The first day of practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was certainly an eventful one, with crashes into manhole covers, barriers and for one recovery vehicle, bridges! So, who is looking good ahead of qualifying, and who could be struggling? We try to pick apart the first two practice session and give you some tips ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session…
Ferrari
Ferrari have topped both sessions so far with Charles Leclerc number one and Sebastian Vettel second in both sessions. The first session didn’t see much running of course, after George Russell’s manhole cover event, but Ferrari proved that they are quick around this track, as Leclerc was more than six tenths quicker than championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren
Seventh and tenth in FP2 is a good showing for Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris and they will be one of the favourites to appear in another Q3 session, after previously making it in both Australia and Bahrain. McLaren have looked quicker this season than in previous years, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them break into the top ten once again.
Toro Rosso
Despite Daniil Kvyat’s late crash in FP2, the Toro Rosso team showed very solid pace, with Kvyat setting the sixth fastest time and Alex Albon in eighth. The Thai driver also racked up the most laps of anyone, lapping 33 times. Toro Rosso have scored points in every race so far, but have only managed to get four points, so a good qualifying could give them a really good chance to catch up with the rest of the midfield.
