The first practice session of the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix brought the streets of Baku to life with a mix of speed and early drama. McLaren wasted no time showing their intent, with Lando Norris topping the timesheets at 1:42.704, narrowly ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. The session highlighted McLaren’s growing consistency as both cars looked quick straight out of the garage, setting a strong benchmark for the rest of the grid to chase.
The session was far from smooth, as a red flag halted running just 14 minutes in after a damaged kerb at Turn 16 scattered debris on track. Repairs took up a significant portion of the hour, leaving teams with less time to gather data. During the delay, McLaren had to deal with Piastri’s early power unit concern, limiting his initial laps before he was eventually sent back out to set competitive times.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc settled into third place, continuing his tradition of being quick around Baku, though still over half a second off Norris’s pace. Mercedes showed flashes of competitiveness too, with George Russell slotting into the top five despite battling some bottoming issues on the long straights. It was a session where every lap mattered, and both Ferrari and Mercedes seemed to be focusing on balance and setup work rather than outright pace.
Elsewhere, there was no shortage of minor incidents to spice things up. Lewis Hamilton clipped the wall at Turn 5 and lost a front wing, costing him crucial track time, while Williams’ Alex Albon lost a mirror during one of his runs. These moments, combined with the lengthy stoppage, meant that data collection was scattered and teams will enter FP2 under pressure to make up for lost mileage. McLaren may have grabbed the early advantage, but the pecking order remains far from settled heading into the rest of the weekend.
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