F1 Azerbaijan GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP2
Friday's second practice for the 17th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped a stop-start opening practice following three red flags; one for debris and one each for crashes for Charles Leclerc and Franco Colapinto respectively.
Verstappen led from Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in third, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in fourth.
FP2 starts at 2pm BST.
Live Standings
Summary
Live Text
But it's not good news out of the Mercedes garage, as Russell is watching his team complete an engine change having found a problem late in the break. Potentially, he could miss the entire session.
Leclerc pulls into the garage having made use of the escape road as Sainz skims the barriers. It's all going on for Ferrari!
As Perez goes fastest with a 1m44.598s, Leclerc reports that he needs to pit as he believes the steering is bent.
"This windshield is in the way of my vision. I need to come in. It's super distracting," says Hamilton.
Mercedes is running a straight windshield this weekend, a change from its normal jagged element.
Leclerc immediately takes to the top from Sainz with his first hot lap, putting in a 1m45.812s. Piastri slots into third ahead of Hulkenberg and Alonso in the early exchanges.
Cautious that the repair work has been completed properly, Leclerc asked Ferrari to check the car from left to right, with the steering feeling heavier in one direction.
A quick stop for Verstappen after an installation lap on soft tyres to switch to mediums.
It's yet more back news for Alpine, as Ocon's car is ready to head out to the track, but now Gasly appears to have a problem!
Here we go as Verstappen, Zhou and Leclerc lead the early risers out onto the track.
The opening session of the weekend saw both Colapinto and Leclerc end up in the wall and cause red flags for Williams and Ferrari. Will there be further disruptions in FP2?
In case you missed that earlier session, the drivers have the three softest compounds in the Pirelli range available to them this weekend, with blue skies overhead, and warm 39.1C track temperatures.
Recounting the order from FP1, it's now time to look ahead to the next session, which gets under way in three minutes.
While Verstappen topped the FP1 order, it was an early bath for Ocon, with Alpine reporting: "After an MGU-H issue on Esteban Ocon’s car in FP1, the team has replaced the power unit in the car ahead of FP2 from its existing pool of components."
Good afternoon and welcome to Baku for second practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
By: Sam Hall
