Lando Norris tops Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP1 after red flag and Lewis Hamilton incident

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The start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend got off to a rocky start, with kerb damage causing a lengthy FP1 delay, leaving drivers with just over half the session available.

Lando Norris topped the timing sheets for the FP1 session in Baku, with his McLaren teammate close behind in second place. The McLarens once again appeared to be the most dominant car, however, the pack is tightly behind them, with a second separating the top 12.

With a reduced session, all the teams opted only to run the soft C6 tyres, with drivers putting in some practice qualifying laps before the end of FP1.

A lot of the drivers struggled for grip around the corners, with Turn 15 causing a number of issues for the cars. Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri saw nasty shunts with the wall through the exit of the corner.

Both Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon also struggled with the turn, locking their tyres and going straight into the run-off zone. The corner has been slightly adjusted for this year’s race, with drivers testing the limits of the Turn during the session.

Read more: F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: how to watch Baku race, schedule and weather as McLaren could clinch championship

Carlos Sainz causes major red flag disruption after causing track damage

An early red flag saw the session stopped 15 minutes into the first running in Baku, with what was initially thought to be a large part of carbon fibre on the racing line of Turn 16. It then became apparent that it was damage to the kerb itself after being pulled up by Carlos Sainz’s Williams.

Norris narrowly avoided the debris coming round the corner, with concerns that it could cause a nasty puncture like was previously seen with Verstappen in 2021.

The kerb damage resulted in a lengthy 26-minute red flag whilst a full track inspection took place to ensure there were no further issues.

Four drivers got off to a rocky start to the FP1 session, with Franco Colapinto and Piastri unable to set a time before the red flag, with the McLaren then pitting and extensive work being started on his car. Albon also reported that he had lost a mirror somewhere around the track and George Russell shared that he could smell burning.

McLaren then revealed during the red flag that they were investigating a power unit issue with Piastri’s car, with the Aussie able to get back into the car before the session resumed. The delay worked greatly in McLaren’s favour, with the team fixing the issue during the stoppage, which saw Piastri not miss any running compared to his teammate.

With a lengthy delay, traffic became a real issue for all 20 drivers as they tried to get some flying laps in during the final third of the session. The track is known for some tight corners, causing some issues for drivers trying to put in a fast time.

Lewis Hamilton damages Ferrari with Turn 5 incident

With under 10 minutes of the session remaining, Lewis Hamilton was forced back to the pits with damage to his Ferrari.

It transpired that the Brit had clipped the Turn 5 corner, sprinkling debris across the track. Although it wasn’t a major shunt, the Ferrari suffered a broken front end plate, as well as a puncture.

Hamilton was able to return his car to the pits, but the incident prevented him from making it into the top 10 with a flying lap.