Perez fastest in first practice in Azerbaijan

Sergio Perez continued his good momentum in the 2022 season by leading the first free practice for the Azerbaijan GP.

The Mexican completed fewer laps than his direct rivals, but set the best time on the streets of Baku: 1m45.476s.

Charles Leclerc finished second, 0.127s behind, and Max Verstappen was third at 0.334s behind his teammate.

Carlos Sainz was more than half a second back in fourth, with the rest of the pack taking more than a second from Perez.

Apparently, the teams are facing two major problems in Baku with their new 2022 cars: the quiques and the wind.

Several drivers complained about the quiques on the long straight of the street circuit, while Red Bull's rear wing - which seemed to be flexing excessively at high speed - caught Ferrari's attention.

At one point, Lewis Hamilton crossed the pit lane entrance line to return to the track and was told by Mercedes that he could not do that. He replied, "It was so wavy I couldn't see the line!"

Meanwhile, Verstappen had trouble forcing his car to the limit in the strong wind. This is one of the characteristics of Baku, with the teams anticipating great difficulties in the race.

Mick Schumacher's difficult season had yet another chapter, with the German being heavily criticized for his recent crashes.

However, this time it was Haas' fault, with a fluid leak virtually preventing Schumacher from participating in the session.

Nicholas Latifi also had problems at the start when his car suddenly stopped. He had changed the power unit before practice, and Williams said it is investigating the fault.

Results of the first free practice: