F1 Daily round-up: Another GP cancelled, Baku practice analysis & flexi rear wings

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend has kicked off in style. As is usual in 2021, we have been delt some interesting cards following the opening two practice sessions in the streets of Baku. Red Bull lead the way, and by some distance compared to their World Championship rivals Mercedes. It's Max Verstappen who has the upper hand over Lewis Hamilton after day one. Here is your GPBlog Daily Round-up, covering the most important stories of the day. 

Practice analysis

The qualifying simulations will provide Mercedes with headaches. They are losing time in the slow corners, and failing to gain anything to Red Bull during the flat-out sector. The data suggests Red Bull have once again managed to get the best out of their cars and are in a league of their own for Saturday's qualifying session. 

Mercedes' long run pace is slightly better, but not as good as Red Bulls. As Christian Horner alluded to, Red Bull aren't in a league of their own in this department but do look stronger than Mercedes. Click here to read the full analysis.

Mercedes flexible rear wing

The race in Azerbaijan will be ran inconjunction with Red Bull Racing's flexible rear wing story. In Spain, it was clearly visible how Red Bull uses the flexible rear wing and Mercedes feared that this would give them a big advantage in Baku. However, following coverage recorded during practice, it's clear that Mercedes' rear wing is also flexing. 

"When [the Mercedes car] comes to the braking zone at the first corner, the wing meets up with the static line. It's a similar kind of thing. We've seen a similar kind of thing on the Ferrari front-wing. It's hard to stop these wings flexing but how much is too much?" Davidson concluded. Click here to read the full story. 

Perez's best Friday ever

Sergio Perez is the master of Baku, with two podiums for Force India in years gone by. The Mexican topped the second practice session on Friday afternoon. In his post race interviews, it was clear the Red Bull driver is confident with his car this weekend. 

"In all regards I think this is the best Friday of the season, the most complete Friday.. in terms of how comfortable I feel in the car." Click here to read the full story. 

Friday practice results

In a fairly eventful FP1 session in Baku, it was Max Verstappen who took P1 in the opening session of the weekend. His lap time was set with less than 15 minutes left, and ensured he beat out Charles Leclerc in P2 and Carlos Sainz P3. The top eight was separated by just 0.812 seconds, and the session suggested that it won't be plain sailing for both Red Bull and Mercedes. Click here to read the full report. 

Sergio Perez has topped the timings of FP2 on the Baku City Circuit, following suit from his teammate Max Verstappen in FP1. The Mexican finished ahead of Verstappen in second and Carlos Sainz in third. It was a strong session for AlphaTauri and Alpine, who had both of their driver pairings within the top 10. Mercedes had a very poor session, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas only able to find themselves in 11th and 16th. Click here to read the full report. 

Singapore Grand Prix cancelled

Aside from the weekend's action, some bad news for the world of Formula 1 was confirmed. The Singapore Grand Prix will not be completed in 2021. For the second year running, the event is cancelled as a result of the coronavirus crisis. 

A number of other races outside of Europe are also in doubt. Click here to read the full story.