Azerbaijan GP Friday practice

By: Geoff Creighton

Summary


	Leclerc fastest in FP2 for Ferrari, ahead of Vettel
	Red flags interrupt session again as Stroll and Kvyat both hit the barriers
	FP1 stopped after Russell hits a loose drain cover in his Williams
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Status: Stopped

17:45 That's your lot for today! We'll catch you tomorrow for FP3, and all the qualifying action later on too. See ya then!

17:44

17:38

17:37

Date:

17:36 So your top 10 in abbreviated form is: LEC, VET, HAM, VER, BOT, KVY, SAI, ALB, GAS and NOR. Two Ferraris, two Mercedes, two Red Bulls, two Toro Rossos and two McLarens are all in that mix.

17:33 Replays of a colossal battle between Magnussen and Hamilton. Presumably, there will be words between the two...

17:32 And that, said one burrito to the other, is a wrap. Leclerc tops the timesheets for the second session in succession (try saying that with a mouthful of food) - with a 1m42.872. Vettel is 0.324s off of his team-mate.

17:30 Gasly lurks like a spectre at turn 3, as a Haas had already locked up there! A close shave there...

17:29

17:28 Deux minutes. Zwei minuten.

17:27 Bottas has Hulkenberg right in front of him as he gets his mileage in. If past Baku form is any indicator, he might be best off not getting too close - Hulkenberg's never gone amazingly well here.

17:25 Stroll was loitering in the garage in his race suit - and here's why: he might be about to go out again after his earlier shunt. Amazing turnaround by the Racing Point mechanics if this pans out - chapeau!

17:24

17:23 There's Giovinazzi facing the wrong way to bring out a yellow flag in sector 3. That's cleared up now for the final six-and-a-bit minutes left on the clock.

17:22 Most - if not all - of the drivers are plodding around the streets of Baku on the medium tyre, taking in the magnificent scenery as the sun sets. Perhaps, at this stage, they're mentally booking dinner reservations. There's a place that does great patisserie near turn 3...

17:20 There's 10 minutes to go.

17:19 Raikkonen clocks up 203mph on the Baku straight, which is about the speed of a Formula 1 car going quickly on a massively long straight. Don't say we don't bring you valuable information.

17:18 There's a train of cars behind Kubica, with Raikkonen and Vettel struggling to squidge past. These will be the race simulations, then...

17:17

17:14 The session's back under way! Just over 15 minutes remain on the clock, meaning the teams have to get their run plans crammed in. Quite an exciting weekend, this.

17:11

17:09 The Toro Rosso's being bundled onto the crane, which looks sufficiently more adept to deal with any pesky bridges in the way.

17:07 Despite the lack of mileage thanks to FP1 being canned and only 15 laps on the board in FP2, Daniel Ricciardo's Friday running is over.

The Renault driver's session has come to an end because he's used up his allocation of tyres.

Scott Mitchell

17:07

17:06 That's a red flag. Kvyat just got a swapper on out of the corner, earning himself a one-way trip into the wall. He's out of the car, inspecting it before being ushered into the medical car.

17:05 Kvyat in the wall! The Russian's launched it into the barriers at turn 7, and he's gesticulating wildly to the brakes - which are just a little bit on fire.

17:04 Let's do some standings, then, since we're into the final 26 minutes...

1. Leclerc 1:42.872 - 2. Vettel +0.324 - 3. Hamlton +0.669 - 4. Verstappen +0.921 - 5. Bottas +1.131 - 6. Kvyat +1.305 - 7. Sainz +1.311 - 8. Albon +1.344 - 9. Gasly +1.348 - 10. Norris +1.423

17:01 The run-off's also getting plenty of attention at turn 3 as well, as Norris plonks it off-course. We're also getting a lovely view of Perez dropping a lot of tyre smoke into turn 1.

16:56 Verstappen rolls up his sleeves and posts the fourth-best time on softs to separate the Mercedes drivers in the timing boards.

16:53 Kvyat, after Toro Rosso's earlier tinkering time, is now circulating on the Baku circuit.

16:51

16:50 Ricciardo's had his own moment! The Aussie had personal best-ed in sector one, but went too deep post-castle section and kicked up a big ol' cloud of tyre smoke. He's still going, but nearly clipped the wall there.

16:48

16:48 That's Gasly at turn 3! He's gone too deep, and gingerly returns to the circuit.

16:45 Albon gets a lovely tow from Giovinazzi down the straight to reappear ahead of Gasly in the timesheets. He's really ALB-on it today...and no, we're not apologising for that heinous pun.

16:44 As we approach the midpoint of the session, quite a few cars are making their respective ways back to the pits. Gasly's just gone fifth, however, just to take advantage of the clear track.