Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), who won on the streets of Monaco on two Sundays, This Friday sets the fastest time in the first free practice of the Azerbaijan Grand PrixThe eighth of the Formula 1 World Championship, which took place at the Baku urban circuit, where Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Fernando Alonso (Alp) competed, was determined for the fourth and fifth times, respectively.

In a best of 21 laps, ‘Checo’, the last winner of this circuit a year ago, covered the Azerbaijan capital’s 6,003m city course in one minute, 45 seconds and 476k, 127 shorter than Monegasque. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) returning at the same time as him and Dutch teammate with 334 on Max VerstappenWorld Cup leader Nine points ahead of the previous round, which completed 24 laps and determined the third time of the session. All with soft rubber.

Sainz, who finished fifth at the World Cup, repeated 22 times with 83 points – 42 from Verstappen and 27 from ‘Checo’, who placed third in the competition. A circuit with the longest straight in the entire championship, 2.2 kilometers; A place where everyone is looking for the ideal configuration that allows cars to go fast on the aforementioned main straight and at the same time get enough downforce for slower cornering in the first two sectors.

The 27-year-old Madrid driver, who repeated his second place in the Principality of the Côte d’Azur a year earlier in Monaco, stopped the clock at 1:46.012 and said: 536 thousandth of ‘Checo’ time left, 32; He said he signed his third F1 victory at Monte Carlo shortly before it was announced that he would be renewed with Red Bull by 2024.

As a second junior at age 40, Alonso took 21 laps on the championship’s third longest track, behind Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The Asturian double world champion was one second and one in 95 thousand in the ‘Checo’ race, which, like the previous ones, resulted in 26 degrees in the ambience and 43 degrees on the asphalt, in his best attempt on soft tires; The main event worth mentioning here was Verstappen’s return – like 24-year-old Leclerc – in the fifteenth turn of the circuit’s twenty corners.

The second free practice will be held at six in the afternoon, four of them on the Spanish peninsula (14:00 GMT).

Timeline of the first free practice for the Azerbaijan GP:

  1. Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull 1:45.476

  2. Charles Leclerc MON Ferrari at 0.127

  3. Max Verstappen NED Red Bull 0.334

  4. Carlos Sainz ESP Ferrari 0.536

  5. Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine 1.095

  6. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes 1.191

  7. Yuki Tsunoda JPN Alpha Tauri 1,220

  8. George Russell GBR Mercedes 1.229

  9. Pierre Gasly FRA Alpha Tauri 1,354

  10. Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine 1.441

  11. Lando Norris GBR McLaren 2.215

  12. Lance Walk CAN Aston Martin 2,371

  13. Kevin Magnussen DIN Haas 2.470

  14. Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin 2,492

  15. Valtteri Bottas SON Alfa Romeo 2.602

  16. Zhou Guanyu CHN Alfa Romeo 2,746

  17. Alexander Albon THA Williams 2,943

  18. Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren 3,334

  19. Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams 5.445

  20. Mick Schumacher GER Haas 12,856 .