Baku – EL2: Charles Leclerc gets back in front of the two Red Bulls

As at almost every Grand Prix since the start of the season, the battle for first place was played out between Red Bull et Ferrari. In this game, it's Charles Leclerc who emerged victorious in 1'43″224 ahead of the two Red Bulls of Sergio Pérez (+0″248) and Max Verstappen (+0″356). During the first free practice session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Austrian team had achieved the best time in the first sector, the Red engineers corrected the situation and it was the Monegasque who was ahead of the Mexican by two hundredths. . While we were waiting Carlos Sainz in 4th position, it's finally the other Spaniard on the field, Fernando Alonso who places his car less than a second from Charles Leclerc.

Lando Norris was the first driver to set out to sign a brand during FP2. The Briton went straight at turn 3 and marked the start of another long series of errors and yellow flags. With the medium tires, Charles Leclerc very quickly got the best time, putting a second behind his direct competitors for the title. The Scuderia's first laps quickly showed that between the two sessions priority had been given to the 1st sector.

Charles Leclerc fastest driver in sector 1

Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez signed the best 2nd sector and the dynamics had just been reversed. On the other hand, the problems with twists and turns were still very present in the very long Baku straight. Max Verstappen, who was one of the last drivers to leave the pit lane at the start of the session, had to be content in his second attempt with these medium tires for 4th place, 5 tenths behind his teammate and 6 behind Charles Leclerc. 

Ouch! Bad judgmentAlbon who hits the wall and breaks his suspension... 💥#AzerbaijanGP🇦🇿 | ▶️ https://t.co/7plkVVV12v pic.twitter.com/ZneD1bXp6s

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) June 10, 2022

In the second part of the practice session, the entire paddock left the medium tires in the garages to set the times on soft tires. Fernando Alonso was one of the first to shine with the 4th fastest time. While Carlos Sainz came to put Ferrari back at the top in the second sector, the Spaniard suddenly cut off his attempt just before the finish line. 20 minutes from the end of FP2, Max Verstappen set out to improve his mark until he was forced to stop his effort after Sergio Pérez's error as in qualifying in Monaco. 

Behind the two teams which occupy the top of the ranking at each Grand Prix, Alpine et Alpha Tauri assert themselves as serious outsiders. Pierre Gasly takes the 6th time, 4 tenths behind Carlos Sainz ahead of George Russell who once again dominates his teammate. Lewis Hamilton signed a disappointing 12th place and during the session, the Briton seemed worried about the gap with Charles Leclerc. Note the error of Alexander Albon who hit the wall at turn 17. The Thai gave his mechanics their work to get the car back on its feet before the next practice session at 13:00 p.m. and qualifying at 16:00 p.m. 

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