Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix 2017 Qualifying: Results, Times from Friday's Practice

Red Bull's Max Verstappen experienced a bittersweet second practice at the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday, as he crashed at the end of a session in which he set the fastest time.

The Dutchman's mark of one minute, 43.362 seconds saw him finish narrowly ahead of Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, with the other Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo close by in third. But as the clock ticked down in FP2, Verstappen planted his car into the wall.

Earlier in the day, Verstappen had topped the standings in his Red Bull in FP1, with team-mate Ricciardo in second place. Overall, it was a testing day for Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who was well short of the pace set by the leaders; he was fifth in the morning and a distant 10th in the afternoon.

Read on for further details of a fascinating first day in Baku and the results in full from the two practice sessions.

FP1 Recap

Formula One's official Twitter account provided the timings from Friday's morning session:

Hamilton set the benchmark early on as he posted a 1:45.497, while his team-mate Valtteri Bottas—who eventually finished sixth—endured some slight struggles in the fledgling stages with a spin at Turn 10.

The street circuit in Baku also caused minor concerns for Renault and Nico Hulkenberg:

With 40 minutes remaining in the session, the supersoft tyres came out. Verstappen bettered Hamilton's time to 1:45.409 as the Englishman struggled to find some clear air.

The Red Bull driver then improved again to 1:44.410, with his teammate Ricciardo moving up into second on the timesheets with his own impressive lap.

A quarter of an hour from time Sergio Perez drew a red flag as he failed to navigate a couple of tight corners with the requisite control and hit the wall at Turn 8, per Formula One:

The Mexican driver escaped unhurt, but the damage caused to his car may prevent him from taking part in the second practice session of the day. 

It was a difficult session for Toro Rosso, with their drivers having combined to complete just nine laps and not set a time with half an hour to go.

Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz eventually finished 10th and 16th, respectively, but they will hope to get a great deal more track time under their belts in Friday's second session. 

FP2 Recap

The classification from the day's second practice runs came courtesy of the Formula One Twitter account:

As had been the case in FP1, Red Bull were flexing their muscles in Baku late in the day, with the challenging circuit aligning well with their setup. It was another chance for Verstappen, who was frustrated after a blistering start in Canada last time out, to show his pace.

The 19-year-old was fastest again in the quicker runs at the start of the session, as he guided his Red Bull around this narrow circuit with initial poise. A time of 1:43.362 wouldn't be bettered.

As noted by the Autosport Live Twitter account, the Red Bull of Verstappen was looking pretty handy on the long runs:

Although Perez had earlier hit the wall at Turn 8, Renault man Jolyon Palmer obviously hadn't been paying attention, as he crashed in almost identical circumstances to bring a temporary halt to proceedings.

Given there were interruptions in the morning, further disruptions did cause some frustration. As the Fake Charlie Whiting Twitter account relayed, it's little surprise given how compact the circuit is:

There was also a hairy moment for Hamilton and Ferrari star Kimi Raikkonen, as they came perilously close to taking each other out:

Neither were really close to troubling Verstappen's searing time, though, with Bottas (1:43.462) and Ricciardo (1:43.473) the two men in closest proximity to the teenager. 

Verstappen's stint did end on a sour note, though, as he became the latest driver troubled by the congested Baku route. At the end of a long day, he let his concentration slip and was involved in a heavy crash as the session came to an end. It'll be interesting to see how he and the car respond on Saturday.