F1 LIVE: Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice times and latest updates with Lewis Hamilton cautious on improvement

LIVE – Updated at 12:31

Follow live Formula One updates from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as the opening day of practice gets underway in Baku. Defending champion Max Verstappen has warned he has “unfinished business” in Azerbaijan after he was denied victory at a chaotic race last season. It’s an ominous sign for the rest of the grid as Red Bull arrive at the street circuit on a run of four straight race victories, following Sergio Perez’s win at the Monaco Grand Prix last time out.

Ferrari and Mercedes are under pressure to respond and the opening two practice sessions will offer clues as to who can challenge Red Bull this weekend. Charles Leclerc is without a victory in two months but has been on brilliant form in qualifying with three consecutive pole positions, while Lewis Hamilton will be hoping Mercedes have finally resolved their troubles with ‘porpoising’. It has been claimed that Red Bull fear the “dangerous” potential of the Mercedes car, but Verstappen remains the favourite as he looks to extend Red Bull’s run.

“I’m looking forward to returning to Baku, we have some unfinished business there after last year,” Verstappen said. “It’s a tricky track with big braking zones and a tight run off, finding the best set-up for the car will be difficult in terms of making sure we get the correct wing level. It will also be interesting to see if we can make our one lap performance better for qualifying as we’ve been lacking a little.” Follow live updates from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, below:

The AlphaTauris have positioned themselves in the top five. Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda both clock faster times than Carlos Sainz, in what is a very Red Bull-heavy top of the leaderboard.

Hamilton is all the way down in 11th, 2.5s