Verstappen explains abrupt end to Friday practice

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Max Verstappen had been having pretty much the perfect day on Friday in free practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

He immediately took to the Baku Street Circuit and topped the times in both FP1 and FP2. However, just seconds before the end of the afternoon session, the Red Bull ended up in the barriers at turn 1.

"It was very weird to be honest," Verstappen said afterwards. "I locked up and was still trying to make the corner. I tried to play it safe and take the exit road.

"Suddenly I lost the rear and then I just had a four-wheel power slide into the barrier," he recalled.

He confirmed to reporters that the RB13 had suffered some damage in the impact. He added that parts of the car were "broken". The team will repair the car overnight in time for Saturday morning's final practice and qualifying.

The accident was an unfortunate way to end what had been up until then almost the ideal day for the Dutch teen.

"The whole day has been really positive," Verstappen agreed. "Except the last lap, everything has been working well.

"This has definitely been the most positive Friday of the year so far.

"From lap one I felt comfortable in the car. It was handling really well and I was confident with the setup.

Verstappen tops FP2 but ends the day in the barrier

"The preparation we did at the factory and in the simulator has allowed us to come here with a strong set-up and competitive car from the go."

The session featured a high number of incidents involving almost every single team and driver at some point.

"It feels like the cars are quicker through the corners this year. This means if you have a lock-up it can be more critical," suggested Verstappen.

Friday's session gives Verstappen and Red Bull the upper hand over rivals Mercedes and Ferrari going into qualifying and Sunday's race. However, Verstappen remained wary of how the weekend would unfold.

"We are confident heading into qualifying but also wary that Mercedes will turn their engines up a bit," he said.

"We are on top at the end of Friday which means they have to catch up. It will be exciting in the session tomorrow."

Gallery: All the pictures from Friday in Baku

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.