Red Bull completed a Friday practice double in Baku while Mercedes remained firmly out of the picture ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
After Max Verstappen topped first practice, it was Sergio Perez’s turn to grab the P1 spot in FP2 by pumping in a 1:42.115, a tenth quicker than the World Championship leader.
Scuderia Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz focused on the long runs in the second free practice session for the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit. Different tyre compounds for the race sims, as Charles reported “huge graining” at the rear of his Ferrari with the medium tyres. The Spanish driver finished the session in P3, with a personal best lap time of 1:42:243, while Charles was right behind, with a 1:42:436. However, it does seem that Red Bull have a lot more pace both on short and long runs, but the Maranello teams seems able to match its direct rivals, McLaren.
We’ll find out through the rest of the day from the team themselves whether Mercedes are as off the pace as it seems, but 11th and 16th is the very unusual final result for Mercedes here.
Close to the helf of the season, the Charles Leclerc locked up into the left-hander and went straight on into the barriers. He lost a front wing in the process but managed to reverse out and return to the pits. The good news for the Monegasque driver was that, apart from that previous front wing, his session has not been unduly impacted by that small crash.
FP2 timesheet
1 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1:42.115 20
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.101s 22
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.128s 23
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.321s 22
5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.419s 25
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine 0.578s 23
7 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 0.826s 24
8 Lando Norris McLaren 0.903s 23
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 0.905s 22
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1.015s 24
11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1.041s 23
12 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1.105s 22
13 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1.183s 22
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1.697s 20
15 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1.766s 21
16 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2.069s 22
17 George Russell Williams 2.442s 23
18 Nikita Mazepin Haas 3.448s 22
19 Mick Schumacher Haas 3.980s 11
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams 4.868s 5
Leave a Reply