads down and hopefully we are able to sort it out.”
Hamilton outside top 10
Behind the wheel of that car will be a very unhappy Lewis Hamilton.
The weekend is still in its early stages, but only being 12th fastest in FP2 does not bode well for the Mercedes star.
Credit: EPA
FP2 is done – Leclerc leads the way
Ferrari’s Leclerc sets the pace ahead of the Red Bull duo. Perez is 0.248 seconds off the pace and Verstappen 0.356 seconds.
Alonso is the shock in fourth place for Alpine, ahead of countryman Sainz, who is in P5.
Russell, 7th, gets the better of his Mercedes teammate Hamilton, who is down in 12th in another miserable outing for the seven-times world champion.
Bump in the road
It is proving challenging for the drives, especially the long straight, which is 2.2km long.
It is not just the Mercedes that is bouncing, it is evident all cars are experiencing problems.
There come be some unhappy comments form the drivers about the surface this evening.
Leclerc has a lock up
The Ferrari man has a lock up and goes into the escape road at turn seven.
He keeps out of the barriers and is now on his way back to the pits.
And now Perez has done the same at turn 15. No contact with the barriers but boy, some are getting close.
Perez and Verstappen swap places
The Mexican, who won last out in Monaco, is still on the pace as he leapfrogs Verstappen into second place behind Leclerc.
Alonso is now up to fourth and Sainz in fifth.
Meanwhile, Schumacher makes another error but keeps out of the wall.
Mercedes duo on flying runs
Russell, who has until now been slower than his teammate, now gets on top.
He moves into sixth with a time that is 0.742seconds off Leclerc in P1, while Hamilton is slower on his lap after making a mistake in sector one.
Hamilton is now in ninth place behind Tsunoda and Norris.
Leclerc sets the pace
The Ferrari man tops the tree and sits ahead of Verstappen, but there is just 0.030 seconds in it.
It IS close. Perez in P3 and Sainz in P4 while Alonso in 5th gives Alpine some confidence.
Frantic scenes in Red Bull
There is a lot of work being done to the rear wing of Verstappen’s car. It was certainly flexing a lot in F1, especially on the long straight.
The world champion is yet to run in FP2 as his team make their final adjustments.
FP2 is go
It was impressive from Red Bull and Ferrari in the first session, can Mercedes get in the mix for the second session?
FP2 about to begin
It’s almost time for another 20 drivers to get a feel for this bewildering Baku circuit.
Hill: The Sergio surge continues
Former world champion Damon Hill believes Sergio Perez is finally living up to the reputation from early on in his career.
The Mexican continued his fine form with the fastest time in the first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Speaking to Sky Sports News after FP1, Hill said: “It’s what I call the Sergio surge.
“He’s coming on strong, and he feels comfortable and confident.
“He’s been resigned, and he’s now putting in the kind of performances that Red Bull always hoped he would.”
FP1 is done
Perez leads the way. Fresh from his win in Monaco and a new contract in the bag, he leads the way in Baku and sits at the top of the timesheets.
Leclerc is in P2, Verstappen in P3 while Sainz is in P4 to make it two Red Bulls and two Ferraris in the top four.
Alonso fifth, Hamilton six in the best of the rest but both over a second off Perez’s best time.
More misery for under-fire trio Schuamcher, Latifi and Ricciardo who slump to the bottom of the timesheet.
Curious timing
Midway into FP1 and the FIA have released a statement stating the appointment of Tanya Kutsenko as “the first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Advisor dedicated to motor sport.
“She is Ukrainian born, is an accomplished international motor sport development expert.”
It comes after a backlash over comments made by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Straight fight between Ferrari and Red Bull
It is difficult to see past these two teams right now, however, there is some hope – well maybe.
Hamilton has now popped up in fifth in the timesheets, but still a bit off the pace.
And a quick word on under-fire Daniel Ricciardo, he is the slowest man on track. He is in real danger of losing his seat at McLaren unless he improves.
Still no sign of a Mercedes comeback
Sorry Hamilton/Russell fans, but your drivers are currently in P9 and P12, as there seems to have been little improvement in the one-week break from Monaco.
Yes, of course this is only practice, but the early signs are that they are again off the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari and behind AlphaTauri and Alpine.
Virtual safety car ended
We are back up to full speed again in Baku after the Williams was removed from the track.
Verstappen currently leads the way with a time of 1:46.932. but it is already close with the Ferraris.
He is just 0.067 seconds ahead of Leclerc, who is second. Perez in third, Alonso fourth, Sainz fifth.
Latifi stops on track
Now it is the Williams man who has a problem. He radios his team to tell them his car just switched off.
He is being rolled out of the way by the marshals as the virtual safety car is deployed.
Neither the start Latifi or Schumacher needed to this weekend, as both are under pressure to improve.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
