Charles Leclerc recovers from FP1 crash to be fastest in F1 FP2 at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Perez and Hamilton.
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Green Light in the Pitlane
Max Verstappen was first to head out on track in FP2, with most of the grid following close behind. After Leclerc’s crash earlier in FP1, he immediately mentioned some problems with the steering. Despite this, he set the pace early in the session with his teammate Sainz in P2. Franco Colapinto had yet to get in his car while the Williams mechanics continued to repair the damage from his crash in FP1.
The two Red Bulls topped the timing sheets, Sergio Perez ahead of Verstappen with a 1:44:598. Meanwhile, issues for Ferrari continued as Leclerc reported bent steering again. Tsunoda jumped to third as a yellow flag came out in sector two for Leclerc, who was in the run-off at the same corner he crashed at in FP1. After radioing to the team that he wouldn’t drive the car in this state, Leclerc pitted ten minutes into the session.
Hamilton set the second-fastest lap on a hard tyre. Max Verstappen briefly brought out the yellow flag for narrowly avoiding the wall after a lockup, becoming one of quite a few drivers to do so throughout the session. Sainz jumped to P1 with a 1:44.323.
Williams finally got Colapinto back on track 15 minutes into the session. George Russel had yet to leave the pits after Mercedes made a precautionary PU change. An early lap on the soft tyres saw Yuki Tsunoda jump to third.
Soft Tyre Running
Everyone was on out laps as we approached halfway through the session. Norris bailed out of his fast lap after catching Gasly in a bad spot. Sainz once again set the fastest time on softs with a 1:43.950, with Verstappen close behind in P2. Bearman jumped to fourth on his first soft-tyre lap ahead of Tsunoda and Albon.
Perez returned to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:43.490, almost half a second faster than Sainz. Verstappen seemed to be struggling in comparison to Perez, who has found success here in the past.
Leclerc caused a short yellow flag after getting back on track on medium tyres. Both Ferraris found themselves in the run-off at different corners. Russell had also finally made it on track, opting for the hard tyres.
Franco Colapinto hit the wall with his rear tyre on the exit of turn nine, but luckily he was able to continue the session. Hamilton set the second fastest lap of the session behind Perez.
Final Running
It was back to medium-tyre running for most of the grid as Leclerc put on his first set of softs for the session. He set the fastest lap a 1:43.484, just six thousandths ahead of Perez. Nico Hulkenburg and a few other drivers continued to find themselves in the run-offs at multiple turns in what has been a tricky session for many.
Two minutes before the end of the session, Russell boxed after being told there was an issue with the car. Perez had to bail out of his lap after a close call with a Ferrari.
McLaren struggled in comparison to the other front-running teams throughout the session. The two rookies Bearman and Colapinto displayed promising pace to finish close behind their teammates.
Leclerc set the pace ahead of Perez and Hamilton as the checkered flag waved at the end of F1 FP2 at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix after multiple yellow flags and car issues for multiple drivers.
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