Max Verstappen topped the first practice session in Baku this morning, edging out Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo by four tenths of a second.
The Dutch driver clocked in with a 1:44.410, looking very confident around the treacherous street circuit, with low grip levels throwing a challenge the drivers’ way.
But both Red Bull drivers were spared any drama and made the most of the difficult conditions.
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel ended up third, half a second down from Verstappen, with Force India’s Sergio Perez in fourth.
The Mexican’s session ended abruptly however when he clipped a barrier, prompting a red flag and inflicting substantial damage to the right side of his Force India.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas ended the morning fifth and sixth following a low-profile but studious session.
Esteban Ocon, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top ten.
Free practice 1 results
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:44.410s
19
2
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
1:44.880s
+ 0.470s
22
3
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:44.967s
+ 0.557s
20
4
Sergio Pérez
Force India
1:45.398s
+ 0.988s
16
5
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:45.497s
+ 1.087s
16
6
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
1:45.737s
+ 1.327s
19
7
Esteban Ocon
Force India
1:45.752s
+ 1.342s
24
8
Felipe Massa
Williams
1:45.968s
+ 1.558s
25
9
Kimi Räikkönen
Ferrari
1:46.000s
+ 1.590s
18
10
Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:46.617s
+ 2.207s
11
11
Lance Stroll
Williams
1:46.649s
+ 2.239s
28
12
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
1:46.721s
+ 2.311s
23
13
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:46.837s
+ 2.427s
22
14
Nico Hülkenberg
Renault
1:47.217s
+ 2.807s
21
15
Stoffel Vandoorne
McLaren
1:47.446s
+ 3.036s
22
16
Carlos Sainz
Toro Rosso
1:47.501s
+ 3.091s
13
17
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
1:47.551s
+ 3.141s
20
18
Jolyon Palmer
Renault
1:48.525s
+ 4.115s
15
19
Pascal Wehrlein
Sauber
1:49.048s
+ 4.638s
19
20
Marcus Ericsson
Sauber
1:49.937s
+ 5.527s
21
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