Azerbaijan GP: Max Verstappen misses top five as Charles Leclerc mounts FP2 fightback

Charles Leclerc went from further woes to fastest in the second Baku practice session, as Max Verstappen found himself half a second off the pace.

An FP1 crash was followed by major handling issues for Leclerc in FP2 which saw him stuck in the Ferrari garage, but once he got back out there on the softs, he went to the very top of the timings, with Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton in close pursuit.

Charles Leclerc P1 as dramatic Azerbaijan GP race weekend continues

Verstappen, fastest in FP1, was first out as the light went green, armed with the mediums tyres, as was Leclerc after Ferrari got his SF-24 back in working order, following his FP1 date with the barriers. Williams needed a bit more time to get Franco Colapinto’s FW46 back on track.

Leclerc quickly put himself top of the timings, though was not enjoying life in the Ferrari, claiming something was “bent”, as Ferrari continued to look for the issue. Lewis Hamilton meanwhile was calling in to box, saying he could not see with his windshield, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell was stuck in the garage as a power unit change took place.

Leclerc’s frustrations were starting to escalate, as he declared it “impossible” that Ferrari could not see anything on the data. He duly returned to the pits, with Perez now leading a Red Bull one-two.

Verstappen survived a major scare though, locking up and coming to a stop inches from the wall at Turn 5, while Hulkenberg was getting upset with Perez who “thinks we’re racing” through the tight second sector.

As the session ticked towards its halfway mark, Carlos Sainz used the soft tyre to pop up to P1 on a 1:44.323, while a human wall had formed around Leclerc’s sister Ferrari as investigations continued, further crucial time lost for Leclerc with the qualifying simulations beginning.

Lando Norris was on for P1, until encountering a slow-moving Pierre Gasly through the kinks back onto the straight, bringing that attempt to an end. No such dramas for Verstappen, though he was forced to settle for P2, 0.079s adrift of Sainz, after that first soft-tyre push. Oscar Piastri proceeded to muscle his way between Sainz and Verstappen.

The low, setting sun was causing visibility issues for Verstappen, who took to the run-off at Turn 7, but Perez was flying on the softs as he returned to P1, almost half a second clear of Sainz.

Leclerc was at last back out on track, but still was not having it all his own way as he found the Turn 8 run-off, while Sainz was checking out the Turn 3 escape route. Colapinto was fortune to withstand a heavy whack of the inside barrier at the ultra-tight Turn 8/9.

Take a closer look at the F1 2024 intra-team head-to-heads

👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

Hamilton kept his Mercedes on the road to take over as Perez’s closest challenger, falling just six-hundredths short of the Mexican’s 1:43.490.

As focus transitioned towards the race simulations, Leclerc was running out of sync on the softs, and doing so successfully as he took over top spot with a 1:43.484. Sainz was having more adventures down escape roads, this time at Turn 7, while Bottas bailed out at Turn 1. Turn 2 was catching Lance Stroll out.

Russell had made it out onto the track, but was called back to the pits due to an “issue with the car” as the chequered flag soon flew to end the session.

FP2 times

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:43.484

2 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.006

3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.066

4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.466

5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.499

6 Max Verstappe nRed Bull Racing +0.545

7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.609

8 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.991

9 George Russell Mercedes +1.052

10 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.063

11 Yuki Tsunoda RB +1.161

12 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.199

13 Alexander Albon Williams +1.253

14 Franco Colapinto Williams +1.265

15 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +1.301

16 Daniel Ricciardo RB +1.572

17 Lando Norris McLaren +1.672

18 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.907

19 Esteban Ocon Alpine +2.326

20 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +2.463

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