How Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying unfolded

Hamilton finally gets a timed lap on the board, but he only ends up 15th, 3.6s off Verstappen's benchmark pace. 

"Pierre was forced to stop on track due to a loss of hydraulic pressure on his car, the team will look to investigate the cause."

After a 13-minute delay for the red flag, we are back underway in Baku. 

Just over 30 minutes left on the clock...

RED FLAG

Smoke pours out of Pierre Gasly's car

Kevin Magnussen is also stranded down at Turn 1#AzerbaijanGP#F1pic.twitter.com/DKfwHRIFwd

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2023

With the marshals still attending Gasly's smouldering Alpine, this is just resulting in more track time being lost for the teams. 

It's been a particularly bad start to the day for Mercedes, with Russell and Hamilton propping up the order down in 19th and 20th after their respective brake dramas.

Magnussen is now stranded down at Turn 1. It's all kicking off this morning in Baku! 

Verstappen hits the top of the timesheets, nearly three tenths clear of Red Bull teammate Perez. The Red Bull pair are half a second clear of Ferrari's Leclerc. 

As you were. 

Early drama for Tsunoda, who is crawling back to the pits with a puncture after spinning into the wall.

Sainz has also had an early brush the barriers in his Ferrari, but avoided any damage. 

Less than 10 minutes into the session and Hamilton is complaining about his brakes.

"I have no brakes at the moment," said Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion is now back in the pits. 

Moments later, Mercedes teammate Russell has also reported brake trouble. 

A bad start to the day for Mercedes. 

A flurry of early lap times coming in as the drivers get up to speed around the streets of Baku. 

Perez is currently fastest, setting a 1m47.491s in his Red Bull. 

Unsurpringly, it's a very busy track early doors. All 20 drivers are out straight away. No messing about. 

It's almost time to hit the track! #AzerbaijanGP#F1pic.twitter.com/dZqT2qqUDe

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2023

With the drivers going straight into qualifying for Sunday's GP after practice, FP1 is set to be a crucial session. 

The teams will get just one hour to get up to speed around Baku's challenging circuit and determine their set-up choices for the rest of the weekend.

It should be a busy hour of running. 

Plenty of upgrades have been brought to Baku with teams having the best part of a month to work on developments. 

Both Mercedes and Red Bull have brought several updates, while McLaren have introduced their long-awaited upgrade package in a bid to improve their MCL60. 

Like McLaren, Alpine are debuting some substaintial floor updates. 

Here's a full rundown of what each team has brought.  

The F1 sprint returns for the first of six events in 2023 this weekend in Baku. 

Changes to the format were voted through last week to make the sprint race a standalone event, creating three days of competitive action. 

Here's an explaineras to how it will all work. 

Hello and welcome to Crash.net's live coverage of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Following F1's unintended spring break after the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, the action finally resumes in Baku, which marks the first of five races in the next six weeks. 

Qualifying for Sunday's grand prix takes place later today but up first its an hour of practice, which starts at 10.30. 

Stay with us throughout the day for the latest on-track updates and news coming out of the paddock.