Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Positives are hard to find at McLaren right now, but actually there was one this weekend. Fernando Alonso ran a ‘Spec Three” development power-unit on Friday, with more power from the internal combustion engine, and Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa told Autosport it was worth “more than 0.2-0.3secs” around Baku. How much more, he did not say.

To give that some kind of context, as a ballpark figure on an average circuit, 0.2secs equates to about 12bhp; 0.3secs to just under 20bhp. Honda’s deficit to Mercedes is said to be 90-100bhp.

Baku, by the way, is not an average circuit - power is worth more in terms of lap time there than at, say, Barcelona. There were no reliability issues and it’s likely Alonso will use the upgrade at the next race in Austria. And Stoffel Vandoorne, too, if Honda can get one ready in time.

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has been speaking to Sky Sports about Fernando Alonso's future:

"I can't confirm Fernando Alonso is going to drive with us next year but every time you ask him, he says, 'I'm sorry I like the team, I like the car, I don't like top speed' but that's the same as always. If you can put a package together to be competitive, I will make my decision in September'.

"I am sure plenty of other teams have dreamed of working with Fernando but I don't think they can offer him, apart from our engine package, a better position."

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

The presence of Fernando Alonso’s manager Flavio Briatore in Baku, where he has one of his Billionaire clothing brand shops, has caused a stir - not least because he tweeted a picture of himself having drinks with Mercedes bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda on Friday night.

But Wolff was quick to quash any speculation of Alonso making a switch many fans would love to see. “If you have dinner with Flavio it is clear you talk about Alonso,” Wolff said, “but we are very happy with our current driver line-up and there is no reason to question that so there was not any talk about Fernando joining the team.” He added that “at the moment there is no reason why” Valtteri Bottas would not be retained, but added that he saw no reason to rush the decision.

Alonso’s adviser Luis Garcia Abad was also spotted having a very public meeting with Renault bosses, but Briatore told Spanish TV station Movistar that Alonso’s “future is now with McLaren”. Whatever that means. Plenty more to come on this story over the coming months, that’s for sure

Image source, EPA

The Red Bull man lines up fifth on the grid.

Mercedes have locked out the front row for today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. But will they still be celebrating at the end the race?

Make your prediction for the top ten in Baku here and let us know your top three using #bbcf1

Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

There has been an air of resignation round McLaren this weekend, with Fernando Alonso for example saying the team can expect more races like this one, hit badly by engine penalties.

Even so, with 40 places of grid penalties for Alonso and 35 for team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said: “I am a racer so this is the most painful weekend I ever had, I think.”

A long and difficult race is ahead from 18th and 19th on the grid in a car with by far the least powerful engine on the grid.

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton speaking during the drivers' parade: "Considering this is Baku, I wasn't expecting to see so many people here this weekend but Team LH are really showing the support is worldwide.

"Friday was a difficult day for us but collectively the team pulled together. We have the best engineers, we really do. They are so diligent in their work but now it's down to me to finish it off.

"We have put ourselves in the best position possible to get a one-two today and I am going to try and leave no stone unturned."

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

The one-second margin Lewis Hamilton had over the Ferraris - even the half-second in Valtteri Bottas’ pocket - was something of a surprise after the impression left on Friday had been that Mercedes appeared to be set for one of their difficult weekends.

“We were quite lost, to be honest, in the beginning,” Bottas said, “and managed to turn that around so, for that, I’m really, really pleased.” Yet again, the issue was balance - if the Mercedes lacks it, it suffers badly with tyre temperatures and the pace just is not there.

“Yesterday we had this imbalance between front and rear and this triggers all kinds of consequences,” team boss Toto Wolff said on Saturday evening. “We changed the car quite a lot and the big step happened from Friday P2 to today. In qualifying the car was good from the get-go. It was a great turnaround for the team Friday to Saturday and the gap we have is nice. It doesn’t, though, give a lot of indications how the gap between the three teams is going to be, between Red Bull, Ferrari and us. The long runs were closely matched and that is the only set of data we have.”

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

It’s another sunny blue-sky day in the oil-rich Caspian state that hosts Formula 1’s newest grand prix and if the weather is predictable, the race very much is not. The qualifying results suggest Mercedes have a huge advantage and Lewis Hamilton a significant one over Valtteri Bottas, and that an easy one-two should be on the cards. But the Ferraris are always quick in the race, and were very much the fastest on Friday afternoon - but that was before Mercedes sorted out their set-up. Equally, Max Verstappen is in a fifth place that is not representative of the general pace of his Red Bull, and he is very much in a mood to prove it.

Morning all,

Welcome along to live text and radio coverage of today's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, the eighth round of the 2017 season.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton delivered a stunning lap to take pole by nearly half a second from team-mate Valtteri Bottas yesterday, but it's the gap to the rest of the field that really caught the eye - with the second-row-dwelling Ferraris over a second off the pace.

Will Hamilton run and hide today as he bids to reel in the 12-point gap to championship leader Sebastian Vettel, or can Ferrari spring a surprise with their race pace?

We'll know soon enough.