Crash and best time for Leclerc in Baku

Charles Leclerc made headlines on the first day of practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku (Sunday, 1 p.m.). In the first practice session in the morning, the Monegasque crashed, causing the session to be a moment of shock. In the afternoon, the Ferrari star secured the fastest time by a whisker with a time of 1:43.484 minutes. Just six thousandths of a second decided in Leclerc's favor over Mexican Sergio Perez in the Red Bull. Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton (GBR) came third.

In the morning, Max Verstappen had achieved the fastest time with a time of 1:45.546 minutes. The Red Bull driver was 0.313 seconds faster than Hamilton. Perez finished third in the McLaren, ahead of the Dutchman's closest rival in the World Championship, Lando Norris (GBR). In the second training session, Verstappen finished sixth, while Norris was only in 17th place.

Multiple interruptions

Leclerc caused a moment of shock in the first practice session. The Monegasque driver braked too hard on a left-hand bend and crashed into the track barrier. While his car had to be written off as a total loss, Leclerc was uninjured.

Just a few minutes after the start of the practice laps, the race management had turned the lights red because car parts were lying on the track. Youngster Franco Colapinto also crashed his Williams, but the 21-year-old Argentinian also escaped with a fright. The second practice session then went off without any accidents.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix