Formula 1 returns to the Baku City Circuit for the second free practice session of the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looking to build on an encouraging start for Ferrari. FP2 begins at 14:00 Italian time and will run for one hour, offering the teams their most important opportunity of the day to work on both qualifying performance and race pace.
Welcome back to ScuderiaFans.com for live coverage of FP2 from Baku. After the opening practice session allowed the drivers to build confidence around the demanding street circuit, the second hour of running will traditionally shift towards qualifying simulations on lower fuel before attention turns to long runs with heavier fuel loads and race preparation.
The complete timetable for practice, qualifying and the race can be found in the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix schedule.
Azerbaijan GP FP2 live after Ferrari starts P3 and P4 in Baku
George Russell set the fastest time in the opening practice session, helped by a particularly strong tow along the main straight at the end of his best lap. Max Verstappen finished behind the Mercedes driver, with both setting their quickest times on the soft tyre.
Ferrari followed in third and fourth with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, but the comparison was particularly interesting because both SF-26 drivers completed their fastest laps on Pirelli medium tyres rather than switching to the soft compound. The full opening-session picture is available in our Azerbaijan GP FP1 analysis.
That difference in tyre programmes means the FP1 classification cannot be treated as a definitive representation of the competitive order. FP2 should provide a clearer indication once the leading teams begin their qualifying-style runs and comparable tyre choices become more common.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli needs to recover lost track time
Andrea Kimi Antonelli endured a much more difficult start to the weekend. The Mercedes driver was forced to park his car because of a hydraulic problem, leaving him with valuable track time to recover during the second session.
McLaren also had a complicated opening hour. Both drivers were slowed by teething problems on a car featuring substantial updates, making FP2 especially important as the team continues evaluating its revised package.
For anyone comparing the different practice programmes, qualifying simulations and race stints as the weekend develops, the ScuderiaFans F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis provides additional context on practice pace and longer runs.
Ferrari prepares qualifying simulations and long runs in FP2
Ferrari’s programme will now move into an important phase. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton need to evaluate the SF-26 over a single lap while also gathering information on tyre behaviour and race performance with more fuel on board.
Baku makes that work particularly demanding because the circuit combines low-speed street sections with extremely long acceleration zones. Straight-line performance and electrical energy deployment therefore remain important areas to monitor, especially for Ferrari. The technical challenge is explored further in our analysis of Ferrari’s Baku energy-deployment test.
With George Russell, Max Verstappen and the two Ferrari drivers separated by different tyre programmes in FP1, the second session should begin to reveal a more representative picture of the competitive order. Andrea Kimi Antonelli will meanwhile try to recover the mileage lost through his hydraulic problem, while McLaren will continue learning about its heavily revised car.
How will the balance of power change on the fast streets of the Azerbaijani capital? Follow the live, minute-by-minute coverage of FP2 from the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the Formula 1 field return to the track in Baku.
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