Norris quickest in interrupted FP1 - 2025 Azerbaijan GP practice results
Norris leads McLaren 1-1 at Baku as a red flag cost drivers plenty of track time
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Lando Norris went quickest in opening practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a session interrupted by lengthy repairs to a kerb.
McLaren driver Norris posted a best time of 1:42.704sec to top FP1 by over three tenths from team-mate Oscar Piastri, second fastest.
Piastri’s weekend started off poorly after having to return to the pits slowly before managing to complete a lap.
The championship leader was told on the radio: “Recharge on, back off, recharge on, back off. Avoid full load, keep low revs.”
Piastri made his way back to the pits and got out of the car as his mechanics started working on the right side of the McLaren.
However, a red flag was deployed 14 minutes into the running when a strip of rubber appeared under the kerbs at Turn 16 after Carlos Sainz ran over it.
The rubber appeared to be part of the kerb rather than Sainz’s car.
Although the red flag was cleared on the TV screens and replaced with a yellow flag, no cars were allowed to go out, triggering confusion, not helped by the TV director avoiding showing the affected area of the track.
The stoppage ended up lasting over 25 minutes, leaving most drivers with just 20 minutes of actual running.
The red-flag period allowed McLaren to repair Piastri’s car, with the Australian missing almost no running compared to his rivals.
Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc, the pole sitter at Baku for the past three years, wound up third ahead of George Russell.
The Mercedes driver had skipped media day on Thursday because of illness, and his radio messages during the session suggested he was still not fully recovered.
Alexander Albon rounded out the top five in the Williams ahead of the two Red Bulls, Yuki Tsunoda leading team-mate Max Verstappen, who complained that his car was bottoming out too much under braking.
Lewis Hamilton ended as 13th quickest in the Ferrari, the Briton suffering a puncture and a damaged front wing after clipping the wall at Turn 5 with 10 minutes to go.
2025 Azerbaijan GP FP1 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:42.704 | 19 | |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:43.014 | +0.310sec | 14 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:43.256 | +0.552sec | 17 |
| 4 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:43.257 | +0.553sec | 16 |
| 5 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:43.563 | +0.859sec | 17 |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 1:43.738 | +1.034sec | 15 |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:43.790 | +1.086sec | 14 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:43.859 | +1.155sec | 15 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:43.903 | +1.199sec | 17 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 1:43.975 | +1.271sec | 16 |
| 11 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:43.985 | +1.281sec | 17 |
| 12 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | 1:43.986 | +1.282sec | 18 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:44.087 | +1.383sec | 13 |
| 14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | 1:44.087 | +1.383sec | 16 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:44.139 | +1.435sec | 15 |
| 16 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:44.151 | +1.447sec | 17 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:44.329 | +1.625sec | 15 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:44.439 | +1.735sec | 16 |
| 19 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:45.299 | +2.595sec | 17 |
| 20 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:45.418 | +2.714sec | 17 |