Norris tops FP1 in Azerbaijan as Piastri faces issues

Norris set the fastest time at 1m42.704s, 0.310s ahead of Piastri, in a session that only ran for 35 minutes after problems with a kerb on the circuit.

The delay initially seemed to help Piastri, who was told to pit after his out lap at the beginning of the session due to an engine issue. The Australian emerged from his car as his team worked feverishly to resolve the problem, which later was revealed to be a PU issue.

He returned to his car as soon as the rest of the field was able to get back on track, with the issue apparently resolved, allowing the Aussie to continue running normally.

Norris had already topped the timesheets early, but debris from the kerb at Turn 15 forced an immediate red flag while marshalls cleared the hazard.

The red flag lasted around five minutes on track, though the pit lane remained closed for 25 minutes while repairs were carried out, allowing some late running once the session resumed.

Once back on track, Norris was able to improve his time, while Piastri initially went ninth on his banker lap before brushing very close to the wall on his flying lap, finishing just behind his teammate.

Piastri clipped his right rear wheel exiting Turn 15 but emerged unscathed and completed his lap.

Charles Leclerc, who has historically shown strong pace in Baku, set the third fastest time, 0.552s behind Norris. George Russell was fourth, only 0.001s behind Leclerc.

Alex Albon finished fifth, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who ended the session as the fastest Red Bull-backed driver.

Max Verstappen was just behind Tsunoda and also had a hairy moment at Turn 15, locking his front-left tyre and taking the escape road to avoid a collision. He later complained on the radio about his car’s performance.

Lewis Hamilton clipped the wall at Turn 5, suffering a puncture and damaged front wing, and finished 13th. Carlos Sainz, Liam Lawson, and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top ten, with Kimi Antonelli and Nico Hulkenberg in 11th and 12th.

It was a difficult session for Haas, Aston Martin, and Alpine, who occupied the final six positions on the timesheets.

Fernando Alonso led the group in 15th, behind Gabriel Bortoleto’s second Sauber. Oliver Bearman, Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Pierre Gasly completed the remainder of the order.

Ocon had a late off at Turn 15 in the final minute, triggering a yellow flag, just moments after Hadjar had done so at Turn 3.

Drivers will now regroup ahead of FP2, which begins at 4:00pm local time (10:00pm AEST).