Though we remain somewhat unconvinced by the Baku City Circuit - as is the case with most of the new street tracks - we must admit that it never fails to throw up a surprise or two.

Over the years we've seen numerous incidents - Verstappen's last gasp tyre failure, for example - and we have to admit that more often than not the Baku events are entertaining.

However, just looking back at this morning's F2 race, it is a track that has to be treated with respect, a track that, like Monaco, will bite back.

Almost from the opening moment of FP1 there have been incidents this weekend, be it Leclerc going into the barriers (again) or Alpine suffering a nightmare, and one cannot help but feel that this will continue into today's race.

Which begs the question, will this year's race finally give us cause to say: "Well done Baku!"

The fact that Leclerc is on pole for the fourth successive year aside, look at that 0.32s advantage over Piastri, while Sainz is up there to lean his teammate his full support.

And talking of teammates, just days after McLaren admitted that team orders might implemented from here on in, Norris screws it up in qualifying thereby handing the advantage to a driver who will grab the opportunity with both hands.

While Verstappen went the wrong way in making changes to his car ahead of qualifying the Red Bulls are looking strong, and don't forget that Perez loves this track. That said, Red Bull with an eye on the titles, will probably call on the Mexican to be the perfect team player today. Then, other than Russell, we have the two Williams drivers, in particular Colapinto who has taken the sport by storm.

Making his debut for Haas, Bearman also continues to impress, and could well make history today by becoming the first driver to score points in his first two races with different teams.

Other than the usual midfield scrap, we also have Norris and Hamilton - who starts from the pitlane after taking on a new engine - keen to battle their way up the field on a track which encourages overtaking.

While Leclerc appears to have placed his towel on the pole slot, over the years he has made a number of mistakes here. Indeed, Friday's crash means that he has had no experience of long runs so far this weekend.

Though this morning's carnage happened on the grid, over the years we have seen numerous incidents on the first lap, especially at Turn 1, and this year threatens to be no exception.

There hasn't been a Safety Car for the last seven races - something of a record these days - however that it likely to change today, with some claiming a 60% chance of it being deployed.

All in all this has the makings of being a thriller and possibly even a turning point in the championship.

The pitlane opens and the drivers head out, among the last out are the Ferrari pair.

"The brakes don't feel like they have great deceleration," warns Russell.

Finally the drivers begin to take their place on the grid.

In terms of strategy, on paper, the one-stop is definitely the quickest option, with medium and hard the most suitable. A two-stop only becomes credible if there is a Safety Car in the second half of the race and that's probably why many drivers have held back two sets of C3 for tomorrow afternoon.

Theoretically the first stop should come between laps 13 and 20 for those who opt to start on the mediums, while those who start on hards should pit between laps 32 and 38.

A neutralisation could lead to a run of pit stops, as we saw last year for example. One factor to consider will be graining, given that the track is still very dirty.

Air temperature is 27 degrees while the track temperature is 47 degrees.

"So difficult to predict," says Toto Wolff, "Leclerc is a power to be reckoned with in Baku and the rest is pretty much unknown. It's a medium start and everyone will aim for a one-stop."

All are starting on mediums bar Albon, Ricciardo, Norris, Zhou, Gasly and Ocon who are on hards. Fresh rubber all round except for Alonso (as ever), Tsunoda, Stroll (as ever), Ricciardo, Bottas, Zhou and Ocon.

"We have a quick car, you're driving well, it can be pay day today," Colapinto is told.

They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly except for Hamilton and Ocon who wait in the pitlane.

The grid forms.

They're away! Leclerc leads the field safely through Turn 1, while Verstappen gets through on the inside of Russell. At Turn 2 Perez and Sainz are side-by-side, the Mexican holding off the Ferrari.

Shortly after, Stroll clashes with Tsunoda as he attempts to dive through on the inside in Turn 4 and gets a front-left puncture for his trouble.

At the end of Lap 1, it's: Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Sainz, Verstappen, Russell, Alonso, Colapinto, Albon and Bearman. Norris is up to 13th, then 12th as he passes Hulkenberg in Turn 1 at the start of Lap 2.

"We're now effectively on Plan B," Stroll is told after pitting, "so it will have to be a gentle introduction."

As Norris challenges Tsunoda, Piastri is all over Leclerc who is unable to extract himself from DRS range.

In the space of two corners, Tsunoda loses out to Norris and then Hulkenberg.

Ricciardo is told that his teammate has car damage as Tsunoda is passed by the Australian, Gasly and Hamilton.

Piastri remains 0.8s down on Leclerc as he extends a 1.8s lead over Perez who is 2.2s clear of Sainz.

"They feel alright at the minute," replies Norris when asked about his tyres. He is currently 1.2s down on Bearman.

Lap 6 sees a new fastest lap from Leclerc (48.052) as he builds a 1.6s lead.

A big lock-up for Bearman in Turn 15 allows Norris to close and eventually pass the Haas driver. Next up in Albon who is stuck behind Colapinto and Alonso who has fallen 4.6s behind Russell.

"I think a plastic bag just went in the airbox," warns Russell as Hulkenberg closes in on Bearman.

"The medium is not graining yet," Norris is told, "if anything is suffering from thermal deg. You're doing a better job."

"I have zero bite in the car," reports Verstappen who is losing ground to Sainz.

Colapinto pits at the end of Lap 10, rejoining in 15th on hards as Hulkenberg passes his Haas teammate.

Next time around Alonso pits, which is good news for Norris who is 2.4s down on Albon. As Alonso rejoins in 14th, Bottas also pits.

Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton all pit at the end of Lap 12, the Dutchman rejoins in 10th following a slow stop, while Russell is 12th and Hamilton 18th.

All of which promotes Norris to sixth.

Perez pits at the end of Lap 13, the Mexican rejoining in 6th, ahead of Hulkenberg.

On his fresh hards Perez goes quickest in S2 while Piastri stays out.

Check out our Sunday gallery from Baku here.