George Russell topped both practice sessions at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading teammate Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. While Russell dominated the timing sheets in Baku, the day was marred by mechanical failures for Mercedes and Haas, and a crash for Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad.
Russell set the pace during the second practice session with a time of 1m 43.347s using Pirelli soft compound tyres. He finished half a second ahead of Kimi Antonelli and a further three tenths clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The gap between the two Mercedes drivers was 0.552 seconds, a margin described as expected given the day’s circumstances.
Kimi Antonelli’s Reliability Struggles
Despite finishing second in the second session, Antonelli’s day was fragmented by technical issues. He suffered a hydraulic failure during the first practice session, which limited his overall running to half that of Russell. These reliability problems persisted into the second session, forcing Antonelli to miss the first half-hour while Mercedes performed an engine change.
Because of the repair time, Antonelli missed critical set-up and development windows at the end of the first hour and the beginning of the second. He was forced to go straight into performance runs on soft tyres, though he still managed a significant improvement to clock a 1m 43.899s.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Handling Issues
Max Verstappen was Russell’s closest rival in the first session, but the Red Bull driver struggled with the car’s behavior in the second. When the green light switched on at the end of the pit lane at 1600 local time, air temperatures were 30 degrees Celcius. While running medium tyres, Verstappen complained over the radio about a poor ride.
“I’m constantly counter-steering because my rear axle is coming off the ground,”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Verstappen eventually posted a 1m 44.492s on mediums, narrowly beating Russell’s time with the same compound, before being shuffled to third overall once the field shifted to soft tyres.
Arvid Lindblad and the Castle Section Crash
The session was interrupted by a red flag when Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad crashed in the Turn 8/9 castle section. Lindblad thumped the wall on the exit of the tight chicane, causing significant damage to the right-hand side of his car. This follows a previous crash during FP2 in Madrid last time out.
Arvid Lindblad apologized over the radio, explaining that he believed he had clipped the wall by about a millimetre.
Lindblad was collected by the Medical Car and dropped off in the paddock. The track was cleared and the session resumed at 1629 local time.
Mechanical Failures and Makeshift Repairs
Beyond the Mercedes and Racing Bulls drama, other teams faced technical hurdles. McLaren dealt with gremlins with the new upgrades and FP1 floorboard issues, which the team attempted to fix using plastic cable ties. Meanwhile, Ollie Bearman’s Haas came to a halt after his engine switched off.
“My engine switched off and just… broke,”
Ollie Bearman, Haas
Other notable struggles included Fernando Alonso, whose running was limited by a suspected oil leak, and Audi, which continued to learn about a raft of updates on the cars of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson also expressed frustration over a slow-moving Hamilton in the final sector.
Practice 2 Final Standings
The final order reflects a strong start for Mercedes, though the gap to the rest of the field varies significantly by tyre compound and car reliability.
| Driver | Team | Note |
|---|---|---|
| George Russell | Mercedes | Fastest (1m 43.347s) |
| Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Recovered from engine change |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Complained of rear axle instability |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | Used cable ties for floorboard repair |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Top 5 finisher |
Additional positions included Pierre Gasly in seventh for Alpine, followed by Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, and the sole remaining Haas of Esteban Ocon. Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, and Cadillac’s Sergio Perez followed, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg placing 14th and 15th. The session continued with the similarly upgraded Williams cars of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Lindblad, the other Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas, Bearman, and the Aston Martins.
Teams will now regroup in the paddock and dig through the data overnight before the final hour of practice begins at 1230 local time on Friday. The primary remaining question is whether Antonelli can close the gap to Russell once he has a full session of running and a stable car.