Since Sergio Perez final flew out of Azerbaijan following his victory in Baku in April 2023 – over 500 days in the past – there was little for the veteran Pink Bull driver to have a good time on observe.
However in a sport the place there are few true pals, the place the one one you possibly can depend on is your self, Baku has arguably been kinder to Perez than anybody or the rest in Components 1.
With two victories and 5 podiums from seven begins – each data for this distinctive observe – Perez can all the time relay on Baku for a robust outcome, even when he’s been within the midst of one among his all-too-frequent slumps in kind over time.
In all 16 of this 12 months’s rounds thus far, Perez has by no means as soon as out-qualified or completed forward of his world champion group mate Max Verstappen in races the place each have seen the chequered flag. However the ‘King of Baku’ actually appeared extra comfy than Verstappen over the primary day of observe at Azerbaijan.
Though Verstappen was quickest in first observe, Perez was simply six-thousandths of a second behind Charles Leclerc’s pace-setting lap within the night session. He had additionally, extra importantly, been faster than his group mate in virtually each lap within the ultimate hour of operating – each on the tender tyres and throughout the longer runs on mediums later within the session.
Perez described his Friday as a “good, stable day”. Verstappen, who had seemed atypically ragged across the Baku circuit throughout the session was additionally “fairly assured” in regards to the group’s early efficiency following a really disappointing displaying at Monza final outing. However though Verstappen was slower than his group mate, it’s simple to see why wanting into the info.
Taking each Pink Bull drivers’ quickest laps from Friday, there was a transparent set-up distinction between the 2 group mates. Whereas Verstappen was in a position to carry considerably larger minimal pace on the apexes via the various 90-degree corners – as a lot as 6kph in turns 4 and 7 – Perez was simply faster on the straights by a good larger quantity. Verstappen went from being virtually two tenths up on Perez heading down to show 16 to falling to greater than half a second adrift of his group mate by the point he reached the tip of the lap.
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Whether or not it’s all the way down to energy unit settings or Verstappen operating a lot larger downforce than Perez, it’s clear that Verstappen has extra final tempo than he was prepared to point out on Friday. With Pink Bull bringing a revised new flooring for this weekend, it is usually potential the group have been desirous to run their most dependable driver in a vastly completely different set-up to his group mate to attempt to achieve priceless understanding that appears to have eluded Mercedes with their equally aggressive Spa-spec flooring – which they’ve discarded for this weekend.
One hanging statement to make from Friday’s observe was simply how sluggish the sector have been in comparison with final 12 months. Verstappen’s greatest time from opening observe was over three seconds slower than his personal greatest from the equal session in 2023, whereas Leclerc’s FP2 time was nonetheless greater than a second slower.
Drivers complained a couple of very low grip degree throughout the day, with Leclerc blaming his first practice-ending crash on having run too far onto the dusty outer fringe of the observe on the method to show 15. However Daniel Ricciardo, returning to Baku for the primary time since 2022, had an honest clarification for why automobiles have been out of the blue a lot slower.
“I used to be listening to that they didn’t stress wash the circuit, or one thing, and mainly clear it like they usually would,” the RB driver defined. “So it began off actually slippery and soiled. Mid-corner is admittedly weak, traction’s poor. So total degree of grip is low.”
This was then backed up by Pirelli, who had discovered that the grip ranges of the road circuit have been decrease than final 12 months once they had inspected the observe on Wednesday.
“It’s inconceivable to offer a definitive reply, however this will likely have been all the way down to the actual fact the asphalt was not handled because it had been final 12 months,” mentioned Pirelli’s chief engineer Simone Berra. “As could possibly be seen by the quantity of dust kicked up by the automobiles.”
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With an unusually excessive degree of observe evolution anticipated over the remainder of the weekend because of the low degree of pure grip, it’s more durable to learn into the long term occasions as regular. Nonetheless, on the mediums, Ferrari seemed spectacular. Whereas the Pink Bull pair have been within the 1’49s and even 1’50s at occasions, Leclerc and group mate Carlos Sainz Jnr stayed across the low 1’49s and 1’48s on their runs.
However Mercedes have been closest to the Ferraris than the Pink Bulls or McLarens have been. Nonetheless, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s tempo was maybe extra eye-opening as they carried out their excessive gas runs on the onerous compounds, but managed lap occasions that have been similar to the Ferraris.
Though Russell’s day was disrupted by an unscheduled energy unit change prompted by an irregular oil pattern, he was inspired by the tempo the group had proven on Friday – notably by his group mate.
“The excellent news is that Lewis was wanting very fast on the market,” Russell mentioned. “It encourages us that the automotive is robust, and we will be aggressive this weekend.
“It appears very shut between a number of groups, with Ferrari particularly wanting sturdy. If we will make enhancements in a single day, although, we will intention to be within the combine for qualifying and the race on Sunday.”
The tiny margins between most of the drivers on the entrance of the sector means that qualifying might nicely be one the place only a few further kilometres-per-hour could possibly be the distinction between a number of positions on the grid. Getting a tow could possibly be a significant benefit on the finish of a lap.
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McLaren’s admission previous to the race that they may “bias” their efforts in direction of Lando Norris raises the chance they might deploy Oscar Piastri within the service of his group mate’s championship possibilities this weekend. Nonetheless the group has been cagey about exactly how far they’re ready to go to do that. Will Piastri be instructed to offer Norris a flying begin to his lap with a tow out of flip 16?
Pink Bull have been far much less ambiguous about Perez’s position in serving to Verstappen. If Pink Bull resolve Verstappen ought to profit from the identical, there’s little doubt Perez should comply. Though he’s had a robust begin to his weekend, it might be that the King of Baku has to play servant this time round.
Mixed observe occasions
Groups’ progress vs 2023
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