AZERBAIJAN GP FIRST PRACTICE SESSION

Max Verstappen finished at the top of the time sheets in the first practice session of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton in second and Sergio Perez in third.

The first practice session of the Azerbaijan GP kicked off under hot conditions at 29°C. However, rain before the session led to expectations of low grip on the track. As soon as the session started, many drivers hit the track for their laps. Oscar Piastri radioed in to report the low grip levels.

After 5 minutes, Perez was shown a black and white flag for crossing the pit line. Many drivers were running on medium compound tires, while Lewis Hamilton temporarily took the lead with a time of 1:47.618. He was followed by Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, and Alonso.

Thirteen minutes into the session, red flags were brought out due to debris on the track. After about 5 minutes, the debris was cleared, and the session resumed.

With 20 minutes gone, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, and Hulkenberg made up the top five. Esteban Ocon reported a lack of power in his car 22 minutes into the session but managed to return to the pits.

Carlos Sainz briefly caused yellow flags after going into the runoff area at Turn 7, but he returned to the track without incident. During this time, Charles Leclerc took the lead with a time of 1:46.608.

Thirty-two minutes before the end of the session, Charles Leclerc crashed into the barriers at Turn 15, damaging his car. The session was stopped with red flags. Leclerc later explained that the crash was due to low grip caused by dirt on the track.

Five minutes later, Leclerc’s car was cleared, and the session resumed. With 20 minutes remaining, many drivers switched to soft compound tires, with Norris briefly taking the lead with a 1:46.027 lap.

As times continued to improve, Hamilton set a lap time of 1:45.859 to take the lead. However, with 18 minutes left, Franco Colapinto crashed into the barriers at Turn 4, once again bringing out red flags.

The session restarted with 11 minutes to go, and many drivers took to the track for more laps. While Hamilton’s time remained unbeaten until the final moments, Max Verstappen completed a lap of 1:45.546 after the session time had expired to claim the top spot.

The top 10 were Verstappen, Hamilton, Perez, Norris, Sainz, Piastri, Alonso, Russell, Leclerc, and Ricciardo.

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