European Grand Prix – Between East and West

Seb and Kimi discover the Baku circuit, in between several stoppages
Baku, 17 June – Time to move on from looking at the track on paper or in the simulator and take to the real streets of Baku. The first free practice session signaled the start of the new European Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, the eighth round of the championship. The very smooth and still dusty track surface meant the slightest step out of line was penalized. Sebastian Vettel was fifth in 1.48.627, while Kimi Raikkonen was twelfth in 1.49.635, in a session spent working on aero testing, while mainly allowing the drivers to get to know the new track. A red flag, following a crash for Ricciardo and plenty of yellow ones, meant the work was regularly interrupted, as could be expected. Quickest was Lewis Hamilton (1.46.435) in his Mercedes.