What the teams said – Thursday in Azerbaijan

Mercedes

Antonelli’s weekend started well when he went quickest on the hard tyre at the start of FP1, but it soon derailed as the youngster parked up with a hydraulics issue. Russell wound up on top of the opening session, despite running wide on his first push lap with conditions particularly testing for the drivers out there. Russell backed up that performance with a series of quick laps in FP2, once again winding up on top of the standings. Antonelli missed a chunk of running thanks to a PU change between sessions, but once he came out he was also quick and backed his team mate up with a second place finish, setting up a tasty intra-team battle for tomorrow.

Kimi Antonelli - FP1: 1:46.265, P5; FP2: 1:43.899, P2

"It was a somewhat compromised day due to the hydraulics issue we encountered, which cost us a significant amount of track time across both FP1 and FP2. We’re still working to understand exactly what caused the problem, but the team did a great job investigating it and, as a precaution, we changed the power unit to get back on track and complete some valuable running.

"Despite the disruption, I felt comfortable in the car from the laps we were able to complete. We focused on maximising every opportunity and recovering as much track time as possible. Losing laps is never ideal, particularly on a street circuit like Baku where confidence builds with every run, but ending the day in P2 was a positive way to recover. The car felt good throughout, and we’ll keep working hard to build on that as the weekend progresses."

George Russell - FP1: 1:45.387, P1; FP2: 1:43.347, P1

"It’s been a positive first day here in Baku. The car felt competitive over a single lap, and our race pace looks closely matched with McLaren and Red Bull. I’m sure those gaps will tighten even further when we get to qualifying tomorrow, so there’s still plenty of work to do overnight. Overall, though, it’s been an encouraging start to the weekend and a strong opening day for the team."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"We've had a solid day overall. George's car ran reliably throughout; he topped both sessions and completed a productive long run. There are still areas we can improve, as is always the case on a Friday, but the car is behaving well, and we're encouraged by what we've seen so far. We don't expect the gaps on today's timesheets to be representative of the true competitive picture. Several of our competitors left time on the table during their soft tyre runs, so we know the field is likely much closer than it appears.

"Kimi's day was more disrupted. A hydraulic leak on his second run in FP1 brought an early end to the session after just three push laps. As a precaution, we elected to change the power unit, which delayed the start of his FP2 and cost him further running. Despite that, he was able to complete a useful mix of low and high-fuel work, and his pace was encouraging given the limited track time he had available. There is plenty to analyse overnight and some small gains to find, but overall we've made a positive start to the weekend."

Red Bull

Verstappen and Hadjar both complained about their brakes early doors, but the Dutchman’s issues seemed to settle down, and he managed plenty of laps from there. Hadjar did not – he was told to coast back to the pits with what sounded like a PU problem, and he did not return to the track. That was a blow for the Frenchman, who is in desperate need of laps.

The good news is after a gearbox change between the sessions, Hadjar was able to get plenty of laps under his belt in the second session. And the even better news is the car looked quick, with Verstappen winding up in the top three in both sessions despite a few more varied complaints about his RB22.

Max Verstappen - FP1: 1:45.787, P2; FP2: 1:44.174, P3

“Today was quite decent and I was pretty happy with the car. We were working on fine-tuning a few bits and trying to find some more performance, so it was a good start for the Team. It looks like we are up there at the moment and could be fighting for a podium place, so we just need to find a bit more pace. The upgrades are working well, which is positive, so we will see how it plays out tomorrow.” 

Isack Hadjar - FP1: 1:47.873, P20; FP2: 1:44.868, P9

"It's been a good return for me today. With the gearbox issue I was only able to get a few laps in, but I was really happy with the feeling of the car and enjoyed being back out there. In both FP1 and FP2 I didn't manage to get many push laps, so it's hard to judge the true one-lap pace, but we still have tomorrow to do that. With the upgrades the characteristics of the car are the same, but it feels stronger than what I drove in Budapest, and I think we're in the mix with McLaren and Ferrari. I'm excited to go again tomorrow." 

