Mercedes tops first Baku F1 practice

Baku, Azerbaijan - Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton lapped fastest in practice as Formula One made its debut in Azerbaijan on Friday.

Hamilton, who said on Thursday he had no intention of inspecting the track beforehand because he wanted it to be a completely fresh experience in the car, lapped in a best time of 1m46.435s.

The winner of the past two races, now only nine points adrift of team-mate Nico Rosberg after seven of 21 rounds, was 0.377s faster than Rosberg at the top of the timesheets.

Sunday's race is billed as the European Grand Prix, a designation that has previously been given to circuits in Germany, Britain and Spain rather than a country at the crossroads of Asia and Europe.

Championship leader Rosberg was the first to set a timed lap of the 6.003km anti-clockwise track, which winds around the medieval walled city before a long blast along the Caspian seafront.

Esteban Gutierrez, in a Haas, was first to leave the pit lane and also first to leave the track when he made a mistake at Turn 15.

Expectations of top speeds of around 340km/h proved conservative with Valtteri Bottas, in a Williams, hitting 351km/h early on.

Also read: Now the fun starts, says Hamilton

Daniel Ricciardo brought out the red flags to halt the session with 22 minutes remaining after he clouted the barrier at Turn 15, the impact ripping off his Red Bull's rear right wheel.

“It will be a rush to turn the car around for session two,” said Red Bull principal Christian Horner. “For all the teams it is stretching the spare parts with the three street tracks in succession.”

Baku follows on from the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal last weekend and Monaco before that.

Hamilton did not go out again after the red flag, Mercedes saying that one of the front tyres was too badly 'flat-spotted' - a worn patch caused by locking under braking - to do a planned long run.

He also had a brush with the wall at Turn 3, while Rosberg complained he could feel something out of place behind his seat.

Bottas was third fastest and McLaren's Fernando Alonso, an 'official ambassador' for the race, fourth. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fifth.

Red Bull's 18-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen was sidelined for much of the session as mechanics changed the clutch in his car.

RESULTS

1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes - 1:46.435

2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes - 1:46.812

3 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams - 1:47.096

4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren - 1:47.989

5 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari - 1:48.627

6 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - 1:48.922

7 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren - 1:49.019

8 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams - 1:49.125