Lando Norris appears to be a man on a mission in Baku. The Brit, currently second in the World Championship behind teammate Oscar Piastri, was by far the fastest in the opening practice. Max Verstappen finished seventh, a second behind, due to a mistake in the final phase that prevented him from completing a flying lap.
After a two-week racing break, except for Max Verstappen who earned his GT license for the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring last week amid massive public interest, the Formula 1 circus has landed on the street circuit in Baku. This asphalt ribbon through the historic city center, like the previous race in Monza, reaches high top speeds.
The opening phase immediately makes clear why the Azerbaijan GP is typically (except for the first edition) full of challenges. Gabriel Bortoleto is the first to go off the track, without damage. He will not be the last this weekend. The first session does not last very long: after a quarter of an hour it is stopped because something has come loose in one of the kerbstones in turn 16&7. Although it seems a simple intervention to fix the problem, this is not the case.
Oscar Piastri is already in the garage at that time. An engine problem seems to completely disrupt the first training of the World Championship leader, but the damage is repaired quite quickly. Until that point, George Russell had recorded the fastest time. The Brit, who had to skip the usual media obligations due to illness on Thursday, does not seem to have recovered yet, judging by his sonorous, sick, and unrecognizable voice over the radio when he reports a strange smell in the cockpit. In addition, Russell is unlucky that the Mercedes W16 bounces considerably on the straight.
The delay ultimately lasts just over twenty minutes, after which the track is predictably busy and Lewis Hamilton narrowly escapes a crash. Norris records the fastest time in the shortened session, in which Verstappen sees his flying lap go up in smoke due to a mistake in the final minutes.