Pierre Wache, Technical Director

"Overall, it was quite a positive day from the start of FP1 onwards, apart from the gearbox problem we had on Isack's car, which we managed to fix in time for FP2. We received good feedback from both drivers about the balance of the car and the upgrades we brought. There are some things we need to fix, and we are looking to find some more speed until tomorrow. Mercedes looks like the fastest car, especially on the short runs, McLaren and Ferrari are hard to assess due to a lot happening on track, but we should be up there with them. It was good to see Isack back in the car and being competitive and up to speed straight away, with no issues concerning his wrist." 

Ferrari

Ferrari opted not to run the soft tyres in FP1, with both drivers managing clean sessions. Leclerc was the faster of the two by just 0.033s, as the team experimented with the tow at times. It was much of the same in FP2, both looking quick and relatively well matched. On a day where the other big teams all had issues, Ferrari had by far the most straightforward of days. But they do need to find some pace if they want to challenge Mercedes tomorrow.

Charles Leclerc - FP1: 1:45.791, P3; FP2: 1:44.473, P4

"We lacked some pace in the practice sessions so there is quite a lot of work to do tonight to close the gap. We will go through everything we learned today and work on making a step forward ahead of tomorrow. Hopefully we can come back stronger for qualifying on a track that I really enjoy driving."

Lewis Hamilton - FP1: 1:45.824, P4; FP2: 1:44.665, P5

"It is always great to drive at this circuit and it’s been a productive day overall. FP1 was encouraging and we completed a number of consistent laps and established a useful baseline to build from. There are a few areas we need to examine more closely, but we have gathered a considerable amount of data and will use tonight to understand where we can make further progress.

"Tyre preparation remains an important focus, particularly in ensuring we can consistently bring them into the right operating window. That has a significant impact on both available grip and the overall balance of the car, so it will be a key priority as we prepare for tomorrow."

McLaren

McLaren had a messy first session in Baku, with both drivers spending time in the garage. Piastri complained about his brakes early on before being brought in twice more to check for damage to the car, while Norris did not get many laps in due to some loose bodywork. The team seemed to still be running some interesting fixes to the cars in FP2, with cable ties in evidence, but the good news is both drivers got plenty of laps. Neither wound up right at the sharp end of the top 10, but the team have time overnight to implement some more permanent fixes to their bodywork issues.

Lando Norris - FP1: 1:46.981, P14; FP2: 1:44.831, P6

“A tricky start today after losing some laps in FP1 which wasn’t ideal, but the team in the garage did a solid job to get the cars ready for FP2 and that’s a positive we’ll carry forward. Overall, the car actually feels pretty good to drive, but on a slow-speed track with a long straight we’re losing out and being off the pace is a tough start. We’ll now dig into the data overnight and see what we can change for tomorrow’s sessions, I hope we can close some of the gap. We’ll keep our heads down and try to maximise what we have for the remainder of the weekend.”

Oscar Piastri - FP1: 1:46.398, P6; FP2: 1:44.857, P8

“An interesting but productive day. There’s lots to learn here with the new cars, and on a personal level it felt pretty positive overall. FP1 was a little disrupted with the reliability issue which meant we lost a bit of running, which is never ideal. But we’ve made some good steps in FP2, and we have some decent long run pace. The plan for tomorrow is to keep making steady improvements, unlock some more performance so that we can make up some of the gap to the Mercedes, and see what we can do in Qualifying.”

Rob Marshall, Chief Technical Officer & Chief Designer

“We've introduced a significant upgrade this weekend and the initial data suggests the car is behaving as our simulations predicted, which is a positive starting point. However, it's clear we haven't yet unlocked its full potential. The first session was slightly disrupted, and we are still in the process of dialling in both the chassis and the power unit to suit the unique demands of this circuit. We have a lot of data to analyse, but we are confident in our process.

