Azerbaijan GP: Max Verstappen tops Practice One as Charles Leclerc crashes amid red flag chaos in Baku

Max Verstappen topped a chaotic first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc caused one of three red flags by crashing his Ferrari.

Verstappen's leading time, a 1:45.546 set in the closing moments of the session, suggested Red Bull could be more competitive than in recent weeks as the Dutchman seeks to protect his 62-point lead over Lando Norris in the Drivers' Championship.

Lewis Hamilton was second for Mercedes ahead of Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez, while Norris was fourth. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz took fifth ahead of Norris' McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

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After the session had already been paused once to allow the removal of debris from the dusty surface, Leclerc carried too much speed into Turn 15 and became the first victim of the waiting walls of the Baku City Circuit.

Less than 10 minutes after the session had resumed, Franco Colapinto, the Argentine rookie Williams have installed for the remainder of the season, showed his inexperience with a heavy shunt into the barriers at Turn 4.

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The stoppages ultimately resulted in more than a third of the session being lost, limiting running and making it difficult to assess the times delivered by the front-runners.

Despite that, Verstappen finishing three tenths clear of his nearest challenger in Hamilton, with Norris almost half a second off the pace, will offer hope to Red Bull after a winless streak of six races either side of the summer break.

Having had to deal with a lot of noise before finally announcing on Thursday that they will prioritise Norris over team-mate Piastri in a bid to boost his championship hopes, McLaren delivered a typically smooth session with their drivers' best times coming significantly earlier than Verstappen's late effort.

While the challenging nature of the street circuit means further interruptions are possible in Practice Two, Friday's second session is likely to provide a better indication of who will go into the weekend as favourites.

McLaren are on the brink of overhauling Red Bull at the top of the Constructors' Championship, with the reigning champions' advantage having been cut to just eight points with eight rounds of the season remaining.

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Mercedes have failed to maintain the form that saw them win three of the last four races before the summer break, but a strong showing from Hamilton as they reverted to using a older version of the W15's floor suggested they could also be back in contention.

Hamilton's team-mate George Russell was only eighth, but has repeatedly shown his ability to gain speed throughout the weekend.

Leclerc's strong early pace suggested Ferrari may have the potential to build on his surprise victory in Monza two weeks ago, but the Moengasque's crash abruptly halted his momentum.

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While damage to the front of Leclerc's car appeared relatively easily reparable, the impact to the side and rear of Colapinto's car has potentially left Williams in a race to repair his car for second practice.

British teenager Oliver Bearman was 11th for Haas as he steps in for the banned Kevin Magnussen, impressively edging out team-mate Nico Hulkenberg by a tenth of a second.

There was early concern for Alpine as Esteban Ocon was forced out of the session after just three laps due to a suspected power unit issue.

Sky Sports F1's live Azerbaijan GP schedule

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Friday September 13
1.45pm: Azerbaijan GP Practice Two (session starts 2pm)
3.15pm: The F1 Show

Saturday September 14
9.15am: Azerbaijan GP Practice Three (session starts 9.30am)
11.10am: F2 Sprint
12.15pm: Azerbaijan GP Qualifying build-up
1pm: AZERBAIJAN GP QUALIFYING*
3pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday September 15
8.30am: F2 Feature Race
10:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Azerbaijan GP build-up*
12pm: The AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX*
2pm: Chequered Flag: Azerbaijan GP reaction
3pm: Ted's Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 leaves mainland Europe for Baku and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime