2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Championship standings

Max Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship with 303 points, 62 points ahead of Lando Norris in second, and 86 ahead of Charles Leclerc in third. Red Bull Racing, with 446 points, leads the Constructors’ Championship from McLaren and Ferrari, who are second and third with 438 and 407 points, respectively.

Previous race

At the Italian Grand Prix, Leclerc won for Ferrari, their first home win since 2019. Colapinto made his F1 debut for Williams, finishing twelfth.

Between-race developments

Magnussen’s collision at Monza incurred two penalty points, taking him to the twelve-point threshold and triggering an automatic one-race ban.

Entrants

Oliver Bearman replaces the banned Magnussen at Haas. Bearman last competed at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier in the season when he substituted for Carlos Sainz Jr. at Ferrari. This is Bearman’s second Formula One race.

Penalties

Pierre Gasly is disqualified from qualifying for exceeding the instantaneous fuel mass flow limit. Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon start from the pit lane after power unit changes. Zhou Guanyu starts from the back of the grid for exceeding his power unit element quota.

Weather

Sunny conditions are expected for race day.

Tyre choices

Sole tyre supplier Pirelli brings the C3, C4, and C5 tyre compounds (the three softest in their range), designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively.

Track changes

The DRS zone leading into turn 1 is extended by 100 metres.

Practice

The first free practice session is topped by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing ahead of Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Pérez. The session sees three red flags: the first for debris, the second for an accident involving Charles Leclerc of Ferrari at turn 15, and the third for a crash involving Franco Colapinto of Williams at turn 4. The second free practice session is topped by Leclerc ahead of Pérez and Hamilton. The third practice session is topped by George Russell of Mercedes ahead of Leclerc and Lando Norris of McLaren. The session is red-flagged twice: firstly for Esteban Ocon of Alpine stopping on track due to an engine issue, and secondly for Oliver Bearman of Haas crashing at turn 1.