“Our focus now is on the work we do overnight. We have a history of making strong progress from Free Practice into Qualifying, and that remains our objective. It's about building driver confidence, optimising the setup, and extracting the performance that we believe is in the package. There were no major shocks, and we are focused on the methodical work required to get us where we want to be for Qualifying.”

Racing Bulls

Lawson looked like he had never left Racing Bulls, the New Zealander having a clean first session. He wound up solidly in the top 10 along with his team mate, although Lindblad had one moment where he wound up down in one of the run off areas. He took a while to get going, but was able to continue under his own steam. But the rookie’s luck did not hold in FP2, Lindblad the first to properly find the walls. He fell foul of the Turn 8-9-10 complex, hitting the wall twice and bringing out the red flags after just four laps.

That leaves him very short of running heading into Friday, while Lawson fell down the order in FP2 and thus needs to find some time to try and compete for Q3 tomorrow.

Arvid Lindblad - FP1: 1:46.601, P8; FP2: 1:46.391, P18

“It wasn’t the best day for us today. I apologise to the team for the crash in FP2; it's a shame, as overall I felt pretty good in the car. We’ll look at everything tonight and see where we can improve and make a few changes ahead of tomorrow. My main focus now is to get back into the rhythm and bounce back for the rest of the weekend. Maximising FP3 will be really important to put ourselves in the best possible position heading into Qualifying.”

Liam Lawson - FP1: 1:46.440, P7; FP2: 1:45.681, P12

“It was nice to be back in my own car today. The morning was pretty positive and we were feeling competitive, but the other teams seemed to make a step forward in FP2, so we’ll look into that and try to make another step ourselves for tomorrow. Overall, it’ been a good day and it’s great to be back home. It’s going to be very close this weekend, so I’m looking forward to Qualifying around here. ”

Alan Permane, Team Principal

“It’s been a pretty decent day today overall. We’re where we thought we would be and have some time to make some changes ahead of tomorrow. It was a bit of a shame for Arvid, he was pushing hard and just went a bit too far, but the car was feeling good up until then and he was significantly up on the lap, which was positive.

“It’s great to have Liam back in the car. Arvid and Liam work very well together and their joint feedback improves both cars through the weekend. From what we’ve seen today, our target remains both cars in Q3 tomorrow.”

Alpine

Alpine were one of very few teams to have a quiet opening session, with no obvious issues. They wound up down the order, building slowly into their weekend. Alpine did split strategies in FP1, Colapinto running the mediums and Gasly the hards. Those two swapped around in FP2, Gasly on the mediums as Colapinto ran the hard tyre. The Argentine had one odd moment, using the run off area at Turn 1 despite not locking up, seemingly forgetting to steer for the corner. But aside from that, they jumped a few spots up the leaderboard, with Gasly slotting nicely into the top 10.

Pierre Gasly - FP1: 1:47.043, P16; FP2: 1:44.843, P7

“It's been a good day in the car, especially Free Practice 2 where we ended up in P7 on the leaderboard. I think we can be pleased as a team with today, where I have generally felt good in the car. It is always tricky in Baku with the conditions and it's a track where you never feel totally comfortable. I was pushing the limits more and more on each lap so it's positive to build up an idea of what the car can do. Right now, I am happy with our work and I am feeling good going into the rest of the weekend. We saw some of our rivals in the midfield bring upgrades, which I am sure will help them unlock more performance. We'll focus on ourselves, though, and our aim is to keep the form going after our positive day.”

Franco Colapinto - FP1: 1:47.523, P18; FP2: 1:45.479, P11

“We had a challenging but productive first day here in Baku and we ended in a much more positive position compared to where we started. The track was quite dirty and low grip in Free Practice 1 and there was a lot of track evolution as the day went on, as is expected on street circuits. The session was quite interrupted with yellow flags, which impacted our running, but we knew there was more pace in the car to unlock. We then made a step heading into Free Practice 2 and that was a better session for us which I think reflected our pace a bit more. We still have lots to improve with the car and will work hard as a team tonight to try and make more progress as we aim for another positive Qualifying tomorrow.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director

“We did plenty of work today and, on a track of this nature, the more laps you do the more you can learn as the grip increases and the drivers grow in confidence. It's always been a difficult track to get right, especially early in the weekend with the conditions and lack of grip throughout the lap. We made good progress in Free Practice 2 once both Pierre and Franco had some clean, consistent laps. In the end, that session proved more reflective of the pace in our car with Pierre in P7 and Franco knocking on the door of the top ten, which obviously bodes well. There is potential there, certainly a little more performance to find, and the aim, as always every weekend, is to have both drivers compete for Q3 and be in contention to score points."

