Sawt Falasteen - In-form Perez quick off the mark in Baku

Perez arrived at the eighth round of the Formula One season as the man in form after his win in Monaco last time out lifted him to within 15 points of world champion Verstappen and six shy of Charles Leclerc.

The winner on this street circuit 12 months ago Perez topped the times on a windy afternoon by the Caspian Sea with a fastest lap of 1min 45.476sec.

Ferrari's Leclerc, who has taken five of this season's seven poles, was 0.127s behind, with Verstappen, who span right at the end of the session at turn 14, three tenths of a second away in third.

Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari took fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso's Alpine and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Two drivers who were barely able to put any laps in at this tricky circuit boasting the season's longest straight but also Monaco-style tight corners were Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi.

Schumacher had to retire his Haas on lap three with Latifi unable to get further than lap seven in his Williams.

Perez meanwhile had earlier told a press conference that the new contract he signed with Red Bull over the Monaco weekend had left his mind free to concentrate on his emerging challenge for the world title.

"As a driver you want certainty, you want to get that stress out of the way, so the earlier the better," said the driver known in the pits and amongst his fans as 'Checo'

"It takes so much energy and so much focus to be a hundred percent weekend by weekend, so you don't need that thinking.

"So, it was good that we agreed so early on that contract. I feel like I've got a good opportunity (in the 2022 title race) but obviously the season is still very young so anything can happen from now."

Perez had to let Verstappen pass to take the win in Barcelona last month under team orders, but pointedly said that nowhere in his new deal did it stipulate that "I have to finish second".

H.Nasr--SF-PST