George Russell capped off Thursday in Baku by topping the second observe session for the System 1Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Nevertheless, behind the Mercedes driver’s blistering tempo, FP2 proved to be a chaotic, incident-filled hour outlined by wall strikes, purple flags, and energy unit anxieties throughout the grid.
Because the solar started to set over the Metropolis of Winds, George Russell doubled down on Thursday on the Baku Metropolis Circuit, pacing FP2 with a commanding 1:43.347 to steer teammate Kimi Antonelli in a Silver Arrows 1-2. Antonelli recovered impressively to P2 regardless of sitting out the beginning of the session following an FP1 breakdown.
The Mercedes package deal appeared probably the most balanced throughout all three sectors of the monitor, managing vitality deployment effectively to maximise high velocity down the two.2 km fundamental straight, the longest on the F1 calendar.
Max Verstappen positioned his Crimson Bull third, whereas Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the highest 5 for Ferrari and Mercedes.
In comparison with the morning’s FP1, the sphere logged significantly extra monitor time, although disruptions remained a relentless characteristic. Whereas a number of drivers had been pressured into the run-off areas, triggering periodic yellow flags, Arvid Lindblad was much less lucky on his first F1 weekend round this difficult road circuit.
The Racing Bulls rookie clipped the wall on the climb by Turns 8 and 9, breaking his right-front suspension and triggering the primary purple flag of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Lindblad took no additional half within the session and led to P18.
F1 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – FP2 Outcomes
The stoppage was short-lived, however the drama was removed from over. Simply because the session restarted, Oliver Bearman’s Haas energy unit gave up, leaving the Briton stranded in P20 and including to a rising checklist of reliability complications throughout the paddock.
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