Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen was fastest in first practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the streets of Baku on Friday. Red Bull driver Verstappen clocked 1min 43.184sec, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc only 0.043sec behind. Carlos Sainz was third with Sergio Perez in fourth as reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was only seventh. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has returned to the calendar for the first time since 2019 In the last race in Monaco, Verstappen's first triumph in the Principality, coupled with a poor weekend for seventh-placed Hamilton, allowed the Dutchman to turn a 14-point deficit into a four-point advantage in the world championship. bur/gj/dj