Perez fastest in practice for Azerbaijan GP, Mercedes slow

Red Bull dominated both practice sessions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday with Sergio Perez setting the fastest time of the day and title rival Mercedes far off the pace.

Perez set a time of 1 minute, 42.115 seconds in the second practice to lead teammate Max Verstappen by .101 after the Dutch driver had been fastest in the first session.

“Performance-wise, I think we had a great start to the weekend here in Baku," Verstappen said. "It was quite windy out there today which wasn't easy for any of us, but it definitely makes things more interesting."

In Saturday qualifying, Verstappen will aim for his first pole position since the season opener in Bahrain in March.

Perez said he felt like he was “understanding the car more” after adapting to his new team this season.

Mercedes could only manage 11th for defending champion Lewis Hamilton — more than a second off the pace — and 16th for Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton was bemused: “I don’t know where all the time is,” he told his team over the radio.

“We're definitely quite a chunk down and I think everyone will be scratching their heads and looking into the data, trying to figure out how we could improve," Hamilton said later. “The car is limited. There's areas where I should just be quicker but there's just no more grip."

Mercedes is on course for its second disappointing street-circuit race after struggling on the comparatively low-grip, twisty circuit in Monaco, where Hamilton was seventh and Bottas failed to finish when a wheel nut seized. Baku challenges the teams to balance straight-line speed with enough grip to handle a narrow, technical section around the old city.

Red Bull's speed could add to a dispute with Mercedes about what Hamilton has previously called “bendy” rear wings on the cars. The wings are believed to flex into a flatter profile at high speed, potentially reducing drag and increasing pace on the long straight at the Baku street circuit.

New tests for the wings have been announced by governing body FIA but only take effect for the next race in France.

Friday was also a triumph for Ferrari, which was the only team with comparable pace to Red Bull.

Carlos Sainz was third, .128 seconds slower than Perez, and Charles Leclerc was fourth after losing his front wing when he locked up a wheel and slid into the barrier.

Ferrari had good pace on another street circuit in Monaco as Leclerc took pole but then couldn't start the race because of car damage. Leclerc had predicted the long straight in Azerbaijan would work against his team though.

Running time in the second session was limited and fragmented because of Leclerc's issues and a red flag when Nicholas Latifi came to a halt in his Williams with engine trouble.

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