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Red Bull F1 upgrades help Verstappen top FP1 in Baku

Verstappen tops heavily disrupted session with new Red Bull upgrades

13 September at 11:32
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Max Verstappen topped the first free practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend as Red Bull Racing introduced new upgrades. The session was heavily disrupted, with three red flags. Lewis Hamilton finished second, with Sergio Perez in third. Lando Norris rounded out the top four.

With five minutes remaining, Verstappen put the soft tyres on and completed a lap in anger. He was quickest in sector one and two, but lost a bit of time in sector three compared to the best in the session. It was good enough overall to take him to P2. Right at the end of the session, Verstappen moved to the top of the timesheets. Red Bull Racing introduced new upgraded this weekend as they hope to recover from the disappointing Italian GP weekend. Sergio Perez finished third fastest with a late lap. Mercedes decided to run their older floor for this session.

Heavily disrupted session

Early in the session, a few drivers voiced complaints on the radio. This included Lance Stroll who said: "this is not a car". Lewis Hamilton reported a hot seat, while George Russell was concerned about his elbow. Oscar Piastri experienced some bottoming and wanted a small tweak to be made. The session was red flagged for the first time with a piece of debris found on the circuit.

When the session resumed, Esteban Ocon had to return to the pits. Alpine later confirmed to GPblog that the Frenchman was out of FP1 as the team investigated a PU related issue. Sainz caused a yellow flag as he overran the corner at turn seven. He had to reverse up the track but the problems were worse for his teammate Charles Leclerc. The man from Monaco crashed into the wall, wrecking the front of the car. He was unable to complete the remaining 30 minutes of the session.

With around 15 minutes remaining, Franco Colapinto had a crash. Logan Sargeant was dismissed from Williams after he crashed during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. It wasn't the only reason, but it was the final straw. The American had a lot of upgrades on the car, and James Vowles decided enough was enough. This weekend in Baku, his replacement Franco Colapinto has crashed in FP1 and caused a lot of damage. 

Colapinto lost control in the streets of Baku. On the challenging street circuit, Colapinto drifted into the barriers. It was a relatively slow-speed crash, but the angle of the crash caused a lot of damage to the left side of the car. Last time out, the Argentine performed well in Monza and finished 12th. After 45 minutes in FP1, Colapinto was slightly faster than his teammate Alex Albon. When the session restarted, Albon stopped in sector one but was able to continue.