Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Free Practice 2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, edging Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc as Mercedes and Ferrari looked strong around the streets of Baku.
For Kiwi Liam Lawson, it was another strong session, with the Racing Bulls driver finishing seventh and backing up his top-ten form from FP1.
The session began with Oscar Piastri laying down the first benchmark at 1:43.307s, before Max Verstappen quickly bettered him with a 1:43.226s on soft tyres.
Carlos Sainz provided an early surprise for Williams, slotting into third just a tenth off the pace on mediums – a sign the yellow-marked tyre could prove a competitive race-day option.
That theory was reinforced when Nico Hülkenberg went fastest on mediums, followed by his Sauber teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, who briefly topped the sheets with a 1:42.561s.
Leclerc soon restored order, posting a 1:42.207s on softs, before Lando Norris edged him by just 0.008s.
Lawson, meanwhile, recovered from a lock-up and trip down an escape road on his first attempt to post a competitive lap. His second flyer placed him fifth, ahead of the likes of Piastri, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda on the same tyre.
As the session progressed, Ferrari stamped their authority. Leclerc lowered the benchmark to 1:41.786s, four tenths clear of the field, before Hamilton slotted into second, making it a Ferrari 1-2.
Isack Hadjar, on mediums, impressed with fourth-fastest at that stage, just ahead of Verstappen on softs.
The narrow Baku circuit caught out several drivers, with Lance Stroll, Piastri, Leclerc, and Norris brushing the walls. Norris’s contact with the wall at Turn 4 was a harder hit compared to his rivals. It proved costly, breaking his suspension and ending his session prematurely.
Lawson switched to fresh mediums mid-session and delivered again, climbing to fourth and slotting just behind Verstappen, within a tenth of the reigning champion and comfortably ahead of Hadjar.
In the final minutes, Mercedes surged forward, Russell and teenager Kimi Antonelli both moving into the top four and separated by just nine-thousandths of a second.
Hamilton then sealed P1 with a 1:41.293s, 0.074s clear of Leclerc, with Russell third and Antonelli fourth.
Oliver Bearman produced a standout fifth for Haas, Esteban Ocon ensured both Haas cars finished inside the top ten, and Verstappen placed sixth ahead of Lawson in seventh.
Alex Albon and Norris completed the top ten, with less than a second covering the group.
For Lawson, two consecutive top-ten sessions marked an encouraging start to the weekend. Reflecting afterwards, the Kiwi said the circuit felt far different to what he remembered from his Formula 2 days.
“Today was a good day. I haven’t driven here for a few years, so it’s very different to what I remember in Formula 2,” Lawson explained.
“But I think as well they did a good job at cleaning the track this weekend because it started quite grippy, like we’re already doing qualifying times nearly, maybe even faster actually, almost. So yeah, which helps a lot.”
Asked whether consistently running in the top ten was what he had expected in Baku, Lawson was cautiously optimistic:
“I mean, it’s what we target every weekend. Obviously, Monza was difficult for us, but not really a true representation of pace either.
“Honestly, I think we just had a tough weekend, but if everything had gone well, we should have been in the Top 10. So I think we’re pushing for that, and the car’s been very consistent recently. So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be; we just have to keep chasing it with everybody else. Obviously, it’s very close, so we’ll see what we get tomorrow.”
Mattia Spini, Racing Bulls Chief Race Engineer also spoke on the two practice sessions so far:
“Baku remains one of the toughest venues on the calendar, combining a low-downforce street layout with close walls, a bumpy surface and significant track-grip evolution. Pirelli’s choice of compounds being one step softer than last year has added to the challenge, making tyre usage and management key factors for the weekend.
In FP1 both drivers finished in the middle of the timesheets, with room to improve through further driving refinement and setup work. During FP2 we alternated the C5 and C6 tyres across the two cars to gather comparative data.
“Liam closed a competitive lap, while Isack did not maximize his attempt. With cooler temperatures and shifting winds expected tomorrow, the team will use today’s findings to assemble the best possible package for qualifying and the race.”
Both Lawson and Hadjar will be hoping to carry a solid pace into qualifying, which follows the final practice session at 8:30pm NZST, with the fight for grid positions set to get underway at midnight.
Header Image: Joe Portlock/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
well done Liam Lawson reminds me of a young max verstappen