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Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo wary of Mercedes, Ferrari fightback at Azerbaijan GP

Verstappen sets pace in Azerbaijan GP practice; Hamilton and Vettel expect tough fight for pole with Red Bull

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo admit Red Bull must be wary of a Mercedes and Ferrari fightback on Saturday after setting the pace in Friday practice for the Azerbaijan GP.

Verstappen was fastest in both sessions - the first time Red Bull have topped a timesheet since third practice in Bahrain - while Ricciardo was second and then third, just a tenth off his team-mate's time.

Renault have brought an upgraded engine to Baku, which they say is worth a 0.2 second gain per lap, but Verstappen said he was surprised to be leading the field.

"Ferrari and Mercedes can improve, so we have to be careful, but we are closer," Verstappen said.

"We are always bringing new updates and on the engine we got a good step. We've made a positive step which is always very useful on such a long straight.

"But to be ahead, I never expected it. When the car is working well, you can be confident and that can be a big difference on a street circuit. So far everything is positive."

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Ricciardo agreed, saying: "We are in the fight and it seems like there are a few of us in the fight.

"It's likely Mercedes and Ferrari will bring a little more heat tomorrow but we are obviously in the ballpark."

The only negative for Red Bull on Friday was Verstappen locking up and hitting the barriers at Turn One in the closing seconds of Practice Two, causing significant damage to the left-hand side and rear of his car.

"It was very weird to be honest, I locked up and was still trying to make the corner, but I tried to play it safe and take the exit road," he explained to Sky F1.

"But suddenly I lost the rear and then I just had a four-wheel power slide into the barrier."

Hamilton, Vettel ready for three-way fight
After a tough Practice One, Ferrari closed the gap in the afternoon session to be within two-and-a-half tenths of Verstappen's time with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel fourth and fifth respectively.

Yet it was a difficult day for Vettel's title rival Lewis Hamilton who was over a second back in both sessions. But the three-time world champion maintains he can be in the thick of the battle at the end of qualifying.

"We can still be in the fight for pole," Hamilton said. "Red Bull look great.

"It was very scrappy, I had a difficult day and it was difficult to get the tyres to work. Tyres will be key. The positive today is that I didn't crash! I hope that when we get into Q3 that the car is where I want it to be.

"We know where the issues are and we will work as hard as we can tonight - we are going to be here late tonight."

Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas managed to split the Red Bulls in Practice Two to show Mercedes' outright pace and team boss Toto Wolff expects a tough fight in qualifying.

"This time around in Baku it seems that three or four teams are pretty competitive. You can see in the long runs, so it's important to be in the front in qualifying," he told Sky F1.

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The key incidents from Practice One and Practice Two of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

"I think you need to get into a rhythm in Baku, do laps to gain confidence and have the tyres in the right window.

"We had a bit of a messy session, a lot of traffic, a lot of yellow flags and we didn't put [Lewis] out at the right time."

Vettel conceded that any of six drivers could potentially take pole on Saturday.

"I think it was very close today," the German added. "I hope it's close tomorrow and hope we come out on top."

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