Verstappen Fastest in Chaotic Azerbaijan GP Practice Session with Multiple Red Flags…
Max Verstappen led the opening practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite multiple red flag interruptions due to incidents involving Charles Leclerc and Franco Colapinto. Rain before the session left the Baku City Circuit in tricky conditions, with drivers building up speed cautiously. Verstappen set an early best time of 1:47.214 on medium tires, but the session was paused after 12 minutes due to debris on the track.
When practice resumed, Verstappen improved his time to 1:46.858, only for Leclerc to surpass him. However, Leclerc then crashed into the wall at Turn 15, causing another red flag. After the session restarted, many drivers switched to soft tires, with Lewis Hamilton briefly taking the lead with a 1:45.859 lap. However, the session was interrupted again when Williams rookie Franco Colapinto crashed at Turn 4.
With 11 minutes left, the session restarted, and Verstappen managed to improve his time, setting a 1:45.546 lap to reclaim the top spot. Hamilton finished second, followed by Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez in third. Other notable performances included Lando Norris in fourth, Carlos Sainz in fifth, and Oscar Piastri in sixth.
The session was marked by multiple red flags but ended with Verstappen leading the field ahead of Hamilton and Pérez.
