Baku was the street circuit that hosted a street fight last season, the moment Sebastian Vettel lost the plot and barged Lewis Hamilton, a flashpoint that reflected their tight battle for the title.

They return with the tension already increasing, the margins and competition even closer. The protagonists, who must now include Red Bull alongside Ferrari and Mercedes, will doubtless want to keep it clean on Sunday but none can afford to give any quarter at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

For Hamilton and Mercedes this is a vital race and one they will want to win clinically without a slugging match. They have not won this season and Hamilton trails Vettel by nine points but this is the first grand prix where power can be decisive. This has been a key Mercedes strength but it will also be another technical examination of their car. They have struggled to find the correct tyre temperature operating window and qualifying will be indicative of whether they are nearer to discovering the solution.

Hamilton has struggled, particularly over the single lap where he has been beaten in two of three races by his team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

“We believe the car is sound,” Hamilton said. “That’s not the biggest issue – tyres is something we are still learning about. One weekend we’ve got it, the next we haven’t. If we get on top of tyres we can show the true performance.”

The team’s technical director, James Allison, also acknowledged their target. “We have not always got it right in qualifying – to make the tyre wake up and play on the single lap – that’s our job to do,” he said.

The Mercedes does not appear to run as well in turbulent air as the Ferrari and claiming front-row spots is the simplest way of addressing it. With temperatures expected to drop as the weekend progresses, it will represent a major step forward if they can find the sweet spot.

Ferrari show every indication of having a stable platform on which to build. They secured two front-row lockouts in Bahrain and China and Vettel has two wins. Their car is finding the operating window more easily and there is a quiet, calm confidence in the team.

“We know we’ve built a good car,” Vettel said. “We know we have a lot of potential to make it faster and that’s what we are working on. It depends on a lot of things, conditions, tyres, track. We have three cars that are a match, and whoever does the best job bringing all these little things and details together is up front.”

The triumvirate is completed by Red Bull and their charge is being led by Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian won in Baku last year and drove magnificently to take the third race of the season in China. He was quickest in second practice on Friday and only three-hundredths down on Bottas in the first session.

Hamilton and Vettel could not put in clean quick runs and were fifth and 11th respectively in the afternoon. Max Verstappen crashed early in the first session but recovered to be only 0.116sec slower than his team-mate, Ricciardo.

Red Bull struggled on the straights but looked to be making great time through the tight second sector and did not share Mercedes’ problems with the tyres. Their car appears to be going from strength to strength.

Mercedes are far from panicking. In China they would have expected Bottas to win if not for the intervention of the safety car but Hamilton recognised that, while the fight may be fair in Baku this year, no one is going to find it easy.

“We have Red Bull close to their best and Ferrari at their best,” he said. “If we can pull through and deliver, it will be the biggest achievement this team have accomplished.”

Jenson Button, Hamilton’s former McLaren team-mate and the 2009 world champion, will race in the Le Mans 24 Hours in June. Button will drive for the Russian SMP team in the top LMP1 class. Fernando Alonso will drive for Toyota.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to race at Le Mans,” Button said. “I think it’s every driver’s dream to take part and hopefully go on to clinch that win at Le Mans, and I’m definitely no different.”

Button will compete in the full world endurance championship season, which concludes next year at Le Mans again, with the exception of the first round next Saturday at Spa.