Scuderia Ferrari HP drivers finished first and fourth in the second and quickest of today’s two free practice sessions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc was fastest, while Carlos Sainz was also very much on the pace. But then, it being Friday the 13th, things were never going to go entirely smoothly. The team had to put in a fantastic effort to repair Charles’ car after he hit the barriers at turn 15, just 30 minutes into the first session. In fact, he also lost a bit of track time at the start of the second hour because of a problem with the steering. Carlos had a quieter time of it, getting to grips with the track as he racked up the laps at the Baku City Circuit. Generally, grip levels were lower than expected and it’s likely that track evolution tomorrow will be higher than usual. The team still needs some more data for the all-important qualifying session and from the car in race trim and so the third free practice session tomorrow at 12.30 local time (10.30 CEST) will be important. The grid deciding session gets underway at 16.00 (14.00 CEST).
FP1. Both drivers started on the Medium tyre and in fact it was the only compound Charles used, as he ended up in the barriers having set what was, up to that point, the quickest time of 1’46”608. Having assessed the track, Sainz then switched to Softs and set the fifth fastest time in 1’46”173. Between them they completed 32 laps: 21 for Carlos, 11 for Charles.
FP2. Once again, both drivers started on the Medium tyre, Carlos switching to Softs after around 20 minutes. As mentioned, Charles lost some time in the garage with a steering issue, but he still had time to run both the Medium and Soft in qualifying trim, to the detriment of long runs on heavy fuel, the team relying on Carlos’ data for the car in this configuration. They both set their best times on Soft tyres, Carlos fourth fastest in 1’43”950 and Charles topping the time sheet in the closing minutes in 1’43”484, also benefiting from the track evolution. A total of 45 laps completed, 20 with Leclerc and 25 with Sainz.
Charles Leclerc #16