Haas

Ocon looked quick in FP1, finishing in the top 10 but he did have one hairy moment when his car stopped at the pit lane exit. He managed eventually to get going, which was good news as he was able to then finish the session and complete a practice start. In FP2 it was Bearman’s turn to fall foul of reliability, as he had an engine issue down the straight and parked straight up at the back of the run off area. He spent the rest of FP2 watching the action from a marshal’s chair, while Ocon made it back-to-back sessions in the top 10.

Esteban Ocon – FP1: 1:46.624, P9; FP2: 1:45.290, P10

“I think the pace of the car is pretty decent – we found a good rhythm out there, improving lap by lap. From FP1, the first lap I completed, I was P6 or P7, so I thought we could work from there. We had a decent feel and the car feels healthy, so hopefully it can continue for the rest of the weekend. It was a much nicer day than last year where I couldn’t brake anywhere – now we can attack the corners, which is very nice.”

Oliver Bearman - FP1: 1:46.994, P15; FP2: 1:46.801, P20

“It was a tough day with a failure on the car, which meant I didn’t really get any laps in FP2. Generally though, it felt like a better afternoon than morning, so we made a step forward on the car, and I’m quite happy about that. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow, as it’s tough missing out on both low- and high-fuel running, but I had good confidence, so we’ll do our best for Friday.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“It was a mixed day really because it wasn’t a trouble-free FP1, and in FP2, Ollie had another PU issue which ended his session – so we’re still investigating the cause of that, as that’s concerning. A bit like Madrid, the tyres are on the edge, but when you get tyre preparation right, it seems like our car has speed. Car balance is pretty good and it gives our drivers confidence, which is exactly what you need at a street circuit like this. There are positive signs in terms of car performance, but we need to get to the bottom of this reliability issue and then tomorrow morning, focus on quali tyre preparation. If we execute well, I believe we can fight.”

Audi

Audi are running an extensive upgrade package here, and used FP1 to gather plenty of data using aero rakes and flow-vis paint. They were also the team to most obviously experiment with the tow down the main straight. Hulkenberg’s session did not end in ideal fashion, as he parked up late on and helped the marshals push his car away. Both drivers faded in the second session, but with the red flag interruptions, it is hard to say how much pace they have in hand heading into tomorrow.

Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:46.871, P11; FP2: 1:45.854, P15

“Overall, it was a reasonable Friday. I ran the previous specification in FP1 before switching to the new parts for FP2, so there was plenty of information to gather and a lot for us to understand. The sessions were not entirely straightforward, with a few challenges to work through, but the underlying picture is encouraging. Now it’s about going through everything overnight, cleaning up a few areas and seeing how we can put it all together tomorrow. If we do that, I think we can be competitive.”

Gabriel Bortoleto - FP1: 1:46.688, P10; FP2: 1:45.794, P14

“It’s been a bit of a test day for us with the new package, and we have plenty of data to analyse to get the general picture of it. We are lacking a little bit of grip at the moment, but Baku is a low-grip and very dusty circuit, so we have some work to do to put everything in place. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow from here.”

Williams

Williams did not have the dream start to their weekend when Sainz’s brakes caught fire early on, a radio issue meaning he could not tell the team he was coming in. The damage was not extensive, so he did not miss too much running. Which was just as well as they looked quick, that new chassis doing the business and jumping them closer to the top 10. Both drivers went backwards down the order in FP2, but with plenty learned about their new chassis, they will be hopeful of finding some time overnight once the data is analysed.

