Lando Norris Dominates Initial Practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Lando Norris set the pace in the first practice session of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a session marked by interruptions and setbacks for some prominent drivers.
Oscar Piastri, Norris’ direct rival in the fight for the championship, was affected by an engine problem, which limited his participation in the initial session.
Piastri, who comes to this weekend with a 31-point lead over Norris, had to return to the garage immediately after starting the session. McLaren confirmed that they were working to solve a problem in the power unit of his single-seater.
The session was delayed 20 minutes due to a problem with the curbs on the last corner. A steward was even seen jumping on the curb while the problem was being solved.
Once the issue was resolved, the teams hurried to complete some laps. Norris, who led from the start, quickly set the fastest time, finishing the session with a 0.310-second advantage over Piastri.
Despite getting dangerously close to the wall on several occasions, Piastri managed to reduce the gap with his teammate at the end of the session.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari took third place, followed by George Russell of Mercedes, who returned to the car after missing media day on Thursday due to illness.
Max Verstappen had a lock-up at Turn 15, finishing the session in seventh place, 1.086 seconds behind Norris.
Lewis Hamilton also suffered a complicated moment at the end of the session, hitting the wall at turn five, which resulted in a puncture and damage to the front wing.
The Ferrari driver, who struggled, finished the session in 13th place, 1.383 seconds behind the leader.
The second practice will begin at 16:00 local time (13:00 BST).
