Max Verstappen fastest in Baku during first practice as Charles Leclerc crashes

Charles Leclerc (26) experienced a crash in his Ferrari during the first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday, which was interrupted three times. Meanwhile, Formula One leader Max Verstappen (26) recorded the fastest lap for Red Bull, the reigning champions, with a time of one minute 45.546.

Lewis Hamilton secured second place for Mercedes, finishing 0.313 seconds behind Verstappen, while Sergio Perez of Red Bull claimed third on the timesheets.

Verstappen achieved his fastest lap just before the session concluded, following red flags that were raised first for a marshal to clear debris and subsequently due to crashes involving Leclerc and Williams' rookie driver Franco Colapinto from Argentina.

Leclerc, who has secured pole position in Baku for the past three years without a victory, collided with the wall at turn 15 with 33 minutes left in the session, having misjudged his speed and locked up.

"I took the dirt on the outside," the Italian Grand Prix winner communicated via team radio, as other teams echoed concerns regarding the low grip and dirtiness of the temporary street circuit.

Colapinto also encountered difficulties, crashing into the barriers at turn four with 18 minutes remaining, as his car's rear end lost traction and struck the wall.

The Argentine driver was participating in his second race weekend after taking over from the dismissed American Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season.

The session resumed with 11 minutes left and concluded with Verstappen at the top of the timesheets, indicating that Red Bull's floor upgrade was yielding positive results as they aimed to regain their early-season performance.

McLaren's Lando Norris, who is Verstappen's closest title contender but trails by 62 points with eight races left, finished fourth, followed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in fifth and McLaren's Oscar Piastri in sixth.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso placed seventh, with Mercedes' George Russell in eighth, while Leclerc managed to secure ninth despite having missed a significant portion of the session. Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top ten for Red Bull.

British teenager Oliver Bearman made his debut for Haas, stepping in for the suspended Kevin Magnussen, and recorded the 11th fastest lap, finishing 0.162 seconds quicker than his teammate Nico Hulkenberg.

Esteban Ocon of Alpine experienced a power loss early in the session, resulting in an early conclusion to his participation.