Fred Vasseur (Ferrari) ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix: “In Baku, you never know!”

After the first two practice sessions ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, most people in Formula 1 were just as much in the dark as before. The sessions were too fragmented to draw any reliable conclusions. FP1 on Thursday morning was marred by technical problems. Many drivers spent a lot of time in the garage (including McLaren and Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, who suffered hydraulic failure). FP2 wasn’t much more revealing: a crash involving Arvid Lindblad interrupted the session. On top of that, most teams have new upgrades, so there’s still a lot of fine-tuning to be done.

First impressions: Mercedes are out in front, with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in hot pursuit. Behind them are Ferrari. McLaren are further back – although they didn’t manage to complete what might have been the fastest lap.

Vasseur: Significant fluctuations

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said after the first day of practice: “It was strange that we had such large fluctuations. Things went quite well in the morning.” Charles Leclerc finished third in the morning session, with Lewis Hamilton fourth. “In the afternoon, we had significant fluctuations from one lap to the next.” Leclerc ended up fourth, with Hamilton fifth.

Ferrari still needs to work on the balance

Vasseur: “I think it’s quite difficult to find the right position, the right slipstream. But we also struggled a bit with the tyres; I think the others did too. It’s a challenge that the performance parameters also fluctuate more than on a normal circuit.” Added to that are the intricacies of the new engines with energy release from the battery. Vasseur: “We’re not very happy with the balance. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Vasseur didn’t want to comment on the balance of power on Thursday. The Frenchman joked: “I’m slowly getting too old to place too much importance on Friday. And if Friday is useless, just imagine what Thursday is like.” In Azerbaijan, the entire race weekend is taking place a day earlier than usual (due to a public holiday on Sunday). Consequently, Friday’s practice session is, for once, taking place on Thursday.

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Baku: Qualifying

FIA Formula One World Championship

25.09.2026 - 13:30

Baku is always good for a surprise

What will be the strategy of choice for the Grand Prix (on Saturday!)? Vasseur: “In Baku, you never know. There can always be a big surprise.” On the track, the walls are always close by, and the probability of a safety car is 60 per cent – so more than half.

Vasseur: “I remember the first year, when we’d all expected total chaos in Baku and then nothing happened at all. In the second year, it was exactly the opposite. As for strategy: if nothing happens, it would certainly be a one-stop race, because overtaking isn’t that easy.”