F1 | FP2 | Azerbaijan GP | Hamilton tops a chaotic practice session; Norris finds the wall - Motorsport

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After an interrupted FP1 session, the F1 drivers were ready to bounce back for the second practice session of the Azerbaijan GP. The first practice of the weekend ended with Lando Norris topping the timing sheets followed by teammate, Oscar Piastri in second. Half a second behind the McLarens was the four-time Baku pole sitter, Charles Leclerc. With the narrow streets and close walls, the session was bound to be action-filled.

Green flags out

As the green lights went out and FP2 got underway, Nico Hülkenberg was the man leading the pack out on track. The Sauber driver was followed by his rookie teammate, Gabriel Bortoleto. Soon, the other teams began to trickle out the pit lane.

Both Sauber drivers headed out on medium tyres while the likes of Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli, and both Red Bull driver opted for the soft C6 tyres. Alex Albon was the only driver opting to start the session on hard tyres.

Oscar Piastri had a power unit issue in FP1. However, the team was able to solve it ahead of the second practice of the day. While the McLaren driver looked ready to set the first benchmark of the session, the yellow flags came out as Liam Lawson suffered a lock up and went deep in Turn 15. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton made a similar error in Turn 7.

Max Verstappen quickly rocked to the top with a 1:43.226, beating Piastri by 0.081s. The top spot continued to switch as more drivers flew across the line quicker by each lap.

45 Minutes to go

The narrow barriers of the circuit forced several drivers to take a cautious route by going into the run-off area.

The man who has held pole every year since 2021, Charles Leclerc, seemed to be improving every lap. With 45 minutes to go, it was a Ferrari 1-2, with Leclerc on top of Hamilton. The two teammates were on different tyre compounds with Leclerc on softs and Hamilton on mediums. The Scuderia team was followed by Norris in third, Sainz in fourth, and Hadjar rounding out the top five with a large part of the session left.

Lance Stroll clipped the barrier in Turn 15, but did not look to suffer any damage. Shortly after, Leclerc also touched the wall. The Monegasque driver pushed his Ferrari to the fullest around the tricky Baku streets. The track where his performance has historically been brilliant. Still, at the moment Hamilton remained two tenths ahead of him.

With the track evolution improving, and the grip getting better, the drivers prepared for their Qualifying runs.

The challenging walls of Baku bite for Lando Norris

At the 30 minute mark, Lando Norris bolted into Turn 4 and hit the wall. The McLaren driver had to scrabble his way back to the pits after the hit. The McLaren wobbled in a struggle to make it back to the pit as the impact appeared significant.

Once again, Charles Leclerc looked to be the man to beat as he made his back back to the top with a 1:41.367s. Even with a yellow third sector, he was the fastest man of the moment.

Turn 15 proved to be a challenge for the drivers as both Piastri and Franco Colapinto hit the wall again. Piastri managed to make his way back to the pits to inspect the potential damage. The McLaren driver was also noted for a yellow flag infringement.

Lando Norris’ day appeared to be over after only seven laps completed as a result of the hit.

The Mercedes drivers were improving as George Russell set purple sectors while Kimi Antonelli took P4 for the moment. Although Russell was flying around the track, he was forced to abort the lap as he nearly lost control of the car.

Closing moments of FP2

At the front, the Ferraris were fighting for the top spot. Further back, the Haas team showed strong performance as Ollie Bearman was P5, ahead of Max Verstappen. While Esteban Ocon was P8 with ten minutes left. Bearman explored the run off area in Turn 8 once again as he went too deep, complaining about the brakes over the radio.

With a few minutes to go, the entry of Turn 16 saw Carlos Sainz clip the wall. The hit did not appear significant as the Williams driver continued around the track after. Yellow flags were out momentarily as Leclerc went deep in Turn 4, opting to go to the run off area.

The second practice session of the weekend concluded with Max Verstappen finishing his last run but not improving as he remains in sixth place. Hamilton stayed on top followed closely by his teammate 0.074s behind. Next, the two Mercedes drivers completed the top four. The top three separated by 0.477s.

F1 Azerbaijan GP FP2 results: