Formula 1
Build-Up to
Azerbaijan
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Updated 22s ago
Formula One says goodbye to Europe for 2025 with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend at Baku Street Circuit.
Once again, McLaren’s Lando Norris and championship leader Oscar Piastri go head to head in their drivers’ title battle — also in the knowledge that the Woking team could seal the constructors’ crown this weekend.
Today sees two free practice sessions, with FP2 in progress. You can follow the action live, below.
As for FP1, Norris was quickest (1:42.704) ahead of Piastri, Charles Leclerc and George Russell but with almost half the session lost under the red flag for a damaged curb.
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How to watch 2025 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Clinching opportunity for McLaren in Baku
The yellow flags for drivers taking to the run-off areas at the 90-degree corners could be a big source of frustration come qualifying tomorrow.
If you have to slow for a yellow flag at just the wrong time, then it could ruin your qualifying — as it did for Lando Norris last year, when he ended up starting 17th after being forced to abandon a lap.
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FP2 44:31 — Good news, Ferrari fans. The red cars are dialling in.
Charles Leclerc — he who grabbed pole position here in each of the last four years — is currently quickest in FP2, and after one of those little kisses on the exit of Turn 15.
Leclerc has a 1:41.786, set on the softs. Closest to him is his teammate, with Lewis Hamilton’s 1:41.938 set on the medium tire.
Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Isack Hadjar take up the next three positions right now.
FP2 51:45 — We briefly get down to 19 cars on track, as Lewis Hamilton overshoots a right-hander.
Fortunately, these Baku run-offs are pretty spacious.
FP2 52:56 — And soon after those words dropped, Lando Norris joins the crowd out on track.
That’s all 20 cars out there now; Norris on the softs too.
FP2 54:36 — Through the opening five minutes of this FP2 session and only Lando Norris remains in the garage.
Everyone else is out on track, with the majority on the soft tire with a few mediums out there too.
Alex Albon is then the sole car on the hard compound.
FP2 60:00 — GREEN LIGHT.
Let’s go, people …
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I love the photos that you get around this place.
Here comes FP2 — the big session where race simulations are put in the data bank ahead of the rest of the weekend.
This is a crucial hour for everyone out there.
Alan Permane added it was “tricky” to say for certain whether Isack Hadjar was ready to make the step up to Red Bull, which has struggled to find a driver capable of getting close to Verstappen’s pace for the best part of the last seven years.
Permane does not anticipate a decision to be made imminently:
💬 “Fortunately we don’t have to make that decision at this time of year. I’m very sure, and I think it’s been said, that it will be later in the season, much later in the season.
“I think what we have to do for Isack is make sure that we at the track deliver perfection for him, so he’s got a car he can perform well in, and he needs to perform well and deliver perfection as well.
“When he does that, and when the car is right and suits the circuit and puts it altogether, we can have a super strong weekend.”
One of the big points of paddock chatter heading into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix surrounds Isack Hadjar’s future — and whether he might be set to step up to Red Bull’s senior team for 2026.
Hadjar is the favorite to become Max Verstappen’s teammate next year, having led Racing Bulls with some impressive displays through his rookie season including a shock podium finish in the Dutch Grand Prix last month.
Should Hadjar get the nod, it would leave Red Bull to consider the future of the incumbent — Yuki Tsunoda — as well as that of Liam Lawson in the second Racing Bulls seat, and rising F2 driver Arvid Lindblad.
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane was full of praise for Hadjar in today’s FIA news conference, complimenting not only his speed but his willingness to listen and learn:
💬 “He doesn’t want to do everything his own way. He’s happy to accept advice and input from others and take that onboard and learn from that.
“We can see sometimes that he’s a bit harsh on himself, which he’s working on, I think. But strength wise, I think that would be the main takeaway is that he would be happy to learn.”
This was how Lewis Hamilton damaged his Ferrari during FP1. The Brit will be hoping for a cleaner afternoon session.
