Round six of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship began with training on Friday at the Baku City Circuit in Baku as the teams prepared for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday.
The race on Friday, which took place in mostly sunny conditions, consisted of two 60-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – on the 6.003-kilometer (3.730-mile) street circuit with 20 corners.
Mazepin and Schumacher drove identical tire strategies in FP1, with both VF-21: s using the Pirelli P Zero Yellow Medium rubber at the start. Their first wake-up runs were followed by a baseline excursion on the red soft compound – both riders properly drove their fastest laps of the session. Schumacher set a fastest time of 1: 46.899 for 19th place, while Mazepin recorded a fastest tour of 1: 46.945 for 20th place. A fuel-rich stint back on the mid-size tire ended their respective FP1 run plans.
In the afternoon, the lap times fell when the track was rubberized. Mazepin opened the FP2 with a short run on medium before putting on a new set of soft tires for his qualifying simulation. The Formula 2 graduate drove a 1: 45.563 on his fastest lap and finished 18th overall. Mazepin topped off his day with a high fuel consumption 11 lap run exploring the tougher white compound. Schumacher’s session was marred by an oil pressure problem after just four laps on hard rubber. A long stay in the garage cost valuable time, but the German returned to Softs and finished 19th with a 1: 46.095. Schumacher added another five laps to his record in the final minutes of FP2, a short high-fuel run – also on softs, to lead him right into the diamond.
The Uralkali Haas F1 Team ran a total of 73 laps on Friday in FP1 and FP2 – 41 for Mazepin and 32 for Schumacher.
Nikita Mazepin: “I really enjoyed the day. I think we’re in a good place. We’ve made some important steps forward. Although the car doesn’t work on high and low downforce tracks, we can do the things that are We are encouraged to get a grip on the set-up of the car. There is obviously a lot to do, but today has definitely gone according to plan. In terms of feedback, overheating was a big problem on long journeys, not just for us us, but for other competitors. The track is very grippy and the asphalt just overheats the tires, I have to get used to that when I come from Monaco and Barcelona. But I think the long runs were our strength today. At the moment where we stand on Friday, I can’t imagine that we can make too much progress on Sunday, but who knows, maybe Saturday and Sunday may bring some surprises. “
Mick Schumacher: “The track was pretty dirty this morning and didn’t really clean it in the first session. F2 cleared up a bit for FP2. Unfortunately we didn’t do all the laps we wanted. I had a few problems, but I had to do another flying lap on the C5 and a lap or two on a lot of fuel. We’ll probably have to switch the engines back to the first PU so we can figure it out and hopefully tomorrow everything will be fine. In general we have a lot to learn , but we’ve already done a lot and now it’s a matter of putting the puzzle together in order to have a good window for FP3 and then qualifying. “
Günther Steiner: “It is always difficult to come here – the track is very green at the beginning, and our two drivers are rookies, they both drove here in F2 once. We knew it would be a challenge, but I think , The guys did well. FP2 went well for Nikita (Mazepin), he got the best out of what he could there. Mick (Schumacher) had a good FP1, but in FP2 there was a problem with his oil pressure. We did trying to figure out what it was but we never could figure it out so he had to get in and out the whole time. He’s got at least half a session in FP2 but he says he’s ready for that tomorrow. We’re setting the learning curve on Saturday – but as you can see, we start from every training session and improve. That is the goal and we will continue to do so. “
Check out our Friday gallery from Baku here.
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