29/04/2023
NEWS STORY
Ahead of today's Sprint the air temperature is 23 degrees C, while the track temperature is 42 degrees. It remains bright and sunny.
There have been a number of developments since this morning's Shootout.
Firstly, unable to repair his car in time, Williams has opted to withdrawn Sargeant from this afternoon's event.
Meanwhile, at Alpine, having worked on his suspension under parc ferme conditions, the Frenchman is obliged to start both the Sprint and Grand Prix from the pitlane.
The crash at the start of the F2 race that followed the Shootout was a stark reminder of the fact that this is a track that bites - though in all honesty some of the drivers involved hardly did themselves any favours.
Consequently, heading into the Sprint drivers but ponder risk and reward, particularly in view of the fact that any silliness this afternoon could come back to haunt them tomorrow.
The pitlane opens and the drivers begin to head out.
Leclerc has claimed pole for both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, however, as we have seen at previous races, there is a major difference between the Ferrari's single-lap and race pace.
Another one to watch is Aston Martin where both drivers have been experiencing DRS issues all weekend.
On the grid, Russell suggests a change of start tyre.
"I felt P7 was pretty much the best we could have achieved with what we had," admits a very impressive Albon. "It's going to be hard work to keep the Astons behind but let's see. If we lose DRS to the cars ahead of us which we might, it's a slipstream battle."
All are starting on mediums bar Norris and Bottas who are on softs. Leclerc and Sainz are on fresh mediums, as are Piastri, Magnussen, Zhou, Tsunoda, Gasly and de Vries. Norris is on used softs and Bottas fresh.
They head off on the formation lap.
The grid forms.
They're away. Leclerc leads as Russell, who a brilliant start, causes problems for Verstappen at the first two corners, the Mercedes driver finally getting the jump in Turn 3.
"Hold it Max, these others have got nothing to lose," Verstappen is told, the world champion angry at Russell's move.
Tsunoda has lost his right-rear tyre which is following him down the straight.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Leclerc, Perez, Russell, Verstappen, Sainz, Hamilton, Alonso, Albon, Norris and Stroll.
The VSC is deployed as Tsunoda's errant wheel is removed from the track, as the replay reveals the AlphaTauri clouted the wall at Turn 15.
Three wheels on his wagon, Tsunoda pits. He heads back out again but it is clear that his car is damaged.
As Tsunoda slowly makes his way back to the pits, the Safety Car is deployed.
"We have picked up some floor damage," Verstappen is told. "Just waiting for the balance shift."
"Did he drive into the side of me... he's damaging my car but keeps the position, it is ridiculous.
Tsunoda is under investigation for being released in an unsafe condition - his car, or course, rather than the man.
The Safety Car is withdrawn at the end of Lap 5 (of 17).
"There was a cut," reports Leclerc.
Ahead of the restart the field bunches behind the Ferrari.
As Verstappen appears to catch Russell napping, it's disaster for Hamilton who loses out to Sainz and Alonso at Turn 3, while Stroll subsequently passes Norris for 9th.
"Lovely job Max, and no contact!" "Yeh, I know how to do that," Max replies.
Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (45.217) as he maintains a 0.515s lead over Perez, with Verstappen a further 1.1s down the road.
Making full use of his superior DRS, Perez sweeps by Leclerc into Turn 1, the Ferrari driver attempts to fight back but is unable to maintain the same pace as the Red Bull.
Piastri passes his McLaren teammate for tenth.
Verstappen closes to within DRS range of Leclerc, as Russell falls 1.6s behind.
Perez posts a new fastest lap (44.488), subsequently improving with a 43.932.
Struggling on his softs, Norris is passed by Hulkenberg and then Magnussen.
"Box, box!" the McLaren driver is told.
In eighth, Albon is under pressure from Stroll.
Ocon passes de Vries for 16th, as Norris rejoins in 18th.
Lap 10 sees a new fastest lap from Verstappen (43.723).
"This tyre is starting to melt," reports the soft-shod Bottas.
Stroll passes Albon for 8th, and as the Williams driver attempts to fight back Piastri closes in.
Ocon pits at the end of Lap 12, as there is a wonderful exchange between Albon and his engineer. "I'm being sarcastic," the Thai driver eventually concedes.
"A couple of the medium runners now complaining about the rear," Russell is warned.
De Vries passes Bottas for 15th.
The field now appears to have settled, with almost every driver at least a second behind the car in front.
Zhou passes a struggling Hulkenberg who has dropped to 14th.
As Gasly closes on Zhou, Verstappen appears to make a late charge.
Perez leads by 3.4s, with Verstappen a further 1.2s behind.
Perez takes the flag, ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Alonso, Hamilton and Stroll.
Albon is ninth, ahead of Piastri, Magnussen, Zhou, Gasly, de Vries, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Norris and Ocon.
"I will get them tomorrow again," vows the race winner.
Meanwhile, as he surveys the damage to his car, Verstappen confronts Russell. "I had no grip," explains the Mercedes driver. "Mate, we all have no grip," replies the Dutchman. "We all need to give a little bit of space."
"I know, I know," says Russell. "Expect it next time the same, you know," says Verstappen as Russell walks away. "Dickhead!" he adds.
"I just don't understand why you need to take so much risk into Lap 1," says Verstappen in the post-race interview, "understeering into my car.
"It is what it is," he sighs. "There's a hole in my sidepod, it doesn't look great. We'll focus on tomorrow."
"It confirms a little what we thought," says Leclerc, "the Red Bull still has the upper hand in the race, but we did a step forward.
"We are still not where we want to be," he admits, "but we just need to take the maximum we can. I didn't fight too much with Perez as I wanted to protect my tyres, but we were still losing at the end with the degradation."
"It was good," beams Perez. "A lot of pressure on us, our teams, mechanics, drivers so to get away with maximum points was the objective but we know tomorrow is the main race."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Baku here.