McLaren will not change its racing policy for drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, even when it clinches the constructors’ championship — according to Andrea Stella.
McLaren intervened with its drivers at the last race in Italy by asking Piastri to give up a position to Norris, his closest drivers’ championship rival, in the closing stages to make up for a slow pit stop that cost the Briton a position.
Piastri obliged with the call, but discussions took place following the race weekend to analyze the team’s approach to racing rules going forward.
Piastri and Norris said at yesterday’s media day the talks had been productive, and the same call would have been made at Monza.
McLaren could wrap up the constructors’ title this weekend in Azerbaijan, but team principal Stella said in today’s FIA news conference there would be no change to its racing policy once that happens:
💬 “The approach to the drivers’ title will not change. This is not dependent on the constructors’, the way we go racing. It’s dependent on the racing principles on the value that we embody as McLaren Racing.
“And also, (it) is a reflection of the fact that we want to protect the unity of the team, which is a foundational condition for the future.”
Stella said he was not surprised by some of the fan backlash and “noise” over McLaren’s intervention at Monza, and that the decision there in fact served as confirmation of its racing rules:
💬 “Like after every race weekend, we review how we operate, the decisions we make, like the driving and so on.
“We did the same after Monza, and we could confirm the way we operated is what we intended, is what we can confirm for the future.
“While we remain open and attentive to anything that happens, I think that opportunity gave us the possibility to confirm our approach.”
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If the F1 calendar is starting to carry a familiar feel with each passing year, then you ain’t seen nothing yet.
And it is a deliberate strategy from the sport — as it plans for what it hopes will be a sustainable future.
Luke Smith has the full breakdown on what is happening, why, and where it leaves Formula One over the years to come.
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As mentioned by Alex Kalinauckas a little scroll below, McLaren has a chance to make history here in Azerbaijan.
It was ahead of the British Grand Prix that I called its constructors’ championship victory. In truth, the team has looked a class apart since preseason testing.
But there is definitely a race on for the three places behind the champions elect, as well as for the extra millions in prize money that comes with finishing P6.
Maybe it isn’t quite all to play for, but there’s definitely plenty still on the table.
We have just eight races to go, including this weekend in Azerbaijan — and with three sprint races too.
The gap of 31 points to Oscar Piastri comes after Lando Norris closed it slightly in Italy, while Max Verstappen made ground on the top two too.
Rookie Isack Hadjar has been the big winner during the second half of the season with his first podium, and he will now be keen to consolidate his standing in Baku.
Any drivers on the same points are then ranked by countback of their best finishes…
*Inactive driver
McLaren can etch itself further into Formula One history at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. If it wins the Baku race with a 1-2, it will seal the 2025 season’s constructors’ championship.
There are other ways it can get there, given the team’s stranglehold on the constructors’ points standings since early in the year. But taking an eighth 1-2 grand prix finish of the season (the most for a single team since the nine Mercedes scored in 2019) would mean it doesn’t matter what its opposition does.
For the current McLaren team, this particular race marks a crucial moment in their recent history.
We’ve got about 90 minutes until FP2 so as we get ready for the cars to return to the track, let’s continue to build up to what could be an historic weekend for the sport …
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If you were wondering about those FP1 wing mirror issues for Williams …
It looks like Franco Colapinto was in the midst of an overtake when the red flag came out during FP1 — and the subsequent warning lights were out on track and on the Argentine’s steering wheel.
It looks like there was no real time for him to pull out of that overtake, even though it ultimately happened under the red flag.
Hence no further penalty for the Alpine driver.
Franco Colapinto was noted for a potential red flag infringement by the stewards. It was unclear what it was but a serious breach would’ve been unlikely for the stewards to look too kindly on it.
Oliver Bearman had been pinged twice this year with a 10-place grid penalty and four penalty points on his super license for going too fast under a red flag.
Fortunately for Colapinto, race control has confirmed there will be no further investigation after the incident was reviewed by the stewards.
