FP2: Leclerc tops eventful session
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc edged out team mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.324s to go fastest overall on Friday at Baku. The Ferrari pair exchanged the top of the timesheet repeatedly and were never really challenged for the top positions.
Lewis Hamilton came closest, but was still more than 6 tenths away from today's pace setter. Max Verstappen ended the session in 4th, splitting the Mercedes duo as Bottas had to settle with 5th due to being half a second slower than Hamilton.
Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat was 6th fastest, confirming that Toro Rosso is getting to grips with its car, only to end up in the barriers a few minutes later, bringing the red flags out for a second time. Lance Stroll had caused the first session stoppage as he clipped the barriers with his Racing Point just 15 minutes into the session.
Overall, tyre grip seemed to be at a premium with many drivers complaining of low tyre temperatures. Daniel Ricciardo was the most obvious struggler, as he ended his session 20mins from the end. The Australian Renault driver had repeatedly flat spotted several sets of tyres, and had no fresh Pirellis left to do more runs.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:42.872 | - | 28 |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:43.196 | +0.324s | 28 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43.541 | +0.669s | 31 |
| 4 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:43.793 | +0.921s | 24 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:44.003 | +1.131s | 31 |
| 6 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:44.177 | +1.305s | 9 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:44.183 | +1.311s | 27 |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:44.216 | +1.344s | 33 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:44.240 | +1.368s | 24 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:44.295 | +1.423s | 32 |
| 11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:44.901 | +2.029s | 25 |
| 12 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:45.366 | +2.494s | 31 |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:45.436 | +2.564s | 28 |
| 14 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:45.482 | +2.610s | 30 |
| 15 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:45.483 | +2.611s | 15 |
| 16 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:45.618 | +2.746s | 31 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:46.717 | +3.845s | 24 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:47.875 | +5.003s | 8 |
| 19 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:48.111 | +5.239s | 27 |
