'Verstappen and Pérez swept the board in Baku'

Red Bull Racing had a strong start of the weekend on Friday. The Austrian team was twice at the front of the time sheets, while its competitor Mercedes had to settle for a mid-table position. Lawrence Barretto is expecting an exciting race on Sunday.

The lap times of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez during the first two free practice sessions were a lot better than those of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Still, the journalist from The official website of Formula 1 thinks that it doesn't say anything about the weekend yet. "It shrinks dramatically when looking at race simulations however, with Mercedes just 0.07s per lap slower, which means it could be more of a fight in the race."

However, it does not mean that the team of Verstappen and Pérez should not take confidence from the first two free practice sessions. "Red Bull may feel confident enough to try and qualify on the medium, so they can start the race on that rubber. Mercedes may not feel they have that luxury," Barretto explained.

Red Bull, however, will be happy to see Mercedes falter. Two weeks ago Red Bull took the win in Monaco and took the lead in the world championship. In Azerbaijan, too, optimism prevails. "That was well-founded based on Friday practice, as he and team mate Sergio Perez swept the board in Baku."