Second practice for the 2024 Azerbaijan GP got underway in somewhat of a calmer way compared to FP1, with drivers taking margin against the walls in the first few laps.
Charles Leclerc, who crashed out in first practice, reported over the radio that his rebuilt Ferrari was feeling asymmetrical on the steering, saying the car was probably “bent” in some way.
The Monegasque found the run off area in turn 15 again, ultimately furiously deciding that he’s had enough, saying it’s “impossible” that the team doesn’t see any problem in the data and sensors. He even went as far as saying “I’m not driving this anymore”, as he entered the pits to get his SF-24 repaired.
Although not as extreme, FP1 pace-setter Max Verstappen wasn’t entirely happy with the balance in his Red Bull either, reporting mid-corner understeer.
The Dutchman only just avoided hitting the wall at turn five, as he locked up and went straight on, but managed to get back on track without issues.
After 20 minutes of running and nearly constant yellow flags, there was a bit of a lull on track. Carlos Sainz led the way, nearly three tenths clear of Sergio Perez, with Lewis Hamilton in P3, over six tenths back, on the hard tyres – the leading duo, on mediums.
Yuki Tsunoda was the first driver to fit the soft tyres, and jumped up to P3 with a good lap on his qualifying simulation run.
Lando Norris was on a flying lap, setting fastest first and second sectors, before encountering traffic in the final sector and having to back out of his effort.
His championship rival, Max Verstappen had a much cleaner run through the final sector, setting a lap good enough for second fastest, just 0.079s behind Sainz’s Ferrari.
After backing out of his first attempt, Oscar Piastri went second quickest, just three-hundredths of a second back from Sainz’s benchmark, which became ever more impressive as the session went on.
Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes in the fight, with a good lap leaving him P4, less than a quarter of a second behind the leader.
Verstappen reported visibility issues over the radio, saying he couldn’t see with the sun lying so low in the Baku streets.
His team-mate Sergio Perez didn’t have such problems, as he went fastest by nearly half-a-second, setting a 1:43.490 to go quickest overall.
Charles Leclerc went back out on track as the clock hit the 35-minute mark, but went straight off in the run to the castle section, taking to the run-off area to avoid the wall.
With just 20 minutes of the session remaining and most teams focusing their efforts on long run pace, the classified order of the top 10 was: Perez, Sainz, Piastri, Verstappen, Stroll, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Tsunoda and Alonso.
Notable absences from the top half of the field included George Russell, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, in 20th, 16th and 14th, respectively.
Lewis Hamilton carried on doing qualifying simulation for Mercedes, and went second fastest, just 0.060s behind Perez’s earlier time.
Leclerc finally set a decent lap time, going seventh fastest on the medium tyres, just seven tenths back from the Mexican driver despite the tyre delta between the softer compounds.
The Monegasque soon put on a new set of soft tyres, and went straight to the top, just six milliseconds clear of Perez’s time, setting a 1:43.484.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Scuderia, as the drivers continued to struggle to slow down in some corners, with Sainz falling to stop at turn seven the latest in a series of lock-ups through the session.
Notable performances from outside the top 10 include Franco Colapinto. The Argentinian driver crashed out of first practice, but managed to get straight back on the pace in FP2, in 13th place, just 0.012s behind Alex Albon in 12th.
George Russell was told to come into the pits at the end of the session, as the Mercedes team spotted an “issue” with his W15.
Sergio Perez had a close encounter with Carlos Sainz at the end of the session, as the Spaniard slowed down in the twisty turns before turn 15 – with the Mexican just about avoiding contact with the Ferrari, and the incident will be looked at by the stewards after the session.
