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# What happened in second Azerbaijan GP F1 practice
- URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-happened-in-second-azerbaijan-gp-f1-practice/
- Published: 2026-09-24T13:10:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T13:10:31.000Z
- Description: George Russell continued his strong start to the Baku F1 weekend by setting the fastest time in second practice, well clear of Kimi Antonelli
- Author: Ben Anderson
- Tags: Formula 1, #azerbaijan-grand-prix, #mercedes, #george-russell, #kimi-antonelli, #max-verstappen, #lando-norris, #primary_homepage_feature

George Russell continued his strong start to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in second practice, well clear of Mercedes team-mate and Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Russell’s Mercedes and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen traded fastest times in the early part of the session with McLaren’s Lando Norris on the Baku City street circuit, before Russell bolted on a set of soft tyres for a qualifying simulation.

But that run was cut short on Russell’s out-lap when F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad clouted the wall with his Racing Bulls’ right rear tyre while navigating the narrow castle section.

As the red flags came out to clear up that shunt, the order stood as Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull - making up for missing most of FP1 to an engine problem - and Charles Leclerc.

After the session resumed Russell was the first driver to lap below 1m44s, cutting the timing beam at 1m43.7s to lead the way by four tenths from Verstappen, who earlier had complained of “constantly counter-steering” his upgraded Red Bull because “my rear axle is coming off the ground”.

Russell shaved a further four tenths off to finish the session with a 1m43.347s best, despite needing to swerve around Gabriel Bortoleto’s slow Audi on the final straight.

This section has been flagged already as an area of particular danger this weekend, especially when cars on hot laps come across those on cool-down/battery recharge laps.

Liam Lawson encountered Hamilton’s Ferrari in precisely this scenario through the kinks at the start of that section and Hamilton will be investigated by the stewards after the session for what Lawson called "dangerous" driving.

Having missed a large chunk of FP1 to a hydraulic problem on his Mercedes, Antonelli looked a step behind Russell in FP2 and finished up over half a second off the pace - having eventually slotted his Mercedes between Russell and Verstappen’s Red Bull in the times.

Verstappen was just under three tenths clear of Leclerc’s Ferrari, with Hamilton just under two tenths further back, and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in sixth and eighth, split by Italian GP pole winner Pierre Gasly’s Alpine - all three on a 1m44.8s.

Returnee Hadjar ended the session ninth in the other Red Bull, also on a 1m44.8s, while soon-to-be ex-Haas driver Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10.

Franco Colapinto’s Alpine and Lawson’s Racing Bulls were next, just ahead of Sergio Perez, who made good use of a tow from Piastri’s McLaren and Ferrari’s latest ADUO 2 engine upgrade - reckoned to be worth 0.2s by Perez’s Cadillac team-mate Valtteri Bottas - to set the 13th quickest time.

That put the lead Cadillac ahead of both Audis, both Williamses, Lindblad’s crumpled Racing Bulls, Bottas, the broken down Haas of Ollie Bearman and the two Aston Martin-Hondas.