2025 F1 Azerbaijan GP - Friday Practice Results: Lando Norris fastest

Lando Norris tops opening practice at the F1 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Lando Norris kicked off the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend by setting a searing pace in a first practice session disrupted by a bizarre kerb issue.

Norris topped FP1 by 0.310 seconds to McLaren teammate and championship rival Oscar Piastri, who was left playing catch up after encountering a power unit issue on his car.

Piastri looked to be on the back foot but a near half-an-hour stoppage enabled McLaren to fix the Australian’s car, meaning he did not miss out on too much running compared to his rivals and was able to get back out on tack.

First practice was red-flagged when part of a kerb at the final corner came up and caused some trouble for marshals trying to remove it.

Following a lengthy delay, FP1 finally resumed for the final 20 minutes, resulting in a late flurry of action as the drivers looked to get up to speed around the challenging street circuit.

Baku specialist Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari third, over half a second down on Norris’s McLaren, while George Russell, who skipped media day with illness, ended up fourth for Mercedes.

Alex Albon was fifth in his Williams, ahead of the Red Bull pair surprisingly led by Yuki Tsunoda, who unusually outpaced Max Verstappen by half a tenth.

However, four-time world champion Verstappen did abort his final lap on soft tyres after locking up and finding himself down an escape road at Turn 3.

The second Williams of Carlos Sainz was eighth, with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar completing the rest of the top-10.

Lewis Hamilton was down in 13th and 1.383s off the pace in a scrappy session. The seven-time world champion suffered a puncture and front wing damage after clipping the wall at Turn 3 in the closing stages.