F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: MYSTERY red flag causes confusion at Baku

Azerbaijan GP Practice

MYSTERY red flag causes confusion at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

FP1 got underway on Friday at Baku

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 13 September 2024 12:01 Updated: 17:19

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A red flag has caused disruption to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with everybody from drivers to commentators confused as to why it was shown in the first place.

With FP1 less than 15 minutes in, the drivers were told to head back to the pit lane in what turned out to be a five-minute delay to proceedings, with Sky Sports F1 commentators scratching their heads as to why the red flag had been waved.

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Eventually, the session got back underway, with F1's official X account revealing it was due to debris on track that needed to be removed from T12.

For Mercedes, the break in proceedings allowed them to sort out a problem that George Russell was facing, with something becoming lodged underneath his elbow while driving his W15.

Franco Colapinto faced a tough FP1 session

Kravitz reveals mystery red flag cause

Once the session had got back underway, there was still real confusion among the Sky Sports crew about where the delay had come from.

Legendary pit lane commentator Ted Kravitz later revealed an issue for one of the Williams cars had caused the red flag.

He suggested that a piece of metal had come flying off youngster Franco Colapinto's car, a piece of debris that marshals needed to remove from the track.