Max Verstappen, once again, at the head of the classification. The Dutchman, leader of the 2023 World Championship, opened the Azerbaijan GP with the first time trial in free practice, in a rough first session, with a red flag due to a breakdown of the Alpine de Gasly.
Fernando Alonso set a discreet eighth best time, although, to his credit, he was the only one in the top 8 who rode the medium (harder) tire, while the seven that preceded him were on soft. Carlos Sainz was fourth fastest.
In the first free trial of the Grand Prix -and the only one, since all that remains are two classifications and two races-, Red Bull's dominance was only interrupted by Leclerc with the Ferrari, who slipped between Verstappen and Pérez, just 1 tenths behind from Dutch.
The apparent good form with which the Ferraris have arrived in Baku was confirmed by Carlos Sainz with the fourth best time, 5 tenths behind the champion and 4 behind the Mexican.
The middle section of the first practice sessions left an amalgamation of teams and drivers: Norris fifth, De Vries sixth, Stroll seventh and Alonso eighth. The Asturian was 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen, although with medium rubber, half a second slower than the soft one.
Fernando Alonso has his hopes placed on this grand prix, where he has signed good performances in his four participations, with a 6th place in 2021. The Asturian hopes to go one step further and surpass the three third places he has added.
The most notorious disappointment was the 11th time of a Lewis Hamilton who, like Alonso, only rode with mediums.
