Max Verstappen led a Red Bull 1-2 during the opening practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday.
Verstappen posted a time of 1:44.410 on the Supersoft tyres around the Baku City Circuit to finish 0.470s clear of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who also clocked his best effort on the red-banded rubber.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third quickest, his best time coming on Softs, having had a couple of off-track excursions at Turn 3 and 8 during the session.
Sergio Pérez was the last driver to set a time within a second of Verstappen’s effort, though he brought out the red flags when he crashed at Turn 8.
Pérez carried too much speed into the narrow section and bounced across the inside kerb at the left-hander, which pitched him heavily into the external wall.
The impact caused severe damage to the front-right of the Force India VJM10, while the trajectory of the accident allowed the rear-right wheel to detach and bounce across the circuit.
Pérez was uninjured in the accident though the session was halted for a lengthy period amid a delayed recovery, with marshals initially unsure where to leave his stricken car.
Mercedes took fifth and sixth, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Valtteri Bottas, the Briton unable to get a clean lap in on the Supersoft tyres, while Bottas spun through Turn 10 early on.
Esteban Ocon claimed seventh for Force India, in front of Williams’ Felipe Massa, Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen and Daniil Kvyat, who moved up to 10th late on, in a session where Toro Rosso limited its running.
Lance Stroll took 11th, ahead of Haas pair Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, the Frenchman voicing his concern over his brakes, before running wide at Turn 3 during the closing stages.
Nico Hülkenberg placed 14th for Renault, while Carlos Sainz Jr. split McLaren pair Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso.
Jolyon Palmer was a further second adrift of Alonso in 18th position, as Sauber duo Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson finished at the foot of the table, the Swede substantially behind his team-mate.
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