By: The second practice session has just concluded, with Mercedes reaffirming its status as Friday’s ‘queen’, as George Russell topped the timesheets with a 1'43''347, ahead of Kimi Antonelli. After the issues he encountered in FP1, the Bologna-born driver was back on track as normal in the afternoon, albeit half a second adrift of his team-mate. Behind them was Max Verstappen, who surprised everyone with some highly competitive times during his race-pace simulation. Returning to the standings, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and fifth respectively, one second behind Russell.
Lando Norris was sixth, with Oscar Piastri further back in eighth. In the midfield, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon delivered strong performances to finish seventh and 10th respectively; Isack Hadjar was ninth as he continues to seek a better feeling with his RB22. There was a red flag during the session after Arvid Lindblad hit the wall at the entrance to the Castle section, while it was also a session to forget for Ollie Bearman, who was forced to park his Haas with engine problems. The full classification follows.
Cover photo by Finlay Williams / WHYOUT images
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Azerbaijan GP 2026
