Baku FP2: Red flag! Mercedes lead the way, Verstappen in hot pursuit

In the second free practice session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, it became clear that, as expected, Mercedes is the dominant force on the Baku City Circuit. George Russell was fastest in FP2, followed by Kimi Antonelli, who finished a remarkable second despite completing only half the session. There was also the first major incident of the weekend.

But first things first: the first practice session saw several incidents, though no crashes: Carlos Sainz (Williams) experienced brake overheating. Kimi Antonelli had to pull over shortly before the halfway point of the first session with smoke coming from the rear of his car. A hydraulic problem was suspected. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing) experienced engine surges. Both McLaren drivers also had difficulties and spent a lot of time in the garage. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) had also been forced to pull over in a run-off area shortly before the end of the session.

Consequently, most drivers were keen to get out early in FP2, with an air temperature of 29.6 degrees Celsius and 47 degrees on the tarmac. Only Antonelli, Sainz and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) stayed in the pits for a long time. Sainz came out after ten minutes, Lindblad after twelve minutes. Work was still being carried out on Antonelli’s car – specifically, a new engine was being fitted (from the pool, so without a penalty).

Meanwhile, at the top of the timesheets, Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) beat Russell’s fastest time from FP1, setting a 1:45.115 on medium tyres. The Dutchman was the fastest, but at the same time complained of oversteer. And then he immediately beat his own time again, setting a new fastest lap of 1:44.492, closely followed by George Russell.

Lindblad crashes in the Burg section

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Apart from a few minor evasive manoeuvres at the emergency exits, things remained quiet at first – until the red flags were suddenly waved! Arvid Lindblad came to an involuntary halt at Turn 11. He had lost control of his car at Turn 8 – the notoriously narrowest section of the Formula 1 circuit (just 7.6 metres wide) – and had made several nasty contacts with the barriers in the tight Burg passage. Lindblad was able to get out unharmed, but his car was billowing thick smoke from the brakes – and was positioned so awkwardly that the session had to be interrupted for a good ten minutes to remove the car and clear up debris.

Once proceedings resumed, a yellow flag was immediately displayed: Oliver Bearman’s Haas cut out with a jolt. The Briton rolled into the emergency exit and quickly cleared the track. From there, he watched the rest of the session from close quarters.

And then Kimi Antonelli finally took to the track! After a good half an hour, the Italian rolled out of the garage. Meanwhile, in the battle for the fastest lap (with everyone now on soft tyres), Russell topped the field with a time of 1:43.759, the first time of the weekend in the 1:43s. Kimi Antonelli settled into second place, half a second behind him, in the final fast laps. Russell went on to improve his time to 1:43.347 mins. A statement from the Silver Arrows.

Max Verstappen is third, the closest challenger to Mercedes. The double winner at Baku (2022 and 2025) finished FP2 eight tenths of a second behind Russell and three tenths behind Antonelli. Ferrari took fourth and fifth places. Nico Hülkenberg in the Audi was only 15th.

A bit of red tape is still dragging on into the Azerbaijani evening: following the end of the session, the race stewards are investigating Lewis Hamilton for blocking Liam Lawson’s path.