The second training session of the day for the Formula 1 drivers in Baku turned out to be one McLaren would rather forget quickly. Lando Norris suffered damage in FP2 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and had to abandon the session halfway through, while teammate Oscar Piastri also failed to impress. On the other hand, Ferrari had reason to celebrate, and Lewis Hamilton, the fastest man of the session, expressed satisfaction – a sentiment not always shared this season…
Lando Norris got off to a good start, having already dominated FP1 earlier this Friday. The British McLaren driver topped the timesheet on soft tyres after ten minutes, with a time of 1:42.199. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had a less impressive start and overshot his braking point, albeit without serious consequences. However, he recovered by setting the fastest time (1:41.543) on his Ferrari’s medium tyres. At that point, teammate Charles Leclerc recorded the second-fastest time, also on soft tyres. Ferrari was off to a strong start in the first half-hour.
Subsequently, Norris made a miscalculation and hit the wall with his McLaren – not for the first time. This time, however, the contact in turn 4 was too severe. He damaged his suspension. Norris managed to return to the pits at a snail’s pace, but it meant an early end to FP2 for him. Norris’ example was soon followed by Piastri. The championship leader also hit the wall, but he was able to continue his training.
A Delightful Session for Ferrari
Meanwhile, Leclerc drives to the top of the time list (1.41,367), displacing Hamilton. However, the latter reverses the order in the final phase (1.41,293). This indicates that Ferrari is having a delightful session and the search for the right qualifying mode seems successful. In fact, Hamilton expresses his satisfaction over the radio.
Behind the Ferraris, the Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are ranked, albeit both nearly half a second behind Hamilton. Max Verstappen finishes with the sixth time, one spot higher than in VT1, with the caveat that the McLarens are ranked further back due to their excursions. Norris ends the session he prematurely terminated with the tenth time, Piastri with the twelfth time.
Top-10: Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, Bearman, Verstappen, Lawson, Ocon, Albon, Norris.
