Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Charles Leclerc ahead in a session devoted to race study

A complicated start to the session for Charles Leclerc

Following his off-track excursion during free practice 1, Charles Leclerc returned to the track this afternoon for the second practice session. However, he does not feel comfortable in his car. Unsatisfied with the settings, he points out a difference in feeling between the left side and the right side. An inconsistency that his engineers do not find in the telemetry. It is the driver who, after running off-track at the same turn as this morning, decides to return to the pits to adjust the balance of his SF-24.

His Ferrari team managed to give him a balanced single-seater, but the number 16 driver lost valuable time to refine his settings and gain confidence. His roadmap is shifted for this session, but the Monegasque enjoys this track and he managed to highly reposition himself among the best once the soft tires were fitted.

It is worth noting that George Russell also experienced technical problems with engine issues that did not allow him to take to the track before the middle of the session.

He also had to end his session before its end, three minutes before the goal.

A tenuous grip, many track incidents

We know that an urban circuit is complicated to practice during the first sessions, and that the grip comes progressively, as the single-seaters leave pieces of rubber on it.

To complicate the work of the twenty-two drivers, rain occurred during an F2 session, and this start of the session saw many drivers make trajectory errors, braking mistakes or get very close to the walls like Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz (on numerous occasions), Franco Colapinto, George Russell, Nico Hülkenberg, Lance Stroll and the two Stake drivers: Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyou. The reigning world champion managed to be the closest to the wall at turn 2, only 4 small centimeters away from the concrete!

Charles Leclerc at the top of the standings

If the McLarens remained discreet during this session, the Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari were the most performing cars. The fastest lap times were set at the beginning and at the end of the session with soft tires, but overall, these second free practice sessions were used to check the performance and the strategy to adopt in the race.

The good surprise comes from Sergio Perez who finishes second, far ahead of his teammate who failed to tame this urban track.

On the Mercedes side, Lewis Hamilton stands out from his teammate’s lack of performance. The British champion ranks third, within the same tenth as the Monegasque. However, Hamilton has once again regularly complained about the overheating of his seat.

Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen complete the top 6.

It is worth noting Lando Norris’s amazing 17th position. Initially, the driver with number 4 was hindered in his quick lap by Pierre Gasly while he was setting the two best first sectors. He then focused, like Oscar Piastri, on his pace and race settings. There is no doubt that the “papaya boys” will play a leading role in tomorrow’s qualifying.

Rankings