5 Key Takeaways From F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Friday Practice

There was absolutely nothing to complain about for McLaren after the first session with Lando Norris leading teammate Oscar Piastri in a one-two.

But the second session was far from a breeze for the squad out to wrap-up the constructors' championship this weekend. First, Norris clouted the concrete wall on the exit of Turn 4 to inflict damage to his left-rear suspension. He was forced to limp back to the pits with his car crabbing and brought an early end to his running.

Moments later, Piastri had an impact with the barriers of his own, though this was a strike with the softer TecPro guard on the exit of Turn 15, the likes of which have been seen across the day.

But it did mean he didn't put down a representative qualifying simulation - Piastri was in fact classified only 12th in the session.

The pace should be there come Saturday's qualifying, but it is far from ideal preparation for the team at a circuit where track evolution and the understanding of the surface is crucial.

Is Ferrari back on form?

The pace on show from Hamilton and Leclerc was stellar in the more representative second session in the Azeri capital.

The Briton has struggled to match his teammate across the season but did show signs of improvement in Zandvoort before crashing out of the race. That threatened to stall momentum as he then faced a grid penalty at the Italian Grand Prix but Hamilton's race pace was again promising.

So topping FP2 is perhaps proof that things are pointing in the right direction for Hamilton, underlined by Leclerc's strong performance in the other car. The Monegasque has a strong record in Baku having taken every pole position here since 2021 and it would be no surprise to see him in the fight again on Saturday.

One word of warning for Ferrari would be that it was in this position after Friday at Monza before falling back somewhat, though that is a very different circuit.

Red Bull struggling after Monza masterclass?

Talking of different circuits, Red Bull's prospects look a far cry from Max Verstappen's stunning win last time out. The Dutchman was just sixth in FP2, a full sixth-tenths off Hamilton's best time, as he was left concerned by the braking performance of his car.

Verstappen was complaining of his car lifting over the bumps under braking, leading to front locking which saw him run down one of the circuits escape roads.

Teammate Yuki Tsunoda was down in 14th and behind the second Racing Bull of Isack Hadjar by the end of the session, adding more pressure to his position for next season.

More pressing for Red Bull will be this evening's debrief to get to the bottom of where its pace is at ahead of Saturday's running.

Qualifying tire choice could be crucial

Pirelli has given teams the C6 tire as the soft compound for this weekend, marking only the third time it has been used this season.

It's a step softer than the more familiar C5 which is often the softest step at race events and will provide more grip, counterbalanced by a lack of endurance.

That has provided a headache for strategists trying to decide which tires to use from each car's allocation at which points of the weekend. Many drivers used the softs early in FP2 which goes against convention as usually mediums or hards are burned to save the red sidewalled tires for qualifying.

This points towards medium tires being preferred for the race for pole position, leaving further questions regarding race strategy for the grand prix.

To add to that complication, rain is forecast for the morning on both Saturday and Sunday. Who would want to be a strategist?

FP3 crucial for data after FP1 delays

And added to the difficulty for drivers and teams when it comes to figuring out the best way to get through the rest of the weekend, everyone is missing at least 30 minutes of data after a peculiar red flag period in FP1.

When Carlos Sainz ran over the Turn 16 exit kerb in his Williams, a large strip of rubber where the kerb had been bound to what is usually a public road became loose.

This triggered the session stoppage as repairs to the circuit were made and safety checks were completed but as is stipulated in the regulations, the practice red flag does not stop the session clock.

It meant that around 25 minutes were lost to the delay and by the time out-laps and in-laps were completed, it was much more like half-an-hour of time lost.

For Norris, he is even further behind when it comes to data gathering given his incident but for all teams, FP3 is likely to be busy to make up for lost time.

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