Mercedes finished the first day of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend exactly where it started it: on top. George Russell set the fastest time of FP2 with a 1:43.347, a lap he produced during the qualifying simulations despite having to weave around a slower car, and more than two seconds quicker than his own benchmark from the morning. Kimi Antonelli, who lost most of FP1 to a hydraulic failure, was second, 0.552 seconds behind. Max Verstappen completed the top three for Red Bull, 0.827 seconds off, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton fourth and fifth for Ferrari.

The result sends Russell into Friday as the clear reference in Baku, with two practice wins from two. For Antonelli, who leads the championship by 81 points, second place is a strong recovery after a difficult day. With the Grand Prix moved to Saturday for Azerbaijan Remembrance Day, only FP3 remains before qualifying on Friday afternoon.

Russell sets the pace again

Russell went top early in the hour with a 1:44.537 on medium tyres, then improved to 1:43.759 once the field switched to softs after the red flag. His 1:43.347 followed a few minutes later. Crash.net noted that he had to move out of the way of a car ahead on that lap, which suggests there is still a little more to come. In the final quarter of an hour, when teams switched to high-fuel runs, Russell did his long-run work on the medium tyre while Verstappen and Lando Norris looked closely matched with him on pace.

Verstappen was quick but not comfortable. He complained on the radio about the ride of his Red Bull and said the rear of the car felt as if it was lifting, which left him fighting the car through the session. He still led the order when the red flag came out and finished within nine tenths of Russell.

Antonelli’s recovery

Antonelli’s afternoon started late. Mercedes changed the power unit in his car after the hydraulic failure in FP1, because the engine had been sprayed by a fire marshal when he stopped. The team clarified that the unit removed came from his existing allocation, only needs cleaning, and can be used again, so there is no penalty. He did not leave the garage until the session had restarted after the red flag, just over half an hour in.

From there he needed only 16 laps to go second, and Crash.net’s live coverage suggested he may have more to find, given how much of both sessions he had missed. For a championship leader who had just nine laps on the board at lunchtime, it was the recovery Mercedes needed before qualifying.

“That’s so dangerous.”

— Liam Lawson on team radio, after encountering Lewis Hamilton’s slow-moving Ferrari in the final fast corners (via Crash.net)

Lindblad crash and a Hamilton investigation

The session was stopped with around 40 minutes remaining when Arvid Lindblad hit the wall hard at the castle section. He got out of the car, but his session was over after four laps, and he classified 18th for Racing Bulls. Oliver Bearman’s day also ended early when he stopped in the Turn 2 run-off with an engine problem, which he described as similar to his breakdown at Zandvoort. Aston Martin said it was investigating a suspected oil leak in Fernando Alonso’s power unit, and Alonso finished last after nine laps.

Hamilton, fifth fastest, was summoned to the stewards after the session for allegedly impeding Liam Lawson through the flat-out corners leading onto the main straight. Lawson, who finished 12th, was furious on the radio. Crash.net points out that impeding in practice usually leads to a warning or a reprimand, with grid penalties normally reserved for qualifying.