F1: Perez tops opening practice for the Azerbaijan GP

Picking up where he left off in Monaco two weeks ago, a confident Sergio Perez turned a lap of 1m45.476s to top opening practice for the Azerbaijan GP on the streets of Baku in his #11 Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc was 2nd quick for Ferrari, 0.127s back in his #16 car.

Max Verstappen was third in his #1 Red Bull, 0.334s behind his teammate.  It should be noted that Verstappen does not try hard in the early practice sessions, but he did spin in Turn 14 late, but did not hit anything.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB18 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on June 10, 2022 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Carlos Sainz Jr. was 0.536s back in his #55 Ferrari while Fernando Alonso, sporting a new low downforce rear wing,  rounded out the top-5 for Alpine, 1.095s behind Perez in his #14 machine.

Carlos Sainz Jr., #55 Ferrari

The two to miss most of the session were Schumacher and Latifi, both due to mechanical woes.

This is Formula 1’s sixth visit to the coastal city since it’s debut in 2016 where it quickly became a fan-favorite for its narrow sections, tight corners and high-speed straight set to a stunning historic backdrop of the city’s old and new landmarks.

Since its debut race it has earned a reputation for providing some of the most dramatic moments of each F1 season.

Who can forget Max Verstappen’s race ending tire failure or Lewis Hamilton’s costly mistake at the 2021 restart? Or Daniel Ricciardo’s incredible triple overtake into turn one in 2017? One thing is for sure: this weekend will be filled with exciting racing action!

Practice 1 Results

POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME GAP LAPS
1 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:45.476 +0.000s 20
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:45.603 +0.127s 20
3 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:45.810 +0.334s 24
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:46.012 +0.536s 21
5 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:46.571 +1.095s 21
6 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:46.667 +1.191s 20
7 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:46.696 +1.220s 24
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:46.705 +1.229s 23
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:46.830 +1.354s 24
10 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:46.917 +1.441s 20
11 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:47.691 +2.215s 18
12 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:47.847 +2.371s 23
13 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:47.946 +2.470s 23
14 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:47.970 +2.494s 21
15 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:48.078 +2.602s 21
16 24 Zhou Guanyu ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:48.222 +2.746s 23
17 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:48.419 +2.943s 21
18 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:48.810 +3.334s 21
19 6 Nicholas Latifi WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:50.921 +5.445s 7
20 47 Mick Schumacher HAAS FERRARI 1:58.332 +12.856s 3