Alex Albon - FP1: 1:46.939, P13; FP2: 1:46.123, P16

"That’s Friday finished with our main talking points focusing on the upgrades. I think we've shown that we're a little bit more competitive and the cars are behaving pretty well, but there’s still some things to learn and improve on. We'll look at the data tonight to assess how we can improve the balance for both of us heading into tomorrow."

Carlos Sainz - FP1: 1:46.893, P12; FP2: 1:46.391, P17

"Today felt like a step forward as we expected - there were no massive surprises. Unfortunately we had quite a scrappy day with a lack of running in FP1 and FP2 because of some issues with the car, including the brakes. So we didn't get all the laps in to evaluate everything that we would have liked, but we still have FP3 to do it. In general I feel a bit better with the car and it seems like we’re a bit closer to the midfield. I feel like I'm in a good place and now we need to make the right steps going into tomorrow."

Cadillac

On a day where overheating brakes were an issue, Cadillac’s fix to their own brake problems seemed to be working, with both drivers able to manage a good haul of laps in FP1. Perez wound up an impressive P17, showing their pace from Madrid was not an anomaly. The Mexican did even better in FP2, finishing up in 13th which bodes well for the team as they fight for a first Q2 appearance of the season.

Valtteri Bottas - FP1: 1:49.315, P22; FP2: 1:46.737, P19
Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:47.253, P17; FP2: 1:45.760, P13

Aston Martin

Aston Martin had a steady opening session, both drivers managing plenty of laps. News soon broke that both Alonso and Stroll have grid penalties to come for the Grand Prix, after taking on new power unit components. As such, they used up some soft tyres in FP2, but Alonso spent much of the session back in the garage as the team investigated a suspected oil leak.

Fernando Alonso - FP1: 1:47.835, P19; FP2: 1:47.889, P22
Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:48.547, P21; FP2: 1:47.403, P21

Stroll says:

"We got some laps in today and learned what we could, so we'll work on improving the car tonight and hopefully put ourselves in a better position tomorrow.

"We know we're struggling for pace, and with the penalties for the new power unit components, we'll be starting from the back of the grid. We'll focus on getting the most out of the weekend and hopefully putting ourselves in a position to take advantage of any opportunities that come our way."

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer says:

"We can take some learnings from today's practice sessions, but we knew this would be a track that we would struggle at compared to our competitors.

"We agreed with Honda this weekend would be the better place to take some new components and so we took that decision. Fernando's car had a suspected oil leak halfway through FP2 which limited his running.

"We will check everything overnight and look to fix things in time for tomorrow's final practice session."

Pirelli

Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer

“It was a first day heavily influenced by a particularly dirty track, with dust even on the racing line, resulting in very significant track evolution. Lap times improved consistently throughout the day, with differences of up to two seconds between the two sessions. Compared to last year, the track surface appeared less favourable, particularly affecting the tyre warm-up phase.

"Teams focused their work on car set-up in order to bring the tyres into the correct operating window, especially on the front axle. This proved to be crucial both for maximising single-lap performance, which was often achieved only after several attempts, and for limiting the risk of braking lock-ups.

"The teams generally completed an intensive programme of work with all three compounds in preparation for a race that is increasingly expected to be a one-stop affair. Degradation levels were in fact very low, and track evolution almost completely offset tyre wear during some long runs, making lap times progressively quicker. We did not observe any graining, which is an interesting finding considering the very smooth track surface. In terms of lap time performance, the data indicates deltas broadly in line with simulations: around half a second between the C4 and C5, and a few tenths between the C3 and C4.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow, with lower temperatures and stronger wind gusts forecast, tyre preparation will once again be a key factor. The track will offer more grip than today, but teams will need to manage traffic and generate as much energy as possible in the tyres. For Saturday’s Grand Prix, all compounds remain theoretically viable, although the two softer options may take on a more prominent role in light of the expected drop in temperatures.”