2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hamilton leads Bottas by 6 points. Mercedes holds a 57-point advantage over Ferrari in the Constructors’.

Previous race

Hamilton won China from the front, completing three consecutive Mercedes 1–2 finishes to open the season — the first team to manage that feat since Williams in 1992. Leclerc briefly led after being instructed by Ferrari to let Vettel past, then given back the position. Gasly set the fastest lap for the first time in his career.

Penalties

Giovinazzi receives a 10-place grid penalty for fitting a third set of control electronics. Räikkönen is required to start from the pit lane after his car failed a front wing deflection test. Kubica also starts from the pit lane following suspension changes to his car.

Practice

FP1 was cancelled after just 12 minutes. Russell’s Williams hit a loose drain cover between turns 2 and 3, badly damaging the car — the cover had already been displaced when Leclerc passed over it. The truck towing Russell’s car back to the pits then struck a pedestrian bridge, leaking hydraulic fluid onto the track. Race Director Masi cancelled the session to inspect all manholes and assess damage to the bridge; only the two Ferraris had set times, with Leclerc fastest. Williams determined Russell’s chassis needed replacing, ruling him out of FP2.

FP2 opened with Stroll crashing at turn 2 15 minutes in and Kvyat hitting the wall at turn 7 with 25 minutes remaining. Late in the session, Gasly was signalled to bring his car to the weighbridge but missed the visual instruction and continued to his garage, where the mechanics changed tyres — a rule violation that will require him to start from the pit lane. Leclerc topped FP2 and FP3, with Vettel second in both.