Azerbaijan GP: Free Practice #2 - Re-Cap & Times

AZERBAIJAN GP - FREE PRACTICE #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the times in the second free practice, before hitting the barriers in the final seconds of the session.

    Verstappen had enjoyed a relatively trouble free 90 minutes, setting a time a tenth of a second faster than Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. 30 seconds before the chequered flag, he locked up and lost control of the rear of his Red Bull, spinning into the barriers and ending the session.

    Verstappen wasn’t the only one locking up on the narrow Baku street circuit. Almost every driver ran wide at various points on track, making use of the escape roads. The abundance of yellow flags so drivers could reverse back onto track made it difficult for many drivers to get a clean lap, mixing up the final order.

    Daniil Kvyat was the first driver to hit the barriers. The Toro Rosso driver was able to continue without too much damage to the car, but he did tear away the advertising attached to the wall. A virtual safety car was launched so marshals could clear the damage.

    Two drivers ended the session with their cars stopping on track. The first was Jolyon Palmer, who ran nose first into a wall. He couldn’t get moving again, and red flags were waved so the Renault could be cleared. The second was Fernando Alonso. Running an updated spec engine, Alonso made it all the way to the closing stages of the session before his McLaren-Honda slowed to a stop. He told the team over the radio it was an engine problem, but it was later found to be an engine failure.

    Once again, brakes proved a problem for Haas. Romain Grosjean spent the early part of the practice saying that he couldn’t drive with his brakes in the condition they were. He ran wide on multiple occasions and returned to the pits to have the brake material changed. He ended the session slowest.

    At the front of the field, Bottas took second fastest, just ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Ferrari could only manage fourth and fifth fastest, with Kimi Raikkonen beating Sebastien Vettel.

    Fresh from taking the first F1 points of his career, Lance Stroll took fifth fastest, whilst Felipe Massa could only manage P11.

    After his heavy crash in the first free practice session, Sergio Perez was out in the opening 10 minutes of FP2. He went on to take sixth fastest, ahead of Daniil Kvyat and Esteban Ocon. Lewis Hamilton rounded off the top 10.

TIMES:

1. Max Verstappen - 1:43.362 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
2. Valtteri Bottas - 1:43.462 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:43.473 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
4. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:43.489 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
5. Sebastian Vettel - 1:43.615 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
6. Lance Stroll - 1:44.113 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
7. Sergio Perez - 1:44.306 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
8. Daniil Kvyat - 1:44.321 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
9. Esteban Ocon - 1:44.484 / Force India-Mercedes / France
10. Lewis Hamilton - 1:44.525 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
11. Felipe Massa - 1:44.609 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
12. Fernando Alonso - 1:45.515 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
13. Carlos Sainz - 1:45.733 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
14. Kevin Magnussen - 1:45.831 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
15. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:46.003 / Renault-Renault / Germany
16. Jolyon Palmer - 1:46.061 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
17. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:46.174 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
18. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:47.150 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:47.347 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
20. Romain Grosjean - 1:47.722 / Haas-Ferrari / France

----
Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
No copyright infringement intended
Follow us on Twitter @Bethonie_Boost & @F1Insider78