VIDEO: Red flags, Nyck de Vries made a big mistake and crashed in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix!

Formula 1 has its fourth race of the season this weekend, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. And with the Baku circuit set to host its first sprint race of the season, all competitors will take part in qualifying on Friday, which is where Nyck de Vries retired early.

Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix gets underway on Friday afternoon, at 15:00 our time.

It should be noted that this, the fourth race of the season, also includes Saturday’s sprint, and Formula 1 has adapted its programme accordingly. The race weekend at the Baku circuit kicked off with the first free practice session at 11:30am on Friday.

And at the aforementioned 15:00, the Baku race weekend programme continues with Friday’s qualifying, which however now determines the grid order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Indeed, Formula 1 has recently confirmed a change to the format of the sprint race weekend. There will be no second free practice on Saturday, instead everyone will take part in qualifying, which will determine the starting order for the subsequent sprint.

The 100km sprint itself is scheduled for 15:30. The race is scheduled as usual for Sunday. All five lights at the Baku City Circuit will go out on Sunday, April 30, at exactly 13:00.

Anyway, back to Friday’s qualifying session, in which Team AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries retired early.

He crashed in the first qualifying segment (Q1). The Dutch driver missed turn 3 and then crashed into the tech-pro barrier.

But De Vries is not alone in failing to tackle Turn 3. Carlos Sainz also had a wild pass, while Pierre Gasly also hit the barrier, damaging not only his monopod but also the barrier itself.

This is the second time red flags are flying at the Baku circuit, with qualifying suspended again with 7 minutes and 32 seconds remaining in Q1.

F1 TV, Twitter