The last free practice of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was full of action. The meeting was interrupted several times and marked with a red flag once. The biggest headline grabber, however, was the fall of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
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Sergio Perez, his Red Bull team-mate, was the fastest. Both Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton had some respite. He was third fastest and was less than half a second behind Perez. That gives Mercedes confidence.
Max Verstappen crashed
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The Red Bull driver had too much gas in the entrance to drive into Turn 15. He crashed his car over the yellow sausage beach and lost control. His car then crashed into the crash barriers and although he reserved his car and tried to pit his car, he couldn’t do it.
It was probably due to a defective front suspension. This brought forth the red flags. Charles Leclerc had a similar crash at Turn 15 in the morning session yesterday. Unlike Max, however, he was lucky enough to pit his Ferrari F1 car with only one front wing damage.
View history: 5 F1 Crashes That Astounded the World
Is he now in danger of missing qualifying? His mechanics will race against time to get his car back 100% repair while qualifying is just a few hours away.
George Russell’s engine has stopped
George Russell’s Williams car was riddled with electrical problems. Just 10 minutes before the start of the session, he reported the retirement to his race engineer.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 16, 2021 Williams’ George Russell in action during practice REUTERS / Jennifer Lorenzini
Max was confident before the race
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The Flying Dutchman expressed his desire to be the best driver on the F1 grid. At least that’s his mentality – “A racing car has a steering wheel and two pedals. You can control that. As a driver, you always have to believe that you are the best. “
For now, he is keeping his fingers crossed that his mechanics will repair his car on time.
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