First practice

First free practice in Baku, LIVE from 11.30 a.m.

(Bild: AP, x, krone.at-grafik)

The 16th of 24 races of the season is taking place in Baku this weekend. Max Verstappen posted the fastest lap in the first free practice session on Friday. However, a crash involving Charles Leclerc brought out the red flag.

Here is the LIVETICKER:

Tension in the title race
16 of the 24 Formula 1 races of the season have been contested and the final third of the championship is guaranteed to be exciting. This Sunday (13:00) in Baku could see a change of leader in the constructors' championship, with McLaren having stalked leader Red Bull to within eight points in Monza. Ferrari are also only 39 points behind after Charles Leclerc's victory in Italy. And in the drivers' standings, Lando Norris is closing in on Max Verstappen.

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There are now only 62 points between the two after Red Bull failed to win six times in a row. This applies equally to Verstappen, the last time the Dutchman had such a long winless streak was in 2020. With seven wins this season, the defending champion has almost as many as the McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, who have each won three times, but Norris is already on a par with the "Oranje" in terms of podium places with ten each. Of course, Norris has a tougher internal rival in Oscar Piastri, who is only 106 points behind Verstappen.

However, this has put McLaren in a dilemma, because it was not only in Monza that Piastri scored better than Norris in second place. He could have closed in on Verstappen if there had been a stable order at McLaren. This issue is now becoming more important from race to race, which is why team boss Andrea Stella clarified things in a BBC interview on Thursday: "The overriding principle is to win. But we want to do it the right way. We support Lando, but without going too far against our team principles."

Piastri must watch out for Norris
Stella said he wanted to avoid a repeat of Monza, when Verstappen only finished sixth and Norris "gave away" points. According to Stella, discussions with the two drivers were constructive. "Even when I asked Oscar if he would give up a win in such a case, he said that it would be painful, but that it was the right thing to do at the moment. He would do it. We are fighting against Max Verstappen. So I think if we want to support a driver, we have to pick the one who is in the best position."

How it looks on the track remains to be seen. In any case, Norris stated that he had "full confidence in the team". The 24-year-old can still clinch the title under his own steam if he wins all the races, including the three remaining sprints, and also sets one or two fastest laps. However, given the density at the front with Ferrari and Mercedes, this seems unrealistic. "I wouldn't say that we're running out of time, but it's slowly creeping away," said Norris. It's about optimizing every little thing.

For McLaren Managing Director Zak Brown, however, the Constructors' Championship seems to have priority, as it is all about the distribution of the billions in revenue. It would be the first team title since 1998. The McLaren duo scored 104 points more in the European races than Verstappen and his team-mate Sergio Pérez. Brown explains: "We have always relied on having two number one drivers, that was the McLaren way." It was the same with former world champions Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the team. The negative highlight was the collision in the 1989 World Championship final.